Prolong the Life Of Your Clothes with These Care Tips
Depending on where you live, it’s not unusual to have a variety of jackets for different seasons or activities. Leather jackets are great for spring or fall, heavy winter puffer coats provide warmth outdoors, and goose down jackets are great anytime you feel a chill. Jackets may be stored among other clothes in a bedroom closet or in the hallway closet where they are stuffed among wet raincoats and squeezed into tight spaces. Unfortunately, with poor care, jackets can become faded, compressed, or musty-smelling. Here are some tips on how to store different jacket types to prolong their life.
Leather Jackets: Fade Prevention
Short and long leather jackets have been in style for generations. They are comfortable, warm, and can handle wet weather. Yet you should avoid storing it against other wet clothing on a rainy day. The porous nature of leather can absorb the water and become damaged. Also, ultraviolet light can be extremely damaging to leather as it can fade the material or make it feel tacky.
You should always thoroughly dry your jacket before placing it back into your closet. Never leave a leather jacket hanging by a window where it will be exposed to ultraviolet light from the sun. Also, avoid storing your leather pieces in places where it will experience extremely high temperatures, such as attic cabinets.
Feather Down Jackets: Removing Musty Smells
Feathered down jackets are soft and insulating. However, they can develop a musty smell that can transfer over to your other clothes. This problem may be due to the down jacket still being wet after being cleaned or when stored against other wet clothing.
After cleaning a down jacket, ensure that it is thoroughly dried by hanging it on a drying rack indoors, by a window, or outdoors in the sunlight. Once it is completely dry, consider placing the jacket in a custom closet from a closet company such as Closet & Storage Concepts that has separate hanging compartments to keep your jackets separate from other clothing to prevent moisture and odor transfer.
Puffer Jackets: Keeping Them Puffy
Puffer jackets are those fluffy winter coats that ward off the coldest of weather when you have to venture outside. They also take up a lot of space. You may end up trying to shove it in-between clothing or placing it into a storage container stuffed with other items. When you pull it out next year, the jacket has been flattened and has lost its puffiness.
To bring back its original condition, you want to wash the jacket and then place it in a dryer with a few tennis balls added. The tennis balls will fluff up the feathers in the puffer jacket. Once the jacket is completely dry, store the jacket in the closet where it has enough space to hang freely.
Create a Dedicated Place For Your Jackets
To recap, keep your jackets looking great when storing them, always consider placing the coats away from direct sunlight to prevent fading, and only place them into storage when they are completely dry. It is also advisable to place certain jackets susceptible to pests in a custom closet with doors to prevent damage.
Use your jackets for years to come with proper storage and care techniques. Get started on your closet project with a local Closet & Storage Concepts team! Call or get more information by consulting our store locations page.
Top photo © iStock/ Tarzhanova. All others unless marked © Closet & Storage Concepts.
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