The When-to-Wash-It Handbook: Winter Edition

Wool Coats

How often you should wash them: one to two times a season.

Washing guidelines: If it’s your everyday coat, clean it twice a season to keep it from looking dingy. Special-occasion coats may need to be taken to the cleaners only once before storing to deter moths. Occasionally, use a stiff brush, like the Caldrea clothes brush ($30, caldrea.com), to remove surface debris, and spot-clean the collar and cuffs with a damp cloth and mild soap.

What else you should know: To keep odors at bay, “when you take off your coat, hang it up where air can circulate, like on an entryway coatrack, not crushed in a crowded closet,” says Cobb. Or zap lint and smells in one step with the Bounce Lint and Freshness Roller ($5 at drugstores).