Tips on things to Do & to Avoid!
Tips on storing your wedding dress - Things to Do!
1) Get your dress cleaned by a dry cleaner who specialises in cleaning wedding dresses. Cleaning removes stains that even if cannot currently be seen, may show later on, and the cleaning fluid can also act as an insect deterrent.
2) Be sensible – store away from light, heat, damp, etc.
3) Preferably, store your dress in a warm dry room, that has no history of insects, rather than the attic.
4) Always store your dress in a pH neutral box and pack it with acid free tissue paper (acid free tissue paper will become acidic if kept in a box that is not acid & lignan free).
5) For adequate protection a storage box must be sturdy enough to:
- a) Protect your dress from accidents;
- b) Eliminate light;
- c) The box must be breathable (i.e. non plastic) and pH neutral i.e. contain no acid or alkali. Whilst your box may arrive in a plastic bag to protect it in transit, it should not be stored in this plastic bag as the box needs to breathe;
- d) Avoid boxes that are flat packed, boxes with a “window” but no lid and boxes with metal staples that may rust.
6) Once packed away, check on your dress every 6-12 months to ensure nothing untoward has happened to it, then repack it to help prevent creases becoming permanent.
Tips on storing your wedding dress - Things to Avoid!
1) PVC plastic covers are not suitable for long-term storage:
- a) Changes in humidity can cause mould to grow on your dress.
- b) Light can fade the fabric.
- c) As the PVC cover disintegrates plastic particles can affect the fabric of your dress.
2) Standard cardboard boxes contain acid that passes into the dress fabric causing discolouration/yellowing.
3) Some inferior wedding dress boxes which are acid free are not lignan free. Over time, the lignan can convert into acid which then causes discolouration/yellowing.
4) If your dress touches wardrobes, suitcase linings, drawers, or anything with colour dyes, it will have an effect on the fabric of your wedding dress. It is always best to separate a wedding dress from any other item and to surround it with acid free tissue paper.
5) Never use coloured tissue paper, even acid free. It contains dye which will affect the colour of the dress. Tissue paper to pack a wedding dress should be white and acid free.
6) Whilst perfectly fine on a short-term basis, don’t hang a dress on a clothes hanger long-term, as it places stresses on the seams and shape of the dress.
7) Even in a wedding dress box, storing your dress in the attic can cause problems, where there is potential for damp, changes in humidity and creepy-crawlies!
