The best deal at your local drycleaner is cleaning a standard men's cotton dress shirt. In the industry it's known as a "commercial laundry." However, I learned a long time ago that everything has a trade off. In this case it is the wear and tear on your shirts. And if you have fancy shirts, you may want to reconsider having them cleaned this way.
Better cleaners will scrub the collars and cuffs before putting your shirt in the wash. All cleaners will wash the shirts (detergents may vary) and then press the shirt. I do not call it ironing because it is not ironing. These shirts will not go into a dryer. They are dried by the pressing process which is a big hot metal plate, the size of a standard mans shirt, that clamps down on the shirt. This results in a crisp smooth finish that many people love. However it is hard on the shirt. The life of the shirt that is cleaned this way is between 36 and 52 washings.
Any shirt with fancy buttons or snaps, tapering, loose plackets can be damaged by this process. Many shirt materials such as corduroy, linen, seersucker or flannel cannot be processed this way without being damaged (or looking really bad) and only shirts that fit on the special machine can be processed this way.
When I was first entering this industry I had the opportunity to visited the New York Turnbull & Asser store (where they make fancy shirts.) I asked them "why they put those little bubble in the tip of the collar, when all commercial laundry equipment just flattens it right out?!"
By the look on the associates face, I had just said something horrible.
It was clear he thought the drycleaner (me!) was irresponsibly cleaning their shirts. The Turnbull & Asser people fully expect that every shirt would be cold water wash, gently dried and hand ironed. This service is often 3 times as expensive, or more!
So here is a HUGE disconnect between the maker of the clothes and the cleaner. I believe in an effort to provide value, the cleaner has unknowingly done a disservice to their customers.
So how much should you pay to have your shirts cleaned?
Well, that depends on your preferences an how long you want them to last.
What is your time worth? Hand ironing takes time, and time is one resource that we can't get back!
When in doubt, ask your cleaner - we are here to help you take care of your wardrobe.
