5 Things You Should Know About Drycleaning!

Its true! Care labels are wrong the majority of the time.

A recent online article from the UK tested 5 dryclean only garments and found that 4 of the 5 washed just fine. Check out that article here.

I could have told you that without all the time and effort. At our cleaners, well over 80% of items we process are washed or wetcleaned (wetcleaning is just a way of describing a extreme control of detergents and agitation during cleaning, similar to hand wash at home, if you know what you are doing).

So here are a few secrets you may not know about drycleaning: -

1. Care labels are often wrong. We often test clothes before cleaning to ensure care labels are correct. - 
2. Cashmere sweaters wash (hand wash) beautifully. We dryclean them because the water creates a time consuming requirement of blocking and drying flat. If you have the time, go for it. However washing cashmere well at home takes tender loving care, patience and a little practice. - 
3. Odor does not come out in drycleaning. Its true! If a drycleaner wants to remove an odor, they must wash it or use a textile deodorizer. So if you take a garment to the drycleaner with the hope that the odor will be removed – LET THEM KNOW. Your drycleaner should thank you for the information. They want you to be happy with the result. - 
4. Wash structured garments at your risk. In the article she washed a wool jacket. This is what we drycleaners call “structured garments.” I would never recommend washing that at home. 
5. There should be no dryclean odor in your clothes.  The only reason to air out your clothes after drycleaning is because the plastic is a petroleum product - DO NOT STORE YOUR CLOTHES IN DRYCLEAN PLASTIC! 

There was also little mention in the article regarding the finishing of the garments. Your drycleaner has very specialized equipment that can remove wrinkles, set finish and shape garments easily and quickly after cleaning. I wonder if she just got lucky with the items she chose – silk typically needs finishing (it is normally quite wrinkled after cleaning – even when line dried) and cashmere must be blocked and dried properly to minimize wrinkles and shrinkage.

So it comes down to How much time do you have? Where do you want to be spending your time? How much expertise to you have? (stain removal, pressing) How many items are you willing to risk? 

A good drycleaner is a trusted resource. We study stain removal, garment construction and fibers and weaves. The trick is to find a good drycleaner

What You Don't Know About Wrinkle Free Shirts

This is a guest post by Don Desrosiers of Tailwind Systems.

Ruth Benerito

The idea of wrinkle-free/ wrinkle-resistant cotton rings a bell to those who hate ironing those shirts all the time. After all, if cotton shirts can be made to resist those unwanted creases and wrinkles then why even bother with regular cotton? This is the very idea that early researchers and garment manufacturers were tinkering with when synthetic fabrics such as nylon were beginning to replace cotton. Cotton manufacturers had to find a way to market cotton as the favorable choice of fabric. During the 1950s and 60s, a chemist and researcher named Ruth Benerito, made notable accomplishments in producing easy-care cotton fabrics.  The good news was that garments made by this new process were wrinkle-resistant- it did not have to be ironed. The bad news was that this process required the use of formaldehyde- a harsh chemical often used for preserving dead animals and body parts and classified by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency as a probable carcinogen.

 There are generally five different methods used to produce wrinkle-free cotton: pre-cured fabric, post-cured fabric, dip-spin, spray method, and vapor phase. The main goal is to artificially swell the fabric by applying formaldehyde and heat so that instead of curling, the diameter of the fiber increases and makes it straight. While many of the issues associated with the use of formaldehyde in treating fabrics have been corrected through research during the past few years, and while the use of formaldehyde has been reduced, it has yet to be eliminated. Even the most popularly used resin, DMDHEU, which was meant to reduce the concentration of formaldehyde, is nevertheless a type of formaldehyde. In addition, wrinkle-free fabric has a reputation of being stiff and uncomfortable to wear. Many people also find that wrinkle-free garments still require some ironing due to the creases that form in some areas.  This is good news for drycleaners because it keeps them in the loop, at least to some extent.  Furthermore, for customers used to finely pressed cotton, an un-ironed “wrinkle-free” shirt, isn’t up to par.  This perhaps puts you, the consumer, in a disappointing place.  Wrinkle-free sounds like you might not need your drycleaner as much, but this doesn't turn out to be true.  

Many consumers fail to realize or simply do not care about the harsh and toxic chemicals that are being used in the products they use every day and researchers are still in the process of studying the long term health risks associated with being exposed to such chemicals. While society moved on to the 21st century, everything was manufactured and marketed to be fast and less time consuming. However, this sort of mindset comes with costs. While wrinkle-free means no more ironing, it also means a higher risk of health hazards associated with the toxins being used. Until researchers come up with more health-and-environmentally-friendly methods for producing wrinkle-free cotton, taking some time to iron those shirts don’t sound so bad after all.

 Natural Finish vs. Wrinkle Free Cotton

The best shirts are made from the finest 100% cotton, using Pima, Egyptian or other long staple cotton fiber. They will use a minimal amount of chemical finishes. The best quality shirts are not made of wrinkle free cotton. Aside from the potential health risks, the heavy use of chemical finishes that are necessary to achieve the performance, greatly diminishes the natural properties of cotton that have made it the fiber of choice in the better shirt world. These are facts that everyone buying shirts today should know.

Wrinkle free performance is achieved in 100% cotton by changing the cottons natural properties through the application of chemicals called resins. Most if not all of these resins contain formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a toxic chemical with proven links to cancer. These resins coat the fabric and are actually baked onto the fiber. It is only of late that people have started to question the negative consequences of wearing apparel that has been so heavily treated with chemicals.

Government Study Regarding Health Risks

A recent study mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and prepared for the US Congress by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) indicates that the formaldehyde based resins used in wrinkle free cotton shirts may be hazardous to one’s health. Here are some highlights of the report issued in August of 2010:

The GAO specifically stated: “Some clothing – generally garments made of cotton and other natural fibers – is treated with resins containing formaldehyde primarily to enhance wrinkle resistance. Formaldehyde is toxic and has been linked to serious adverse health effects, including cancer, and some federal agencies have regulations that limit human exposure which occurs primarily through inhalation and dermal (skin) contact.”

Many countries limit the amount of formaldehyde that can be in apparel. Among them are Germany, France and Japan. For some reason, the US does not.

Japan has among the strictest limits, allowing no more than 75 parts per million for shirts.

The GAO study tested for formaldehyde levels in 166 apparel items randomly chosen throughout the US over various apparel classifications, from outerwear to sweaters to shirts.

9 items of the 166 tested exceeded the Japanese standard. Of those 9 items, 5 were marketed as being wrinkle free or resistant. The worst item was a wrinkle free cotton dress shirt that was almost 3 times the limit.

The GAO specifically stated: “More than half of the items we had tested that exceeded these limits were labeled as having fabric performance characteristics related to durable press (wrinkle free), which may indicate the use of resins that contain formaldehyde.”

The characteristics that have made cotton so popular in the better shirt world are greatly compromised by the vigorous processing required to achieve wrinkle or stain resistant finishes. The baked on coating of the resins actually changes the natural performance characteristics of the cotton fiber. Arguably, for all practical purposes the fabric is no longer cotton because breathability and absorbency are greatly diminished making the shirt far less comfortable and unable to defuse natural perspiration.

The process weakens the fabric, which makes it wear faster at cuffs, collars and elbows and makes it more susceptible to tearing at seams.  How many times have you seen that lately and assumed that it was your drycleaner's fault?

The appealing natural feel of the fabric is compromised. The coated fabric often has a slick, synthetic, sometimes harsh feel to it. Especially in warmer conditions.  Cotton doesn’t absorb a spill like it used to and you can’t dry your car with it anymore.  That’s because the cotton is coated and unnatural.

The vibrancy of color is diminished. The fabric is coated; therefore there is film over the fabric that diminished the vibrancy of the original colors.

Lastly, it should be further noted that wrinkle free shirts eventually lose their wrinkle free feature. The performance that is achieved when the garment is new diminishes over time and is usually entirely exhausted after 25-30 washings.

Wrinkle-free shirts may not be what you think they are.  Hopefully, you've been enlightened.  

Don Desrosiers has been in the laundry and drycleaning industry since 1978.  Desrosiers is a monthly columnist for The National Clothesline, Korean Cleaners Monthly, The Golomb Group Newsletter, NEFA’s Headlines and More and Australia’s The National Drycleaner and Launderer.   He is also a contributor for DLI’sFabricare Magazine and other regional industry publications.  He is a member of the Society of Professional Consultants and is the 2001 winner of IFI’s Commitment to Professionalism Award.  He is an occasional teacher at DLI, and a frequent speaker at industry gatherings where he lectures on Management Philosophy, Shirt Laundering, Business Management and Labor savings.  He has a corporate website at www.tailwindsystems.com and can be reached by telephone at 508.965.3163 and via email at tailwind.don@me.com.

                           The following is an newsletter provided to DLI members (the                              Drycleaning and Laundry Institute) Find out more about the DLI here: http://www.dlionline.org/

 

Just after the holiday season, retailers bet the bank that you’re not all shopped out. They want to draw you in with their after-Christmas sales, such as the white sales for bedspreads, comforters, sheets, and linens. Perhaps the impulse to redecorate your bedroom will draw you to their store or website.

A bedspread is an outer covering for a bed that goes over the sheets and blankets. It is usually a

decorative component of the bed set.

A comforter is a quilted bed cover. The cover consists of an outer face fabric, a center batting (usually a fiber mat or down), and a backing fabric. These three layers are held together with a stitched pattern or simulated stitching. The comforter may be used for decorative purposes, like a bedspread, or in place of a blanket.

Unlike clothing care labels, which provide instructions for how to properly care for the garments, the Federal Trade Commission’s Care Label Rule does not require permanent labels on home furnishing fabrics. Most bedspreads and comforters are sold with care instructions on a hang tag, a temporary label, or on the packaging.

 

Six Secrets to making your Household Textiles Last!

While we are clothing care experts, we also know a thing or two about household textiles, which, in addition to bedspreads and comforters, include draperies and curtains, blankets, upholstery, slipcovers, decorative pillows, rugs, and heirloom textiles.

To protect and prolong the beauty of your household textiles, remember these basic tips:

          1. Protect all furnishings from sunlight, fumes, and pets.

          2. Damage, like tears, should be repaired immediately.

          3. Vacuum and/or brush to remove dust regularly.

          4. Follow the cleaning recommendations.

          5. Do not allow the item to become extremely soiled, and have any stains removed immediately.

          6. Do not store household textiles that are not clean and stain-free.

One Final Note (Caution, a strong opinion is coming - from me - not the DLI)
Ditch the dust ruffle!  They act as filters and catch dust lint and debris.  Unless you clean them regularly, every other month, they are not clean.  They are difficult to remove, difficult to clean and they keep the dirt trapped right at your bed where you spend hours sleeping and resting.  In my opinion, they are a health hazard!

So You Think You are Paying Too Much at the DryCleaners . . .

I was at a party recently, and a friend of mine commented on how they stopped using our drycleaning service several times.  He felt we were too expensive.  However, each time he very quickly learned that price and value are very different things.

We are known as the most expensive cleaners in town (to which I could make an argument to the contrary. However, that would be another blog post).  I will say that with 4 generations of drycleaners behind us, the true question here is the discussion of PRICE vs. VALUE.

80% of the items we take care of at the cleaners, are items that our clients could clean and finish themselves, at home.  Silks, rayon and cashmere are all (usually) hand washable.  The majority of items we recieve are cotton items - shirts, blouses, dockers, sheets, tablecloths etc.

What is the difference between Value and Price?
ONE NOTE: Clothing is one of the best values we have right now!  The cost of that Kirkland sweater is likely the same price you should pay to clean it locally.  Offshore production and big box retailers have changed the consumer habits around retail items.  Our Nordstroms has dropped the St John Knit label and our Saks is now selling dresses for under $200!  
Unheard of value (and fodder for a future blog on the deterioration of quality in retail garments). 

Convenience

• What is your time worth to you.  We are all busy these days. As I get older, I notice that my time is becoming more and more valuable to me. We are all looking for ways to get more done in less time.

• If you currently do not use a drycleaning service, how much time do you spend cleaning items, and finishing them? I have yet to meet someone who can finish a man's cotton shirt in under 15 minutes (if you can - I would consider offering you a position!)

• How much time do you spend driving back and forth doing errands each day?  How many of those errands are actually necessary?  There are small ways to organize your life so you can enjoy more of what you like and experience less of what you don't.

A typical drive to the drycleaners is 10 minutes each way with 5 minutes in the shop - so just under 1/2 hour.  But you have to go twice; one to drop off and once to pick up.  That is about an hour of your time spent in the process.  What else could you be doing in that hour?

How much time do you spend doing laundry?  Folding, sorting, and then discovering that you missed a stain, or worse, your daughter somehow snuck a crayon in your load, or a lipstick, and all is ruined!

What if you could automate this task?  How much would it be worth?  I would reason that the time and gas money would make the service worth a minimum of $20 per week - and do you realize many fine cleaners offer this service at no additional charge? 

Peace of mind -  

• What is the result of your purchase?  Are you certain the work has a satisfaction guarantee?  That if anyone could get the stain out, or the pressing right, it was the person who is providing that service?  (that would include you)

• Does the finished product make you look good?  Is it clean, and wrinkle free - Showing your style and personality instead of a loose seam, discoloration or last weeks lunch?  Missing buttons are another standard problem - replacing a button can take longer than finishing a shirt!  Who has a needle and thread these days.

• What percentage had stains or other damage after cleaning that made them unusable?  Or more common these days, embellishments (like wood beads, sequins) that bled or were damaged?

• Drycleaned garments last longer.  Water is the most aggressive solvent there is, even more so than traditional drycleaning solvent.  Just look at the way the power of water formed the Grand Canyon!  More than 90% of items give up the farm during the cleaning process, it is the natural progression in the life of a garment.  But did you know that a drycleaned shirt will have a life at least twice as long as a hand washed shirt?  The colors will last better and with drycleaning you can clean more often to protect the garment from perspiration (a silk killer), sun damage, fume fading ect! 

• And when something does "die" is the problem addressed honestly and fairly?

This blog began as an explanation of why the right drycleaner is often a better choice even when they are a little more expensive than the alternative.  It is true - the cost of ruined clothing can be expensive AND (even more importantly) stressful. 

I also have clients that split their orders.  They send the cheap stuff to the cheap cleaner (who doesn't pick up and deliver) and save their favorite items for us to care for.  While I understand this, I often wonder how much effort it takes to manage and recall where all their items are.  Every week we take calls from people looking for clothes that we never received.  Often, we can locate the clothes by calling our competitors!

The right cleaner will save you time and money - both the kind you can quantify like I did above, and also in ways you will never know - because that's what we do.  We provide a convenient service that appears effortless to the consumer - that in reality takes experience and intense attention to detail.

So how do you find a great cleaner if you aren't lucky enough to live in Santa Barbara?  Well, quality knows quality. . . so ask at your quality retail stores and, of course, always ask you well dressed friends!


 

Beware the Care Label!

Beware of The FTC Care Label

In the US, garments are required to have a care label indicating a method of cleaning.  While most garment manufacturers take great pains to give you reasonable care label instructions, there is no law stating that the care label has to be correct.

That said, these are a few care label instructions where I would avoid buying an item if I saw it on the label:

• Spot Clean Only- this means the garment must be cleaned inch by inch, by hand! It is time consuming and costly. This instruction works best for a dark color garment and one that you plan on wearing only once on special occasion.

• Dry Clean Exclusive of Ornamentation- this means your cleaner must remove all the trim, buttons, bows and other ornaments BEFORE the garment is processed, and then sew them back on again. Another time intensive and expensive process, and at times, not even possible.

• Two Distinctly Different Label Instructions- if the care label on the garment’s lining calls for washing and there is another label on the face fabric that suggests dry cleaning, your cleaner will have to remove the lining in order to process in accordance with the Care Label instructions. You don’t want to know how much that would cost.

• DRYCLEAN ONLY. DO NOT TUMBLE. AIR DRY AT 100º it is virtually impossible for an environmentally friendly drycleaner to follow this instruction.

• And for men's shirts - avoid any thing that says cold water, or cool iron.

For those of you who want the details behind the FTC. . . here you go http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/textile/carelbl.shtm

Clothing Storage Tip

Last night I was at dinner and the subject of drycleaning came up.
We were discussing the basics when I mentioned that you should never store your clothes in the plastic bag that the drycleaner puts over your clothes. That bag is just meant to protect your clothes on the journey from the cleaners to your closet.

My friends were so surprised by my statement, I thought maybe I should tell more people.

I can think of three major reasons why you should never to store your clothes in plastic (drycleaners call it poly)

1. The plastic that drycleaners put on your clothes is a petroleum product. It is a chemical that outgasses. These gasses can and will permeate your clothes. I have had customers bring clothes back because of the unpleasant odor. They believed it was a residual drycleaning solvent smell. I had to assure them that we do not use traditional drycleaning solvent - so drycleaning chemicals were not the cause of the odor.

2. The plastic captures moisture that can foster the growth of molds and/or mildew. These can ruin your clothes and infest your closet!

3. The bag can trap atmospheric gasses that can cause color change on your garments over time. Fume fading often hapens in closets over time - but leaving your items in the plastic will accellerate this process

How should you store your items?

If it is heavy, like a bulky sweater or knit dress. Don't store it on a hanger. Gravity does a lot of damage! I like to roll the items with a piece of acid free tissue and wrap it in a clean peice of material - like an old pillow case.

In the closet, that same pillow case works wonders. Cut a hole in the top and put it over the item - it protects it from light and dust and will cause no harm. A clean sheet will also do the trick.

And perhaps the most important question. . . . what to do with all that plastic?
Film plastic is not currently being recycled in most areas - so before putting it in the recycle bin - you may want to call and make sure it is being accepted and not just put in the land fill. I always recommend giving it back to the cleaners. The better ones have a recycling plan, and if they don't - the more people that return the plastic, the more likely they will be to consider it.

Check out my blog "take the plastic back" from a few years ago:

Take the Plastic Back!

Thanks - and have a great day!

New app to help with dry-clean errand!

I am a long time Verizon user and have been longing for an iPhone for years! Recently, I purchased an iPad. And I love it! Unfortunatly, my burning desire for an iPhone has only increased as I experience the usefulness and fun aspect of the iPad applications also known as apps. From google goggles, to star gazer, from vuvuzuela to pull my finger, these apps range from the useful to the silly.
Apps are elegant and fun to use.

So what does this have to do with Drycleaning? Well, I just ran across the dry-clean only app! I have downloaded the lite version for the iPhone on my iPad, and so far, it looks pretty useful. Enter in your receipts when you drop off your items. . . And get a push notification 2hours before your pick up time.

Pretty cool!

If you want true convenience, get pick up and delivery Drycleaning service -you can still use this app for that.
So far, this app only has rated 2 stars. I was so excited that it existed, I wanted to share immediately.

Click here to read about this app: http://www.nightclubapps.com/2010/04/23/dry-clean-only-nightclub-apps-review/

If you have any experience, positive or negative, with this app please share with us!
Thanks and happy cleaning!

Have a problem with odor in you clothes? Read this!

I ran across this article and thought it some of you may benefit from this information.
I posted my 2 cent response, and was impressed by all the ideas.

It's mostly accurate, but please don't use infused vodka for removing odor, and use caution on any dry-clean only garments.

http://corporette.com/2010/06/08/when-drycleaning-just-doesnt-help/

Ruined Clothes: What does a drycleaner owe you?

Buyer Beware!

I ran across this article this morning that I thought was well put together and a good reminder for all drycleaning consumers. It was fair and had all the right information. In a nutshell, a woman took her sample wedding gown into a cleaners to be cleaned before the wedding, and it came back ruined. She is now out over $1000 and the cleaners is doing nothing.

Ruined Clothes: What does a drycleaner owe you?

One important thing not addressed was; How much did Gigi's French Cleaners Charge for the gown cleaning?

Now I know on the surface, this looks like the cleaner is all wrong. And maybe he is. But all cleaners are not alike. It takes a tremendous amount on training to clean gowns that are intentionally manufactured to not be cleaned (hence "spotclean only")

In 2010, a full wedding gown cleaning should cost between $200-$400 dollars. That's how much it cost to be able to 1) afford the proper training, 2) take the time necessary, 3) honor the error and cover the cost of any possible damage. The Association of Wedding Gown Specialists has members that can replace panels, and have even ordered replacements for brides (from damage by the client that was irreparable).

When taking treasured items into a cleaner, YOU should 1) check the reputation of the cleaners - the BBB website is an easy way to see, 2) ask a clothing boutique (in this case she could have asked where she purchased the gown) and 3) Remember, you get what you pay for. I believe if you that spend less than 8% of the new cost of the clothes - you may not be getting the service you should. For example: If you have a $1000 Armani suit, and you are paying less than $80 to have it cleaned. . . . then you may just end up getting what you paid for, a ruined suit with no compensation.

10 Things Your Drycleaner Wants you to Know! Here is a GREAT article!

Usually when there is a dry cleaning article in the general press, it is very negative. However in this case I want to show everyone I meet the article.

The only downside is the name. Rather than "10 things your dry cleaner won't tell you" I would call it "10 things your dry cleaner wants you to know!


http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Shelter/Organizing-Cleaning/10-Things-Your-Dry-Cleaner-Won-t-Tell-You.html

To Hand Wash or Dryclean? 5 Secrets to Success when Hand Washing!

I am getting this question regarding "hand wash vs dryclean" more often and the answer is more complicated than you may expect. Some items hand-wash beautifully! But there are risks.

I always recommend you take your items to the drycleaner!


Why? 2 reasons: 1) Cleaning items always involves (at least a small) risk. And a trusted drycleaner has the experience and training to minimize these risks - and - worse case scenario - if something were to go wrong, a reputable drycleaner should help resolve any issues. and 2) How much is your time worth?

Many items people believe are dryclean only, really are not! Cashmere and many silks hand wash beautifully! That said - here are the solutions to the most common issues in hand wash!



RULE #1: NEVER HAND WASH AN ITEM WHEN THE LABEL READS "Dryclean Only" or "Do Not Wash!" They mean it! And beware the trim and other add-ons. Often a label will read . . . excluding trim (watch for this with leather trim!). I recommend not buying garments with labels like that - it means there is no way to clean that garment!

Risks: Water is a harsh solvent. Water may cause fabrics or linings to shrink, colors and trims to bleed, older fabrics, or heavily soiled (old stains) may rinse our with holes. Certain fabrics do not wash well - acetate and velvet come quickly to mind! And I would leave any leathers to the professionals. It is always a good idea to test a garment before committing the entire piece into the bath!

5 factors to consider when Hand Washing:


1) Stains: When you clean with water, BEWARE! If there are stains, and you do not remove them, they are likely set for life!



2) Pilling: Unfortunately, the price you pay for a sweater and whether or not it will pill are unrelated. Expensive garments are often made from poor quality yarn fibers that break easily. You can reduce pilling by turning it inside out before dipping - dry flat. A razor or shaver can do wonders. I do not recommend the stone or tape, both of which can make the problem worse.



3) Wrinkling: Hard wrinkles are normally created in the dryer. Do not overdry clothes - they should be slightly damp when they come out of the dryer AND do not overload the dryer OR your washer! Line drying can cause the same issue - the sun can overdry and/or bleach your clothes. Often these wrinkles become permanent! Wrinkles should be removed promptly - especially in knits - Once set they may become permanent.



4) Color Fading: Natural fibers do not hold color! That is why jeans fade so easily. Silk is also a natural fiber. Today's polyesters are amazing, and I would recommend that if you prefer black or navy shirts, to consider one of the new blended materials. Cold water and light drying (see above) are also recommend!



5) Color Bleeding: This applies to both trims and black (red or any bright color) and white prints. The only way to be sure is to test. And then you still can't be sure! Dyes are supposed to be fixed by the manufacturer - but often this doesn't happen. You can fix the color by soaking it a color fixative, but it is not always possible. I recommend consumers take item that fails back to where you bought it - I never understand why people forgive retailers for selling non-cleanable items. If more people held clothing manufactures accountable - perhaps the problem would lessen.. . . . .

Whoops - guess cleaning is in my blood, and I can't help having a (strong) opinion on the matter!

Save Time & Money, Read Garment Care Labels!

Did you know that in the US, the FCC requires that all wearable garments must have a care label attached, that offers at least one method of cleaning the garment?

There is no law that the method stated need be correct, but that at a minimum, law requires clothing manufacturers to try and give consumers a method to maintain the item. While this may sound odd, it is better than many other countries that require no such thing!

When you go shopping for clothes, take a moment to look at the care label. You can save yourself time, money, aggravation, and disappointment.

Most garments have a written care label, a content, and a symbol. All 3 give valuable information.

A few examples of written care labels:

Do not launder, do not dryclean, spot clean only: These items cannot be cleaned, so be prepared. This is often the case for polypropylene jackets or fancy gowns with lots of ornamentation. There are some cleaners that specialize in these sort of garments, however, it will all be by hand. Don't expect miracles on the stains, but do expect to pay a lot of money for cleaning, if you have that kind of cleaner in town!

Cold water wash, cool iron: This one is fine if you are doing your laundry at home. But if you are buying a shirt that you expect to have laundered for under $2 or $3 dollars, this wont be it. In fact, if you take it to the drycleaner - it most likely (not always) will be considered dryclean. This is one of the many reasons women are charged more for blouses. Does your blouse have this care label? Then the cleaner will likely dryclean it!

Do Not Dryclean: Clear enough, but if you do take it in for cleaning - point it out!

Clean by zirchonian (or wedding gown method): I have no idea what that is (I suppose I shouldn't admit that, but I have never met anyone with a strong explanation!). I think some old time wedding gown manufacturer tried to trade mark his "cleaning method" and got the name on care labels. Genius marketing! I read it the same as wedding gown method, which, I take to mean "BE VERY CAREFUL!" I love cleaning fine gowns, and many people are surprised that I wet clean at least 50% of the gowns, silk included. Beads, and other adornments often make gowns uncleanable in traditional drycleaning and the trains get incredibly dirty when dragged on the floor. Water is a great solvent for food and wine!

How and Why to Read The Material Content

• For labels that say cool water wash, the next step is to look at the fiber content. If the garment is over 50% polyester - well that's plastic and it will melt in commercial laundry



• Spandex (usually 2% to 5%) Also plastic, it needs a "cool" iron. This translates into drycleaning prices. Again, if you do your own shirts at home - its no problem. Home irons are always cool. But cotton blend shirts cannot be cleaned for a commercial laundry price!



• Rayon, tensile, viscose these are all derived from plant materials and considered dryclean only, cool iron materials



• Metallic, This is a new material being used in very fashionable circles that is giving the drycleaning world headaches. Typically the care label is dryclean only. At this point, I would not buy a garment with metallic. The problem is that metal and material shrink and stretch due to temperature in very different ways. This can create a very wrinkled look. Sometimes that is the intention and sometimes it is not. As a drycleaner, metallic is the one material that bothers me, because there is a good chance that the care symbols will be wrong! This is because the manufacturers are still trying to figure it out. They had the same issue with Spandex when it was first introduced, and I know that a lot of angry customers blamed their cleaner for a manufacturing issue!

Why you should read Garment Care Labels

Ever wonder what those strange symbols are in the labels of your garments?

Well you should! Taking just a minute to review that label may make the difference between a favorite peice and a nightmare at your drycleaners!

One of the best tips I can give you is ALWAYS look at the label before you make a purchase . . . For example; Prada has just come out with several gorgeous pieces - if you look at the label it says "do not dryclean, do not wash, no steam." If you get any soil or spills on this item, it very likely may be the end of the garments life.

$500 is a lot to spend for a garment you will only be able to wear a handful of times. You may still want to purchase the item (they are gorgeous!). And now you are making a fully informed decision.

In the US, garment care labeling is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. They REQUIRE manufacturers to list at least one acceptable means of care for the garment. NOTE: There is NO requirement that the label needs to be correct, there is NO requirement to indicate what should not be done to clean the item ("Do no dryclean" for example). However, even with these shortcomings, at least in the US, we have care labels. Other countries often have no care/content label at all.

Better dryceaners will always read care labels. However, because of the shortcomings listed above, they may not always follow them exactly. They are really used as a guideline. For example, many silk and some cashmere sweaters can be cleaned with water. They feel and look wonderful when cleaned that way properly. However the label may have said "dryclean". BEWARE - the water temp, agitation and detergents must be carefully controlled. I am not suggesting you throw your cashmere sweater in the washer with some Woolite!

So now onto explaining how to read those little labels.
A circle typically indicates drycleaning. Letters inside the circle represent the type of drycleaning solvent. Tub shaped symbols are often a form of machine or hand washing.
Numbers within the tub represent temperature in degrees Celsius. The iron symbol of course relates to ironing and the dots inside the iron correlate to temperature. An "X" over any of these symbols prohibits the use of that process.
There are some fabrics that tend to be difficult to care for regardless of the care label and require special precaution. These include:

1. Sueded or Sand washed Silk (think Tommy Bahama)
2. Appliqued, beaded or otherwise embellished garments (I once had a metal piece that melted in the dryclean machine! I still wonder what that "metal" was made of!)
3. Brightly died pigskin sued (it cannot be repainted like leather)
4. Printed fabrics that only have print on on side

Better drycleaners use creative cleaning methods not normally in use by conventional drycleaners. They also have considerable ongoing training for new materials and experience. There is no substitute for desire and experience

13 Secrets About Drycleaning

I LOVE this article - it is a no BS, reality of drycleaning. If you take this advice - your drycleaning experience will improve!

1. Lots of "dry" cleaning isn't. "We do about 24 percent of garments in water," says Chuck Horst, president of Margaret's Cleaners in La Jolla, California. Perspiration doesn't come out otherwise. ----Sasha's note: "we do closer to 40% wetcleaning - Dockers, polo's, shorts, fleece - are all often better cleaned in water - but it is NOT the same as "WASHING!"


2. It's not your gender, it's your clothes. Women's clothes—silk, special trims, buttons, slacks without a crease—can take more work and cost more too.

3. Yes, we use perchloroethylene (perc), and it's a probable carcinogen. But it's the best thing we have right now. If you can smell it on your clothes, they weren't cleaned correctly.

4. Most green cleaning is more green than clean. "Green Earth, a silicone-based cleaner, is safer and friendlier," says Steve Boorstein of clothingdoctor.com, "but it doesn't remove the multitude of stains that hydrocarbon and perc do."

5. People never remember to pick up their comforters. That's why this place sometimes looks like a Bed Bath & Beyond.

6. You blame us for damage, we blame your clothes. Instead of court or the Better Business Bureau, we'll suggest the International Textile Analysis Laboratory (SASHA's NOTE: Now called DLI, http://www.ifi.org/), run by our trade association. It's independent (honest!), and both sides get a report.

7. We've got our own definition of replace. We follow the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute's Fair Claims Guide. For a dress shirt that's a year old, that means 40 percent of the actual replacement cost. Sasha's Note: And 2 years/45 cleanings is the gaments full life!

8. Your lost clothes are probably in someone else's closet. We'd really prefer not to write you a check. (And if we say we have to get in touch with our insurance company, we could be stalling, hoping the clothes will turn up.)

9. Many of us will reuse your intact hangers and clean shirt cardboards. (Thanks.)

10. If we're charging you premium rates, please … let us sew that button on.

11. We're not raking it in. The machinery is expensive. The people who press your silk shirt get up to $20 an hour. It's a skill.

12. We've heard stories about dry cleaners who borrow a customer's dress for a weekend. But we're sure they return it clean.

13. The best clothing store in town can recommend the best dry cleaner in town.


From Reader's Digest - February 2009

Laundry/Handwash/Wetclean: Whats the difference?

A common customer complaint is - "why did you charge dryclean prices when I asked for these items to be washed?" (For a look at the best deal at the cleaners check out "Shirt Laundry" in a previous blog.)

The answer lies in the finishing (as we have touched on before). 80% of a drycleaners cost is due to the labor and time consuming process of finishing. The price category "Drycleaning" does not necessarily mean an item was cleaned in drycleaning solvent. For example, most drycleaners define "wetcleaning" as "drycleaning with a little water".

Laundry/Machine Wash/Hand Wash/Wetclean . . . all terms apply to the cleaning of garments in water. So why are there so many terms? There are subtle differences you should be aware of.

Laundry is the most general of the terms. A textile is cleaned using water as the solvent

Machine Wash, as defined by the Federal Trade commission, is a process by which soil may be removed from items with water, detergent, soap, agitation, and a machine designed for the purpose. When no temperature is given, hot water up to 150F is used.

Hand Wash is defined the same as machine wash with the exception that a gentle squeezing action is used in place of a machine.

Wetcleaning is a term used to describe the extension of the range of hand washing for the purpose of restoring a garment. The majority of these techniques involve soaking for extended periods, tightly controlled chemicals, temperature and agitation. This technique is not readily available to the general public and require extensive experience to avoid garment damage.

Pay less to clean your shirts!

I want to illuminate one of the most frequent complaints I hear about drycleaners.
“I wanted my shirt laundered. Why did you dryclean it? I don’t want to pay 3 or 4 times what you charge for the laundered shirt!”

Even worse – the public often get the impression that their cleaner charges more for women’s clothing than men’s. That is illegal! Unfortunately, the clerks working at many cleaners don’t understand why the prices are what they are. Poorly trained Customer service reps re-enforce this common misconception.

Before I address the WHY, here are my tips for buying shirts so that you won't experience this:



First: Buy 100% cotton! Rayon, spandex blend, silk, etc. CANNOT BE Machine Finished! The machine has 400F plates that close on the WET material. These materials melt, tear or otherwise cannot withstand the process!

Second: Select shirts with standard buttons. - Pearl buttons, snaps, etc. will break or melt!

Third: Do not buy shirts with pleats, tacks, ornamentation or linings that can flop around.

Lastly: Buy your shirts between a size 6 and 12 - anything too large or too small SHOULD cost extra because it won't fit on the machine.

Shirts can be finished by 3 methods: Machine Only (Least costly), Touch up - Machine and then touched up with an iron (More Labor intensive), Hand Finish - Ironed the old fashioned way (If you have ironed your own shirts, you know what I'm saying when I say this is the most labor intensive. A skilled finisher with the best equipment can still take up to 15 minutes to properly iron a linen or cotton blouse!)

The reason drycleaning is expensive is because of the time, supplies, labor and utilities involved.



So the natural question would be "Why don't they make machines for other types of clothing?" Well there is no garment as uniform and frequently used as a man's dress shirt.





I hope this photo of the shirts as they come off of the machine (no touch-up) make my point. Every one is a different brand. Some are short sleeve, some are button down. But they are notably all alike.



Try this with women's blouses and you will begin to understand your drycleaners dilemma!

So let's review why these shirts are so inexpensive: First off, shirts are not dried. There are no utilities necessary to dry the shirts, because they are pressed wet. The shirt machine is “dressed” with a wet shirt, and then 2 400 degree hot metal plates close on the shirt drying and pressing it at the same time.

So besides the savings in natural gas (which is huge, by the way!) one person can press over 50 shirts an hour!!!! Try that on your ironing board at home. Even with all the fancy technology, pressing a rayon, silk or even (I should say especially) a cotton or linen blouse takes up to 10 minutes. Cotton and Linen hand pressed shirts are even more time consuming.

That being said, shirt pressed by machine feel different. They are a little stiffer than hand finished shirts – That is the your preference.

Also, shirt that are machine finished only last (according to the Laundry & Drycleaning Institute) 52 washings. That is a life of one year if you wash your shirt weekly. Hand finished shirts will not wear out that quickly.

The key to avoiding this:Communication!

AND

You get what you pay for (and what you want)!

How to Remove a Stain

First: Never put water on a dryclean only garment in an effort to remove a stain!

Water stains are best removed with water - anything put on a stain will have to be removed. I know, most people has heard that soda water bubbles will lift a stain - Don't believe it!

Ink: Ink is combination of chemicals. One will come out with water and the other will not! Once the chemicals have been separated - the ink becomes permanent. Hairspray is water based, so even if it get the ink out - you then need to remove the hairspray stain. Most small ink stains can be removed by a skilled drycleaner. However success also depends on the fastness of the color in the garment. Natural fibers - cotton and silk for example, do not hold dyes very firmly making these sort of stains difficult to remove on brightly colored garments.

Second: If you feel the need to apply an at home stain remover, REFRAIN! Again, most of these products are water based and will need to be flushed with water. This is not a good idea for dryclean only garments.

Third: You can blot the stain with a clean towel or napkin. Do not use paper napkins, or worse, colored paper napkins - the color may transfer to the garment and cause damage.

Fourth: Do not rub a stain. This will cause abrasion or de-luster the fabric - so it is no longer a stain, it is then fabric damage. You may also work the soil into the fibers making the stain more difficult to remove. Blot or pat the stain to remove the excess.

Fifth: At home dryclean kits do not remove soils. They freshen with deodorants and at best remove dust.

Sixth: Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda are wonderful natural whiteners for your regular laundry. They are do not contain the toxic ingredients of many store bought bleaches and cleaners. Be sure to read the instructions and not over use them.

Seven: Sunshine is a wonderful disinfectant - leaving items outside in the sunshine for a short period (less than an hour) works as well today as it did in your grandmothers day. Drycleaning alone does not remove odors but sunshine will. But be warned, the sun is very damaging and can bleach garments and weaken fibers if they are left out too long!

In the end, I am advocating leaving stain removal to the professionals. They have access to more chemicals than you do at home and they have experience with all sorts of fibers and soils. Some stains that are impossible to remove at home - make-up stains and salad oil for example, are relatively easy for the drycleaner to remove because oil based stains come right out in the drycleaning process. One of the many lessons I have learned over the years is that nothing is simple. Every garment is unique - weave, material blend, dyes -- and every stain is unique, and is best left to the professional.

3 Facts Your Drycleaner thinks you know

If you go to the drycleaners regularly, you will eventually have an issue. Perhaps this is the reason drycleaners have such a bad reputation with the public. I believe that these occurrences are the best way to determine if you have chosen the right cleaner for you. This is really an opportunity for you.

ANY concern you voice should be taken seriously! It may or may not be the drycleaners fault (they may not be able to know at first blush) - but they should care that you are unsatisfied.

Wear and life - Just like your car when you drive it off the lot, your clothes loose value with every passing day. The FTC and IFI (the laundry and drycleaning institute) publish guidelines that state most garments have a life of 2 years. Even leathers have a lifetime of 10 years. If you love vintage clothes - be sure to tell your cleaner the age of the item. The cleaner may not want to clean it because it is not their specialty. That's OK. You can find another.

Your drycleaner assumes what you drop off is drycleanable - This is often not true. Hand painted garments often can not be put in a dryclean machine. Another example, many Tommy Bahama silk items must be cleaned exactly according to care labels or else the dyes will fade or bleed.

You get what you pay for - Many cleaners limit their liability to 10 to 20 times the cost of cleaning. This is a well established guideline and is often printed on your receipt. This is fine if you have dockers or other main stream items cleaned. However, if you regularly take your $4000 Armani suit, or Dolce Gabbana dress to be cleaned, your clothes may not be getting the attention they need. Be sure to always let your cleaner know if you have these sort of expensive items.

How to Impress Women

PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU PRESS YOUR OWN SHIRTS!
We can tell if you don't get your shirts professionally laundered. They just don't have that crisp finished look. The lines on the side or arms are a dead giveaway, or maybe its that slightly fuzzy look that gives it away. These days lots of guys are wearing funky dress shirts over jeans. Its a great look! But if its wrinkled (not the wrinkled look - big difference), we wonder "why can't he spend $3 to get a shirt pressed? His time must not be valuable."

I was recently fortunate enough to attend a networking group that consisted of (mostly) very successful (read millionaire) Internet businessmen. It was a fascinating experience! They were all there to network and get ideas from each other. It quickly became clear that they were driven to be successful in ALL aspects of their lives. Many were married and work life balance was discussed more than once. At one point they got so specific as to ask the question "how can I make sure my wife (partner, etc) feels loved when I work such long hours and travel frequently?"

Now as a woman, I have heard this story countless times from the other end of the conversation. I found this discussion really impressive. One recommendation struck me as brilliant in its simplicity; no matter whether both partners work or not, get a house keeper. If you are never home and never clean or do dishes etc. resentment will build in your partner. But if you are home - it is more important to have quality time, rather than spend it cleaning toilets.
Wow! So simple and so true

After the epiphany of the house cleaner, I started questioning how many of them used drycleaners, and of those that did, did they have pickup and delivery service. Actually, I could tell right away that most of them did not use a cleaner. Most were wearing dress shirts and it was apparent that they (turns out it was their wife) did the laundry.

Now the age range of the group was 25 - 50 and the over 40 crowd seemed a little more savvy about drycleaning. However many of the younger ones had never even consider it. When I asked if they could think of a more tedious time consuming chore than laundry, I got the impression most of them didn't do their own laundry. Suddenly a light went on - while they already had a housekeeper, they could also get the laundry sent out. What about sheets? Khakis?
They found a new way to be successful and a hero at home! And it was simple.

These were entrepreneurs that made their living by selling their ideas - that pretty much applied to everyone there. How they looked would be key to making a sale to investors, customers (if they met them in person) or their wives. And every one of them wanted to look as successful as they were (Don't get me wrong there won't be any suits anytime soon) and make life better for their family.

What is important in life? All these success stories put their family, their time and their image at the top of the list and that is exactly what a drycleaner can do for you.