Cleaning/caring for thrift store clothing finds

[Penelope]

I've recently been shopping at my local Goodwill and have found some great work clothes that I'm really happy with.

I do have a question for more experienced thrifters - I read recently in an online fashion forum some dire warnings about thrifted clothes, including a woman who commented that she had anything that wasn't washable dry-cleaned right away after she bought it from a thrift store.

This seems a little bit extreme to me. I do wash thrifted items that can be tossed in the washer, of course, but is it really necessary to dry clean a jacket, for instance, before putting it in my closet? What kinds of cooties am I risking here? How can it be worse than something new that I buy retail that has, presumably, been tried on by other people?

I bought a great vintage wool dress, a linen jacket, and a silk jacket today... all appear perfectly clean and nice and smell fine. Am I being stupid if I just hang them in the closet?

[MCsMom]

hmmmm, I'd probably just hang them in the closet as well, I have not ever got anything that is not washable. But, it probably is a good idea to have them drycleaned ASAP. I would not be so concerned about the 'cootie' but in general I don't like to let clothes be 'dirty' in the closet, so dresses and such I do have them drycleaned after wearng them.

[mich]

We live in MA and just the other day as I was bringing home a bag of clothes from the local thrift store, my husband warned me to wash them right away. It seems there is a big bed bug problem breaking out in our city. The little buggers can hide in clothes. Another option is to put items in a trash bag and let it bake in direct sunlight for a few days.

I do not want to have to deal with bed bugs, so I'm being very cautious.

[p.s]

yikes. everything i buy clothing-wise goes straight from the bag to the laundry machine, whether it's from a thrift store, Costco packaging, or fancy store. Besides just bugs, human oils, as can get on clothing from other people's fondling fingers, attract moths... which are EVIL (will eat woolens and cashmere).

[Fuamami]

I was going to say bedbugs, which we don't have here.

Otherwise, I don't think they would necessarily be cleaner or dirtier than any new clothes. Unless they have BO or a cigarette smell or something.

Could lice live that long? I don't know.

[deditus]

Other people's body oils don't bother me, but perfume and detergent smells do. And there is that whole bed bug problem. So generally things DO go straight into the wash, new or used.

[Nicole730]

If you don't want to dry clean, what about just hanging them outside overnight to air out? Although then there is a chance of getting more bugs I leave stuff to air outside overnight though and then just give it a good shake.

The idea of wearing someone else's clothes without washing them does not appeal to me, so I always wash stuff first. I don't buy dry clean only, but don't have to either. Anyway, if it doesn't bother you , I don't think it's a big deal. Everyone has their own things that are okay and not okay.

[zebra15]

The thing w. bed bugs is your area may not have them but where the donations came from may have bed bugs. Around here the thrift stores dont just take local donations. We have a $2.25 dry cleaner and I love them. To me the few extra dollars would be money well spent to possibly avoid a huge problem later on.

[hugosmoma]

yes on the bed bugs...they are very difficult to kill. sunlight won't do it. they need to be heated to 140 degress for a few hours (likewises, putting something in the average household freezer for a few days hasn't shown to be effective at killing them). what you can do that is very effective is to throw the clothes directly from a durable plastic garbage bag that you transferred your purchases in straight-away to your dryer. even dry delicates can be thrown in the washer, the key is that they are dry when you put them in. throw in a few towels to maintain the heat in the dry, crank it up to high, and cook for 30 minutes.

we have a whole story about bed bugs i picked off my kids at a hotel room, and did massive research after that. sadly, with all the news of spreading, we are stopping the library. which is terribly sad as we have 30 books at any time. i contacted the person at our head library, and she was clueless, saying she looked into it, and they are no longer keeping the clothes in the lost and found, that they go into the garbage. she told me that as far as the books, they are fine because some of them are stored in the warehouse because of the heavy library to library request transfers. we are in mn, so when it is cold, she inferred that they would be killed? people that are supposed to be researching and caring for the spread are not, so the ounce of prevention rule here is incredible. bedbugger.com. i still feel okay about shopping for clothes at thrift stores with this info. do not buy books or purses is my rule however. bed bugs like books and purses and luggage, esp (hiding places). okay, and before i go on forever, locker rooms are flashing red light! always dark, people's bags that go many places with them...

[Penelope]

<nodding>

I had not thought of bedbugs, tbh. I'll check around for drycleaning price options for things I'm not washing right away.

Thanks for the advice!

[Gray's Mommy]

EVERYTHING I buy from a thrift store is washed, dried or drycleaned. I bleach other items too. I don't want extra things coming into my clean home

[Danielle283]

I wash and dry clean clothes from the thrift store right away. I won't even try them on before washing. I volunteer there so I see how dirty the clothes can get before going on the racks. People sometimes donate them in a bag with dirt covered shoes or they'll just dump the stuff on the ground outside if we aren't open. They may not have any stains or spots, but they can be gross and germy.