Why the bag has to come off
The plastic bag your dry cleaning comes home in has one job: keeping the garment clean between our counter and your closet. It is not storage material and it was never intended to be.
Left on, poly traps whatever residual moisture is in the fabric and in the air around it against the garment. In a humid climate that is a mildew risk on natural fibres. Over longer periods the plastic itself can off-gas and cause yellowing, which is particularly visible on white and ivory fabrics and on the shoulders where the bag sits tightest.
So take it off when you get home. If you want the garment covered — reasonable for something you wear twice a year — use a breathable cotton garment bag instead. Cotton keeps dust off while still allowing air exchange, which is the combination you actually want.
Hangers matter more than people think
A wire hanger concentrates the entire weight of a garment onto two narrow points at the top of each shoulder. On a jacket or a structured dress that produces a visible dimple or pucker within months, and on knitwear it is much faster. It is not recoverable by pressing because the fabric itself has been distorted.
Use wide wooden or thickly padded hangers for tailored jackets and coats — they should be roughly as wide as the garment's actual shoulder. Trousers are better hung from the cuff on a clamp hanger so gravity pulls the crease straight, or folded once over a bar. Skirts want clip hangers at the waistband.
Knitwear should not hang at all. Sweaters, cashmere and anything with weight and stretch will elongate under their own weight — fold them flat on a shelf or in a drawer instead.
The poly bag comes off at home. Every time.
Give the closet room
A closet packed so tightly that garments compress against each other causes creasing that pressing has to undo, and it restricts the airflow that lets fabric release moisture. Leave enough space that you can slide a hand between items.
Keep tailored clothing out of direct sunlight — sun fades dye and weakens fibres, and a garment that hangs in a sunbeam for a year will show it along one side. Avoid storing anything long-term in an attic, basement or garage, where temperature and humidity cycle dramatically. A closet inside the climate-controlled part of the house is the right place for anything you care about.
Seasonal storage, done properly
Clean everything before it goes away. This is the rule that matters most and the one most often skipped. Invisible perspiration, body oil and food residue continue to oxidise in storage and set permanently, and they are specifically what attracts clothes moths and carpet beetles — moths are far more interested in a soiled wool coat than a clean one.
Then store breathable. Cotton garment bags or acid-free boxes, never plastic bins sealed airtight with natural fibres inside. If you use cedar, understand what it does: cedar oil repels some insects while the scent is strong but does not kill larvae, and it needs light sanding every year or so to stay effective. It is a supplement to cleaning, not a substitute for it.
Written by the staff of FabriCare of Greenville, a family-owned dry cleaner with three stores and its own plant in Greenville County, South Carolina. Our spotters and pressers are trained in-house, and the advice here reflects what we see across the counter every week rather than what reads well online. If you have a garment you are unsure about, call the store nearest you — inspection is free and we will tell you honestly what is possible.