Cleaning Your Santa Claus Suit
The holiday season has come to an end, and we hope that all of you had a terrific season! With that being said, I can bet your Santa Claus suit has been thoroughly worn and is ready to be cleaned and put away until your next booking. Children are sweet but they are not always the most thoughtful when it comes to cleanliness. Even if your suit looks unsoiled, we highly recommend you launder it before storing.
We took a poll on Facebook to determine what method many of you use to clean your suits each year. Only 1 out of every 6 responses hand wash their suits. The other 5 out of 6 take their suits to the dry cleaners. We received a lot of insightful information, and we thank those of you who participated. There's certainly benefits to both options.
Hand Washing Santa Suit
Hand washing your suit will be more time consuming, but it may also give you peace of mind that it won't be harmed by harsh chemicals.
When washing your suit it's very important that you never fully submerge the entire suit. Keep the white fur white by only spot cleaning areas that need it. Be sure to use separate wash cloths for white and red areas.
For a more detailed explanation and step-by-step instructions, check out how to clean your Santa suit.
Dry Cleaning Santa Suit
Taking your suit to the dry cleaners will certainly be less time consuming than hand washing. We recommend this option, as long as you choose a cleaner with experience.
Try seeking a dry-cleaner that specializes in cleaning wedding dresses. Those with wedding dress experience tend to know exactly what chemicals will and will not work on the delicate suit materials. Also, be sure to tell the cleaner to go easy on the chemicals, because too many can cause damage. You should be good with taking your suit to the cleaners just once a year at the end of the season before you store it.
Santa Steve says "I use dryel about once a week and my suites look as clean and smells as fresh as coming from the cleaner. No bleeding on the fur either."
Choosing a method to use when cleaning your suit is entirely up to you. At Costumes for Santa, we highly recommend dry cleaning. It's not that we think you can't do it, it's just something we say to leave to the professionals. We'd hate to hear that you attempted to clean it yourself only to end up with a suit that now has bleeding dye or matted materials.
How To Store Your Santa Claus Suit
Storing your Santa suit is important to ensure that when you're ready to pull it out for your next event, it's suitable for use right away. Air circulation is essential in making certain that the suit stays smelling great and looking good too. Make sure all items are stored in a cool, dry area with plenty of room to avoid wrinkles.
- Hang Santa suit on a padded hanger. Make sure you snap, zip, and secure all closures.
- Clip Santa pants to a skirt hanger so they will hang naturally throughout the year.
- Do not fold your belt. Hang it on a hanger straight or lay out completely flat to avoid creases.
- Keep out of sunlight to reduce color fading. Make sure the area is also not too humid.
- ​Store hat, boot covers, gloves, and other small miscellaneous items in a box with the lid off. Air circulation is important for all pieces of your Santa suit.
