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3 affordable home dry-cleaning kits that actually work

Try one the best home dry-cleaning kits

Have you ever considered adding a home dry-cleaning kit to your laundry room arsenal? Sure, sometimes a professional dry-cleaner is your best option, especially if your clothes are made of leather, fur, or suede. Or perhaps you managed to get some really tough, set-in stains, or you just can’t fit the item inside your washer or dryer. But, let’s face it: Dry-cleaners can be expensive and inconvenient. Aside from these specific situations, it’s not uncommon to want a nice, dry-cleaned suit or dress without all the hassle. Wouldn’t life be a lot easier if you could just clean your items at home? Well, sometimes you can if you invest in a home dry-cleaning kit.

Thankfully, there are plenty of kits to choose from! Though, knowing which will be right for you and your needs can be challenging. How do you choose the best at-home dry-cleaning solution? Luckily, we’re here to point you in the right direction toward some easy-to-use products to spruce up your clothing, refresh your drapes, or remove stubborn stains from your carpet.

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Multicolored scarfs hanging on rack in store

Woolite At-Home Dry-Cleaner can be a lifesaver for your finer fabrics

  • Removes odors, stains, and wrinkles
  • Safe to use on a variety of fabrics, including clothes labeled dry-clean only
  • Free of phosphates, perchloroethylene, and trichloroethylene

Using advanced cleaning technology and about 20 minutes in your dryer, this at-home dry-cleaner gently and safely cleans, deodorizes, and relaxes wrinkles without shrinking, stretching, or fading your valuable clothing. It works on most fine fabrics, hand washables, and dry-clean-only clothing, including acetate, cashmere, cotton, linen, ramie, synthetic, wool, rayon, and even silk!

Best of all, it is specially formulated to remove odors, body oils, and stains gently. This fast, easy, and bag-free cleaner kit includes individually packaged, instant OUT Stain Wipes to enhance stain removal at home or on the go, and reviewers are wowed by the effectiveness of the pretreatment spray and think this is one of the best at-home dry-cleaning products on the market. 

Person using laundry bag while cleaning linens
pen kanya / Shutterstock

Dryel At-Home Dry-Cleaner Starter Kit brings beautiful steam-cleaning tech to your laundry room

  • Starter kit can clean 20 items, and it refills can clean 40
  • Comes with the required dryer bag
  • Made with biodegradable cleaning agents

By harnessing the power of steam, Dryel can gently and effectively clean your special-care clothing, saving you up to 90 percent off the cost of standard dry-cleaning services. The starter kit even includes the required dryer bag. It is perfectly safe to use on suits, dresses, blouses, and sweaters without harsh chemicals.

There are more than 1,400 shopper reviews on Amazon (most are very positive)—including the fact that the dryer bag can hold up to five items at once (built-in bundled-up savings) and that it’s great for freshening up clothes while traveling away from home. Many point out that using Dryel can lessen the number of times a garment needs to go to the dry-cleaner, but that for stubborn stains, a dry-cleaner would be a better option. 

Carpet cleaning spray on stained carpet

Woolite Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner Stain Remover is great for even the toughest of stains

  • Cleans, refreshes, and eliminates odors on carpets and upholstery
  • Discourages re-soiling in the same area
  • Comes with a fabric-safe brush attached

This 4-in-1 cleaner not only cleans, refreshes, and eliminates odors on carpets and upholstery but also helps prevent future staining. Advanced stain-lift technology lifts and removes tough pet stains, including urine, vomit, mud, and feces, with patented odor elimination that helps neutralize even the strongest pet odors.

With more than 13,000 Amazon reviews, this is one of the best at-home dry-cleaning solutions for carpets and upholstery. Shoppers love its ability to remove tough stains and how easy it is to use. A little goes a long way, and one shopper claims that she used barely one-quarter of the product to clean an entire chaise lounge. 

Face it: There are times you’ll need the expertise of your neighborhood dry-cleaner to handle your valuable clothing or household fabric items. But you don’t always have to leave your dry-cleaning to the pros. The right home dry-cleaning kit can significantly cut your number of visits and dollars spent on costly dry-cleaning services for the items you can treat yourself. Now, all you need is your washing machine, and you’re good to go.

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Kim Renta
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kim has written for Bloomingdales, Movado, and various e-commerce wine sites. When she's not writing about wine and…
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