How to Clean a Wedding Dress at Home: Simple Guide

So you've got a wedding dress sitting in your closet that hasn't been dry cleaned and you're thinking how to clean a wedding dress at ghome, on your own...

Two years after our wedding, my dress was still tucked away in my closet — uncleaned, slightly stained, and definitely not preserved the way I wanted. Like many brides, I looked into professional wedding dress cleaning services, but the cost made me hesitate. My dress wasn’t in terrible shape, so I decided to try cleaning it myself at home.

Was I nervous about ruining my $3,500 gown? Absolutely. But with some gentle techniques, patience, and a little DIY determination, I managed to bring my lace-and-tulle dress back to life. Here’s how I did it — and how you can wash your own wedding dress at home too.

Why I Decided to DIY Clean My Wedding Dress

Cost: Professional wedding dress preservation can be expensive.
Condition: My dress only had a spray tan stain under the arms and dirt along the hem from our backyard wedding.
Peace of mind: It had been eating at me knowing my dress was sitting uncleaned in my closet.

If your dress is heavily stained or made of delicate fabrics, I’d recommend professional cleaning. But for me, mine was lace and tulle with light dirt, so I figured a gentle at-home approach could work.

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how to clean a wedding dress: my dress before cleaning it

It was dirtier than it looks in the photo below. I had a backyard wedding so there was a lot off dirt on the train of my dress.

I also had a spray tan, so there was some orange in the armpit areas. There were also some small stains/dirt on the mid-area of the dress.

Step 1: Prep the Tub

Before starting, I gave my bathtub a deep clean to make sure there wasn’t any grime or dirt. Then I filled it with warm water and added a small amount of gentle laundry detergent.

Step 2: Spot Treat Stains and soak

I dunked the bottom of the dress only into the tub and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then, I sprayed the hem of the dress with Tide stain remover (you can use any gentle stain spray) and let it sit for another 10 minutes. For tricky areas like the underarms with fake tan, I planned to hand-clean and spot treat later, as I did not want to put my entire dress in the tub under water.

Step 3: Gently Scrub with a Soft Brush

I used a soft-bristle toothbrush to work on stubborn spots. This was key — it was gentle enough for tulle but effective at lifting out set-in dirt from two years ago. I could see dirt in the water coming off the dress! I took my time here.

step 4: Spot treat other areas

Once I finished cleaning the bottom, I spot-treated the armpits and a few other areas I could see dirt/stains. I used the Tide stain remover, soaked it with water, and lightly scrubbed the stains with the toothbrush.

Step 5: Rinse and Air Dry

After scrubbing, I rinsed the fabric thoroughly with clean water and hung the dress outside to dry. I had to soak and rinse multiple times to get all of the soap and detergent off the dress. To my surprise, it looked almost brand new! The dirt was gone, the fake tan stains lifted, and the lace looked fresh again.

The Final Result

While one tiny spot still needed a little more spot-cleaning, overall my dress came out beautifully clean — and I felt so relieved knowing it’s now preserved for years to come.

I’m thrilled with how this turned out, and I feel much more confident about keeping my wedding dress in good condition. Who knows — maybe one day I’ll wear it again for a vow renewal, or even have it altered into a special anniversary dress.

Final Thoughts on how to clean a wedding dress

If you’ve been putting off cleaning your wedding dress like I did, I hope this gives you the confidence to tackle it. With patience and gentle care, you can refresh and preserve your gown at home — and save hundreds of dollars in the process. Hopefully, you've gained insight into how to clean a wedding dress from this blog post!