Getting your fur coat cleaned on a regular basis can ensure that it will last as long as it should. While you can take your fur coat in to be cleaned at any time, you will want to be sure it is cleaned before it goes into storage for the warmer months. This will ensure that nothing happens to it while it is in storage. While you can spot clean the fur coat yourself if you are careful, there are some cleaning processes that must be done by a furrier instead.

Tumble Treating

Furriers don’t throw your fur coat into a giant washing machine with soap and water. This would damage your fur coat instead of clean it. Instead, the coat is put in a tumbler with saw dust and a special cleaning solution. The coat is tumbled with these items to remove dirt and debris from the fur. After the tumbling process is done, the coat is put in a tumbler with mesh sides to remove all the saw dust and cleaning solution from the coat.

Steaming

After the tumbling process, the coat must be steamed with a special steamer. This will remove the saw dust that has become trapped in the hem and other areas of the coat. However, it is important to understand that this steaming isn’t the same kind of steaming you can do in your home with an iron.

Glazing

The final step in the cleaning process is the glazing process. During this process, a special tools is used to “iron” the fur coat. However, instead of flattening the fur and removing wrinkles from the coat, this type of ironing will actually help the fur stand up the way it should. It will also separate all the fur strands to help them look the way they were originally. This process is similar to the effect you see in your hair when there is static electricity in the air.

The process of cleaning fur coats is quite different than cleaning other types of apparel. In most cases, it is important to have your coat cleaned by a furrier so you don’t inadvertently damage your coat. This will ensure that your coat lasts a long time. The better care you provide your coat, the longer your coat will look like new. Fur coats can be expensive. Keeping it properly cleaned protects your investment for the future so you can pass on your coat to future generations.