Dry cleaners often use laundry starch to help clothes maintain their shape. It’s typically used for more formal clothing items, especially dress shirts, and is best suited to fabrics like cotton. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to be aware of when you order starch at the dry cleaners, some of which are discussed below.

What Are the Advantages of Using Laundry Starch?

Starch prevents future staining and discoloration. The buildup of starch seals and protects the clothing fibers and makes it more difficult for stains to permeate into the fabric.

Another benefit that comes with starch is the ability to help clothing maintain its color. Even after repeated washings, a starched item of clothing will often retain its brightness and crispness. Starch also has greater longevity than ironing alone, since it adheres more readily to fabric and its stiff quality discourages wrinkling.

What Are the Drawbacks?

While there are many perks to using starch, it may also decrease the overall lifespan of your clothing. It can settle into the fibers and cause threads to fray or break. With repeated trips to the dry cleaners, starch will continue to build up on fabric fibers. Over time, the shirt may become stiffer and less comfortable to wear. Starch also makes the fabric less able to stretch, which results in a more restrictive fit.

Starched items tend to wear away faster in areas where the fabric is routinely bent, such as at the elbows or knees. This is a natural byproduct of regularly breaking the starch's hold, which triggers a breakdown of the threads holding the clothing together in these more troublesome areas.

The experts at Mayfield's Quality Cleaners will help you determine if starch is the right option for you. Since 1994, they have been the dry cleaner of choice for the Anchorage, AK, area. They offer convenient drop and go services and can clean fabrics from clothing and uniforms to sleeping bags and walk-off mats. Call (907) 277-4620 or visit them online to learn more about their services or pricing.