Protect your dress from yellowing

It’s important to keep your wedding gown in good condition before and also after the wedding. If you’re like most brides you’ve purchased your wedding gown months before the actual wedding date.

You have paid special attention to the care of your wedding gown with it’s alterations, steaming in preparation and storage until that important date. Storing the dress in a cloth breathable bag is best. A cloth gown bag will allow the fabric to breath, allow any moisture to evaporate and will help keep wrinkles to a minimum.

Try not to store your wedding gown, either before or after the wedding in a plastic bag. Short term it doesn’t matter as much, but long term plastic gives off fumes that can contribute to the yellowing of the fabric.

Plastic bags can also seal in moisture. Moisture can lead to mildew and molds. A sealed plastic bag can also contribute to keeping wrinkles in your wedding gown too.

A plastic bag should be saved and used if the weather is bad or for short term transportation. The plastic can keep your wedding gown safe from the weather. It can also protect it from something being spilled on it.

Yellowing of your wedding gown is usually caused by either improper storage in the wrong container and or also by sugar stains.

Make sure your long term storage of your wedding gown is in an acid free environment. Do not use a plastic bag for long term storage. Also a constant temperature and humidity is best. That means storage of your wedding gown should not be in the attic or basement where these conditions change to the extreme.

Sugar stains are caused by anything that contacts the wedding gown that has any sugar based or corn syrup based products. These include cake, frostings, wine and sodas. Even though the stain may not be visible it will later. These sugar stains oxidize over time and can cause yellowing or even brown spots on your wedding gown.

When your wedding day is over consider the importance of your wedding gown cleaning and preservation. Choose a company to do this that has the experience and know how to do the job right. They should specifically use an “anti-sugar treatment” and offer a long term guarantee.

Shop around, compare the process and the companies. Be aware that you can pay more for exactly the same service. Wedding gown preservation costs can vary from $120 to $400. Just because you pay more doesn’t mean you get a better product or better treatment. Shop and compare, many times the least expensive will give you the same service and guarantee as more expensive alternatives.

By Erlene Clifton