Original B-15 to be Dry Cleaned. Mistake?

[damienweaver]

Hey all,

So I've recently taken possession of an original B-15 jacket. It's in nice enough shape but a little musty, as is often the case with these old garments. Was going to take it to get dry cleaned to get the smell out and freshen it up. Do you guys think this would damage the jacket in any way? If so, got any other tips?

 

[foster]

I am not overly fond of dry cleaning, personally. I would rather take compressed air and blow out any dust, then leave it outside to air out.

I am one who washes (with water) many fabrics which others dare not try. I think water cleans best, but the condition of the garment is a serious consideration before even thinking of such action.

If your only concern is the musty odor, I would be hesitant to do much. A little time outdoors in fresh air may make a lot of difference, without the dry cleaning expense.

 

[Phantomfixer]

dryer sheets on no heat in the dryer for a bit works too on "just a musty odor"..for the b-15 that is

 

[grommet]

You might consider hanging it up in an open space (such as a garage) with a fan blowing on it for about 24 hours total.

 

[ButteMT61]

Speaking of this topic... (BTW, they make "dry-clean" sheets for the dryer that seem to work well on things. My wife uses them at times)... I got a Pike Bros N-1 this last fall. Do you guys think it looks better to just let them get grubby looking or clean them? The jungle cloth seems to collect indigo from my jeans (raw selvedge) and other assorted grime. Seeing as all the old ones are kinda dirty looking, I wondered if it's just best to let it go that way???

 

[Dr H]

Scott, short of a major issue, I just let my BR N-1 age...
Looks better more worn and faded IMHO

 

[ButteMT61]

Scott, short of a major issue, I just let my BR N-1 age...
Looks better more worn and faded IMHO

I tend to agree Ian. An no, I still haven't got around to doing the stencil yet. Been traveling for work and have not settled into the testing

 

[watchmanjimg]

I don't recommend dry cleaning nylon flight jackets unless it's absolutely necessary. These garments are constructed of a mix of several dissimilar fibers, some of which take more kindly to dry-cleaning chemicals than others. In particular I've found that dry-cleaning really beats the crap out of the cloth zipper tape, which is crucial as this is a high-stress area.

I generally spot-clean with a mild detergent and air out the jacket to remove odors. This has worked well many times.

 

[Peter Graham]

I don't recommend dry cleaning nylon flight jackets unless it's absolutely necessary. These garments are constructed of a mix of several dissimilar fibers, some of which take more kindly to dry-cleaning chemicals than others. In particular I've found that dry-cleaning really beats the crap out of the cloth zipper tape, which is crucial as this is a high-stress area.

I generally spot-clean with a mild detergent and air out the jacket to remove odors. This has worked well many times.

Words of wisdom Jim. What if it's a cloth B-15 ? Obviously the same will apply to the zipper tape but what about the shell. I ask this as my original M-41 would benefit from cleaning. It's just grubby. Nothing major, but I don't want to machine wash it in case the label fades.

 

[foster]

I ask this as my original M-41 would benefit from cleaning. It's just grubby. Nothing major, but I don't want to machine wash it in case the label fades.

Those original labels easily deteriorate in water. Even hand washing it can damage those labels. If your original still has that label, it's worth more.

If the label is gone, washing isn't a problem.

 

[Peter Graham]

I ask this as my original M-41 would benefit from cleaning. It's just grubby. Nothing major, but I don't want to machine wash it in case the label fades.

Those original labels easily deteriorate in water. Even hand washing it can damage those labels. If your original still has that label, it's worth more.

If the label is gone, washing isn't a problem.

But what about dry cleaning ?

 

[foster]

I don't find dry cleaning to be very effective with grime. In general I avoid dry cleaning altogether.
That being said, it might not hurt all that much. I just dislike the use of dry chemical to clean garments. Dry cleaning once isn't terribly bad. Repeated dry cleaning is not good for wool, in my opinion.

 

[Rutger]

MA-1 : washed in lukewarm water with some woollite.
Filling absorbs enormous amounts of water, even hanging it outside it took way way over two days to dry.
The washing part worked great though, removed heavy spice odour entirely and dirt in the neck area.

Next time I'll give it 15 seconds in a centrifuge, cerafully wrapped in a handful of bed sheets to avoid clogging and minimize wrinkling and to remove the bulk of the water into the sheets.
After that forced drying with a table fan like 5 feet away (gentle air circulation).

Works for me, others may think differently or vary on this to cope with the different behaviour of cloth vs. nylon.

 

[watchmanjimg]

I don't recommend dry cleaning nylon flight jackets unless it's absolutely necessary. These garments are constructed of a mix of several dissimilar fibers, some of which take more kindly to dry-cleaning chemicals than others. In particular I've found that dry-cleaning really beats the crap out of the cloth zipper tape, which is crucial as this is a high-stress area.

I generally spot-clean with a mild detergent and air out the jacket to remove odors. This has worked well many times.

Words of wisdom Jim. What if it's a cloth B-15 ? Obviously the same will apply to the zipper tape but what about the shell. I ask this as my original M-41 would benefit from cleaning. It's just grubby. Nothing major, but I don't want to machine wash it in case the label fades.

Peter, you may be able to hand wash the M-41 (gently) with a soap like Woolite and air dry. It's just the cotton shell and wool lining so I don't see as much of a problem there. My initial thought was to hang the garment to dry, but now I'm thinking it's better to lay it flat on a towel. Hopefully others will chime in on this.The B-15 has the fur, alpaca-blend components, and knits so I'd be leery of anything but dry-cleaning even though I'm not generally a fan. I agree with Foster that doing it once might be OK. The reality is that you probably want to avoid dirtying these jackets to the extent possible as there's no longer an endless supply of original replacements.