Cleaning Halloween Costumes

Halloween is just around the corner. If you’re considering wearing last year’s costume but it needs to be cleaned first because of the cobwebs, stains, and debris it somehow collected in storage, you’ve come to the right place. Read up on some tips for cleaning costumes.

People dress up in different ways for Halloween. Some costumes are creative and made by hand using materials like cloth, cardboard, or even unusual things like boxes and tin foil to emulate a robot. Other costumes are simply bought from the store. Some costumes are made from artificial fabrics like polyester, acrylic, and nylon. These can all be washed in a machine; but some costumes have extra features like fins, wings, or glittery stuff. Before you go ahead and throw your costume in the wash, always check the instructions on the tag or bag if you still have the packaging; however, if the washing instructions are lost, try these tips:

• For nylon, polyester, acrylic, cotton, and linen costumes that are free of embellishments like sequins and beads, wash them like regular laundry on the gentle cycle. Use a laundry bag to protect delicate materials like nylon. If your costume is made with many seams, it’s best to hang-dry or lay flat to dry. It’s safe to tumble dry cotton but avoid doing so with linen as it shrinks and also avoid doing so with synthetic materials as they might stretch.
• If your costume has beading, sequins, or anything else, it’s best to hand wash as these embellishments can come undone in the washer. Use a light detergent in cold or warm water and very gently wring them out and lay flat to dry. Do not hang-dry these costumes as the added ornaments will weigh down and stretch the underlying material.

Halloween is an exciting holiday for which millions of Americans from children to adults dress up. While your schedule likely fills up with Halloween preparations, party planning, customer shopping or crafting, and decorating, put your laundry on a schedule with Mango Fresh Laundry. We will pick up all your dirty laundry (including washer-safe costumes) and deliver it fresh and clean as soon as next day. Schedule a pickup and delivery today!