Cleaning a Bunad Before 17 May – Be Early

Does the bunad need cleaning – or just airing?

Few bunads need a full clean before every 17 May. Wool is self-cleaning for odour, so a thorough airing and brushing, plus a wash of the linen shirt, often does the whole job. Save the proper clean for when the garment truly needs it – over-cleaning wears the wool and colour unnecessarily. Run through the list; if one point applies, professional cleaning is the safe choice.

• The wool has set-in stains that don't lift with a gentle dab.
• The bunad smells soaked through with smoke, cooking or sweat even after airing.
• There is visible, general soiling or greying of the wool.
• The garment is going into long storage afterwards – clean storage is the key moth defence.
• You are unsure about a stain, a colour or a fibre – then professionals are safer than experimenting.

Freshen the bunad yourself before the day

Much of the preparation you can safely do at home. The point is to freshen without washing the wool, and to handle only the parts that can take it.

1. Air the bunad in fresh air away from sun and damp for a day or more, so most of the odour goes.
2. Brush off dust, lint and hair with a soft clothes brush, well clear of embroidery and silver.
3. Relax creases with steam – in a steamy bathroom or with a garment steamer held slightly off the fabric, never straight onto the embroidery.
4. Gently hand-wash a genuine linen or cotton shirt and apron in lukewarm water with a mild detergent, if you know they are colourfast – the wool body is never home-washed.
5. Polish the silver gently by finish: bright silver with a silver cloth, while oxidised and gilded silver is only wiped with a soft, dry cloth.

A fresh stain on the day? Blot, don't rub

If you get a spill during the celebration, the first minutes matter most. Do less, gently – the worst outcome is a stain you set or rub in yourself, because it becomes much harder for professionals to remove afterwards.

1. Blot gently with a clean, white cloth from the outside of the stain inwards – never rub.
2. No heat: no hot water, no hairdryer, no ironing over the stain.
3. No bleach – chlorine destroys wool and colour.
4. On a fresh water spill you can dab with a barely damp white cloth, then stop.
5. Leave the rest until after the day, and tell professionals exactly what the stain is.

Be early – and skip the rush

17 May is the bunad day itself, and demand for cleaning, repair, alteration and silver work concentrates in the weeks before mid-May. Spring's confirmations and weddings pull the same way and create the same rush. A bunad handed in with time to spare is ready for the day without stress – and should you need a small alteration or repair on top, there is time to do it properly. 'Be early' is the whole message: plan ahead, don't leave it to the last minute.

• Constitution Day creates a peak – the cleaners fill up before 17 May.
• Spring confirmations and weddings pile onto the same demand.
• Early drop-off leaves room for cleaning, repair and alteration in one round.
• Fresh stains from last year's wear lift more easily than ones left to set for a whole year.

Send the bunad to us in good time

If the wool bunad truly needs cleaning, it is a job for professionals – we choose the method that suits the garment, so the wool neither felts, shrinks nor loses colour, and the embroidery and shape are preserved. You can send the bunad to us from anywhere in Norway, and if the silver is to be polished, or something repaired or altered, you write the wish in the comment field. You see the price before you order. And the most important thing before Constitution Day: be early – the cleaners fill up before 17 May.

Frequently asked questions