dryclean vs launder - shirt question

[pebblegrain]

If you don't know precisely how well your dry cleaner handles garments (99.9% of people don't), then you should wash it yourself.

 

[stubloom]

Second response to AE7: I understand the problem. Which is why our website is so extensive and why we tell you exactly what we do, why we do it our way, and why we don't do what ordinary cleaners do. In terms that anyone can understand. What I call "Plain English". The lack of transparency in the dry cleaning industry is something that really pisses me off. Big time. It almost seems as if there is an inverse relationship between the prices dry cleaners charge and their willingness to disclose their processes. In other words, the cheaper they are, the more "secrets" and "secret processes" they have. Let me suggest that this attitude has more to do with keeping you in the dark about what they do and how they do it than it has to do with "secrets" or "secret processes". You'd probably throw up all over your brand new tweed sport coat if you were given the opportunity to observe what happens on a daily basis in an ordinary cleaner. Not only do dry cleaners fail to disclose their processes in sufficient detail and in lay terms, but most lie. Big time. They tell you one thing (essentially, what you want to hear) and then do something completely different. For example, in Phoenix, Arizona, we even have one ordinary, coupon-oriented cleaner who has always promoted himself as "organic". Yet, he dry cleans in perc at one location and synthetic petroleum at a second location. While at the same time advertising in glossy "green" magazines that he only offers "green certified wet cleaning" (i.e., cleaning your dry cleaning only garments in water). It's a fraud, a hoax and a scam...all rolled into one. Ever tell your cleaner that you wanted your wool trouser soft pressed and not machine pressed? Do you really believe that those instructions were followed and that your trouser was not machine pressed at 70 or 80 PSI like a pair of cotton chinos? Bottom line: Learn as much as you can about garment care. Then you'll be better able to interrogate your cleaner and judge the voracity of his answers. Don't be surprised if you discover that you know a whole lot more than he does. This is a notoriously mediocre industry that tends to attract mediocre operators who have almost zero interest in what they do. Most dry cleaners wouldn't care if they operated a dry cleaner or a Hallmark Card Shop. It's just an income. For more information on the issue of transparency.... Blog post:There are no secrets or secret processes in garment care. http://www.ravefabricare.com/true-qu...ment-care.aspx As regards, the use of steam, I'm 100 percent against the excessive use of steam using a steamer, particularly when it comes to fine garments. Jefferyd has previously posted the definitive position on this issue (definitive in my mind, at least). Many SFers disagree. As regards the use of a hot iron, the old cliche that to someone with a hammer everything looks like a nail applies. You must know how to use an iron, at what temperatures and for which fabrics. Quite frankly, I have no clue how to use an iron in a home environment. It's been 20+ years since I last used my home washer, dryer or iron! Luckily, I have some of the very best pros take care of everything for me...right down to my underwear and socks! For more on the use of steam.... Blog post: The myth of pressing a garment with steam. http://www.ravefabricare.com/true-qu...ith-steam.aspx

 

[bijox]

Stu, I just have to revive this thread to tell you the above post is excellent, and thank you so much for sharing this helpful wealth of information.
If you're still around may I ask if you can please recommend to me a drycleaner in the NYC (Manhattan) area? According to my forum research, the top 3 here are supposedly Jeeves, Hallak, and Madam Paulette. Do they offer the healthy garment care and proper cleaning methods (ie, using siloxane) that you talk about? Since you're in the business I'm sure you know of some place in NYC that "gets it".