The kilt can be worn for a long time without being cleaned and still look good.
A new lease of life
Kilt wet cleaning, pleats realigning, and final professional steaming and pressing
The kilt can be worn for a long time without being cleaned and still look good. This is due to the magical properties of wool and the 2×2 twill weave. Soiling and stains are less noticeable on the uneven surface and it recovers from creasing better than plain-weave fabrics.
However, there comes a time when it does need freshened up with some minor repairs.
I have successfully cleaned and pressed kilts that have been around since the beginning of the 1900s.
What is Wet Cleaning?
Better for your kilt, your health, and the planet
The Askival of Strathearn Kilt Cleaning service “Wet Cleans” the kilt.
Conventional dry cleaners soak clothes in harmful chemicals which they then evaporate at very high temperatures.
Wet cleaning is the most environmentally friendly professional method of kilt cleaning. It does not generate hazardous waste, nor does the process create air pollution. It reduces the potential for water and soil contamination.
Using wet cleaning has a positive impact on the kilt: while dry cleaning can damage the cloth and deteriorate the fabric fibres because of the high temperatures and harsher chemicals used in the process.
Wet cleaning helps the fabric of your kilt last longer by using lower temperatures and natural detergents.
Using water for cleaning, irrigates the fibres of the 2×2 twill weave cloth where there is space for a lifetime of stuff to collect, and restores the brightness of the colours, which in most cases get dull after consistently being exposed to other cleaning methods.
Before steaming and pressing with my professional equipment, the pleats are realigned and basted together accurately, to ensure the pleats do not splay (this can often be a 3 hour process).