My friends said I shouldn’t dry clean my ski wear. They were wrong.

Guest contributor: Nathan L., Alexandria, VA

On the slopes in my dry cleaned ski apparel. Thanks Crest!

Every year I head up to Vermont for a ski trip with my college buddies – and every year I come back with a pile of soggy ski wear. I’m no Bode Miller, but I like to think I tackle the slopes pretty well and handle the powder like a pro. That is, until I get back to normal life and am faced with stacks of dirty ski gear and apparel. A number of people tell me they never wash their ski wear or, if they do, they wash it very infrequently. Dry cleaning? Never, they said.

While it’s true you don’t need to wash your ski wear after every adventure down the mountain, I just couldn’t get behind the idea that it never needed to be washed. The best ski apparel is breathable, and these fibers can easily become clogged with sweat and grime – not exactly something I want against my skin after festering for a year. That left me with one question: if I wanted to wash my ski wear, how should I do it?

Ski clothes are big and bulky. The coin-operated washers and driers in my apartment building basement just aren’t up for the challenge. What’s more, a lot of powder detergents, fabric softeners, conditioners, stain removers, and bleach, combined with the heat and motion of the wash cycle, can degrade both the clothing material and the special polymers used for waterproofing. That means the investment made in good-quality gear (and believe me, ski apparel isn’t cheap) wouldn’t last more than a couple seasons. I needed a better solution.

Enter: Crest Advanced Dry Cleaners. I’d been taking my suits and dress shirts to Crest for years (I know they deliver, but it’s no trouble to drop off my stuff on the way to work). So, after last year’s trip with the boys, I asked them what they thought about dry cleaning ski wear. Most dry cleaners shouldn’t attempt it, they said (most cleaners use harsh chemicals that strip the waterproof coating from your apparel). But most cleaners aren’t Crest. Their advanced dry cleaning method – using a non-abrasive, odorless silicone solvent – carefully restores clothes to their cleanest without any damage. And it’s environmentally friendly, too!

Needless to say, I now leave all my ski apparel with Crest after my annual venture north. Clean ski gear that lasts from season to season? Yes, thank you.

Additional helpful tips:

• Make sure you thoroughly go through your pockets before dry cleaning your ski wear. There are a bunch of hidden zippers and compartments where you can forget lip balm, tissues, cash, hotel room keys…you get the idea.
• Remove (cut off or untie) any lift tickets or passes.
• Store your ski wear after dry cleaning in a cool, dry place, so it’s ready when you next hit the slopes.