Dry Clean vs Wash Cost Calculator

Lifetime care cost comparison from garment type.

Garment purchase price ($)

Dry cleaning cost ($)

Cleanings per year

Garment type

Comparison period (years)

Tab to move between fields

Dry clean total cost ($)

$580.00

≈ 6 nice dinners out

Home wash total cost ($)$109.00

Cost per wear (dry clean) ($)$9.67

Cost per wear (home wash) ($)$2.23

Annual savings ($)$94.20

Break-even garment price ($)$1,884.00

Dry clean recommended (0/1)0

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Garment purchase price ($), Dry cleaning cost ($), and Cleanings per year.
Set Garment type and Comparison period (years).
Review the Dry clean total cost ($) ($) result.
Use Home wash total cost ($) ($) and Cost per wear (dry clean) ($) ($) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Comparison period (years)

Garment purchase price ($): Original purchase price of the garment.
Dry cleaning cost ($): Cost per dry cleaning visit for this garment type.
Cleanings per year: How many times per year the garment needs cleaning.
Garment type: 0=Suit/blazer, 1=Dress shirt/blouse, 2=Dress/gown, 3=Coat/jacket, 4=Casual wear.
Comparison period (years): Number of years to compare total care costs.

Dry clean total cost ($): Total cost of dry cleaning over the comparison period, including garment replacements.
Home wash total cost ($): Total cost of home washing over the comparison period, including garment replacements.
Cost per wear (dry clean) ($): Per-wearing cost including cleaning and garment depreciation with dry cleaning.
Cost per wear (home wash) ($): Per-wearing cost including cleaning and garment depreciation with home washing.
Annual savings ($): Yearly savings from choosing the cheaper care method.
Break-even garment price ($): Garment price above which dry cleaning becomes more economical due to lifespan extension.
Dry clean recommended (0/1): 1 if dry cleaning is more economical overall, 0 if home washing is cheaper.

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Garment purchase price ($) = 100, Dry cleaning cost ($) = 8, Cleanings per year = 12, Garment type = 1 = 5 input(s) provided
Calculate Dry clean total cost
Dry clean total cost = dryCleanTotalCost + (dryCleanReplacements * garmentPrice)
580 = $580
Calculate Home wash total cost
Home wash total cost = homeWashTotalCost + (homeWashReplacements * garmentPrice)
109 = $109
Calculate Cost per wear (dry clean)
Cost per wear (dry clean) = dryCleanCostPerVisit + (garmentPrice / (lifespanDryClean * cleaningsPerYear))
9.67 = $9.67