How to Clean & Care for Shackets & Sweaters

Thanks to this product- I've been doing my own "dry-cleaning" cheaply, yet effectively, at home, for at least 20 years. 

When I was a teen, my mom worked in business, so she introduced me to taking special care of her spendy silk blouses and suits.  She found this product that cleans functionally without shrinking, stretching, or fading her best pieces of clothing.  I've been using it religiously every other week for all these years since.

These days, I'm usually spilling the soap about this product, several times a week to customers shopping in our store.  I made mention of this product a few times on my social media pages the last few weeks, and since several people expressed interest in hearing more about it, I'm happy to share it with you here too.  Please feel free to tell your friends and PLEASE let me know how it goes for you!  

Let me introduce you to my friend, Dryel. 

Dryel is an at-home dry cleaner that I use to clean my favorite shackets, sweaters, and delicate items of clothing that "require" hand washing or dry cleaning.  Just like cleaning and conditioning my leather boots, I want to take care of my quality clothing items that I've invested good money in.  Because there's no rough agitation of wet machine washing, using Dryel preserves my clothes and makes them last longer.  Essentially, this steam cleaner makes my hard-earned dollars to last a little longer, too.

For less than $20, I purchased everything that I need to clean and care for my shackets and sweaters, in a handy little kit already put together. 

My original Dryel kit at Wal-Mart. and have found the refill kits on Amazon, and next to the laundry soap at stores like Fareway, Hyvee, and Target.  When you first start off you'll need to purchase the full kit that comes complete with a reusable steam cleaning bag, stain pen, odor and wrinkle releasing spray, and cleaning cloths.  I think I've only replaced my bag once over the last 15 years, so I've been saving even more by purchasing these refill kits lately.

There's much more professional and detailed information on how it actually works on their website here, but here's my simple instructions for people like me who don't really care how it works, as long as it works.  Writing instructions is incredibly difficult for me to do- since I rarely read them.  I'm much more of a "figure-it-out" the hard way type of person.  But here goes because I'm shocked at how many people haven't been blessed with Dryel in their lives.

Like I said above, I typically do my dry-cleaning at home about once every other week.  The bag that came in my kit accommodates 4-5 of my shackets or sweaters at a time.  Chances are, your dry cleaning needs will be different, but I thought a point of reference might be helpful for you.

When using Dryel to clean and care for my shackets and sweaters, I follow a super easy 3 step process:

1. Pretreat any stains with the stain pen, if necessary.  I won't lie when I say I have several extras of these pens in my laundry room drawer because I rarely need to pretreat stains on my nice clothes.  Just in case you [or your kids] live a more exciting [and messy] life than I do, don't worry, these stain-removing pens come in all starter and refill kits.

2. Spray each item [4-5 items per load] with the Odor & Wrinkle Releaser Spray.  Typically, I give each shacket or sweater a good 8-10 pumps of spray, usually focusing heavier on the armpit areas, for obvious reasons.  Add the sprayed 4-5 garments to the reusable steam cleaning bag.

3. Unwrap 1 Cleaning Cloth and add it to the bag.  Tumble on medium heat for 15-30 minutes.   Fold/hang and put away immediately after the dryer stops to prevent wrinkles. That's it.  Your shackets and sweaters are steam cleaned and smelling fresh for another wear!

Random Tip from me:  I hardly ever throw away the old cleaning cloths, so my reusable bag has several "old" cleaning cloths hanging out in the bottom of the bag at all times.  They still smell great, so why throw them away?  

Feel free to reach out with any questions... I would LOVE to hear your review of Dryel too.  It's clear I give it 5-STARS, but I'd like to know if you agree!

Happy Cleaning!  XOXO, Brianne

STAY TUNED for a future Blog Post on HOW TO USE OUR MINNETONKA CARE KIT that we have available for purchase here.  Our Minnetonka Care Kit is essential for protecting your favorite moccasins and cleaning them up to look brand new again!