What is Dry Cleaning? 

Dry Cleaning is a method of cleaning garments without the use of water, thus called "dry" cleaning.  In the place of water there is another solution that the garments are cleaned in.  Dry Cleaning machines are like giant washing machines about the size of a small car.  Dry Cleaning is very good at removing oil stains or stains that are soluble in a solvent other than water.  It is bad at removing water soluble stains, such as wine, coffee, ketchup, dirt, general dinginess, etc... To clean your garments and remove the stains, WE TREAT MOST STAINS BY HAND to make sure that it receives the proper mix of solutions to neutralize and remove the stains from the garment. We also wet clean and launder garments when necessary.

A Trip Through the Cleaners.

  1. When you drop off your garments at the counter, a friendly staff member will catalog your garments and then print you an invoice with all your items. Each invoice has a unique number on it and a set of tags are printed with those same numbers.

  2. Your garments are tagged and inspected one by one to make sure that we mark any stains and catch anything that requires special attention like beads, tears, rips, missing buttons, special features, leather trims, delicate accents, etc... They are then assorted into different baskets depending on when they need to be ready and if they need special attention.

  3. The garments are then prepared for dry cleaning. The stains are treated as needed by hand, delicate items are placed in knit mesh bags, and the load is weighed out to make sure the dry cleaning machine is not over crowded.

  4. Once the garments are cleaned they are re-inspected to see if the stains were properly removed. Garments that require additional cleaning are pulled aside to be spotted and dry cleaned again.

  5. The garments then move onto pressing. The garments are pressed and steamed so that they look their best. They are inspected once more for stains and anything that requires special attention.

  6. The garments are then sent down the line for final inspection and assembly. The assembler inspects each garment one by one for ANYTHING that requires attention, a stain we may have missed, a poor press job, lint that needs to be brushed off, a cracked button, any sort of damage, etc...

  7. If at any point there is something that requires special attention whether it be a stain or wrinkle, the process for that garment starts over again at step 3 or 5.

  8. After the final inspection is cleared, the garments are sorted according to the tag numbers and invoice numbers. They are then bagged and placed in line to be entered into our conveyor racks. They are now ready for you to be picked up.

 

The Journey That A Men's Shirt Takes Is A Bit Different...

  1. When you drop off men's shirts at the counter, a friendly staff member will catalog your shirts and then print you an invoice with all your items. Each invoice has a unique number on it and a set of tags are printed with those same numbers.

  2. Your shirts are tagged and inspected one by one to make sure that we catch any stains or anything that requires special attention. The stains are sprayed with a pre-spotting detergent and any buttons that need to be replaced are marked with a red tag. They are then placed into large holding bags according to the "Ready By" date of the shirts. Any shirts that require more care or are damaged are pulled to the side and not cleaned.

  3. The shirts are pulled out of the bag and then they are laid out with the collars and French Cuffs exposed so that we can brush them with a degreasing detergent. This pre-treatment helps loosen up the stains around the collars ("ring around the collar") and French Cuffs prior to cleaning.

  4. The shirts are put into mesh knit laundry bags in groups of 5. This protects the shirts while in the large commercial washing machine. The machine holds 12 bags total.

  5. After being washed, the shirts are pressed in a 2-step process. The first process presses the collars and cuffs. The second process presses out the body and the sleeves. The machines dry the shirts as they are being pressed. We do not press anything else on these machines because they are specialized to press only men's shirts. So, we cannot press a lady’s blouse on these machines.

  6. The shirts are then inspected for stains, poor pressing, broken buttons, and other things that require special attention. These issues will be addressed prior to final assembly.

  7. After the final inspection is cleared, the garments are sorted according to the tag numbers and matching invoice numbers. They are then bagged and placed in line to be entered into our spinning racks. They are now ready to be picked up by you.