HOW THE PROFESSIONALS DO IT: DRY CLEANING SERVICES

Professionals provide amazing dry cleaning services. They take your clothes for a short period of time and then give them back to you fresh and clean. How do they manage to get your clothes back in shape so quickly?

There are several things that dry cleaners do to professionally take care of your clothes and remove any dirt or grime from them. Essentially, there are three types of services, which include laundering, dry cleaning services, and wet cleaning.

Laundering

Any garment that has “washable” on its care label can go through the laundering process. Laundering is advantageous because the materials used to clean the clothing are much more effective than what you use at home. In addition, when the cleaning process is complete, a pressing takes place so that the garment really looks sharp.

Dry Cleaning Services

When it comes to dry cleaning, professionals get rid of any dirt on the clothing with fluids. Water does not come into play very much, if at all. The fluids that are used are do not soak through the clothing the way water does when you toss your clothes into a washing machine. This is why it is known as “dry” cleaning.

There are several reasons why someone may choose dry cleaning services for their clothing. For one, hard to remove stains, like oil and grease, are more effectively handled through this process than if you simply use water. In addition, certain fabrics (like silk or wool) do not react well to water. They may change colors or even shrink if they are exposed to water, which is why dry cleaning is often selected instead.

The vast majority of dry cleaners utilize a solvent known as perchloroethylene, or perc. It has been around for almost 90 years, and it was originally billed as being the best option because it doesn’t catch on fire, it is not combustible, its toxicity level is not high, and it even has an environmental benefit, in that it can be recycled or reused. Lately, however, there are other solvents that dry cleaners are turning to. They work better and they are even better for the environment; for example, solvents that are GreenEarth certified fall into this category.

Wet Cleaning Services

Sometimes, dry cleaning is not the best option for your clothes. There are those that may need to go through a wet cleaning process, for example. You may not see wet cleaning on the care label for your garments; this is because manufacturers only have to put one way of caring for the clothing on the tag. Sometimes, though, there are better options that you can utilize.

Wet cleaning follows a process that is very close to dry cleaning. First, the stain is pretreated, for instance. However, with wet cleaning, water is used. The professional in charge works to make sure that the garment stays in its original condition, so it is not returned to you in an altered state.

How Is The Cleaning Process Done?

There are a number of steps that take place in a professional cleaning. The following gives you a rough idea of what may occur:

First, the cleaner looks at the care label to figure out what needs to be done.

Next, the cleaner sorts the garments depending on a few factors, including their color, how stained they are and what kind of fabric they are made of.

Third, the cleaner gets rid of dirt and stains using certain equipment and agents.

Fourth, the cleaner puts the garment through whatever cleaning method they think is best.

Fifth, the garment is pressed so it looks as close to new as possible.

Sixth, the garment is repaired if there are any issues.

Finally, the garment is placed in plastic wrapping so that it is safe while waiting to go back to the owner.

Professional cleaners have a number of other services that they can perform as well, although what is offered may vary from store to store. For example, some cleaners can keep the clothing in storage for you. Others are able to handle leather and fur. Some can get the smoke out of garments or preserve christening gowns. Finally, some cleaners can fix torn clothing as well. Simply ask to see what is available at the shop you are at.

How To Help Your Cleaner Help You?

Stains are not easy to handle, but if you have the garment treated right away, you have a better chance of getting rid of the problem. Do not allow the stain to simply sit on the clothing; take the garment to a cleaner right away to see what they can do for you. 

This gives the cleaner a better chance of eliminating the stain altogether. Make sure you tell the cleaner what the stain is, how it got on the garment and how long ago it appeared on the clothing. Make sure to point out the actual location of the stain. The more information you can give, the better job the cleaner will be able to do.

Never iron garments that have a stain. The heat may make it hard to get rid of the stain later on. Try to keep anything with alcohol in it, like perfume, away from your clothing.

If you have a set of items, like suits, get them cleaned at the same time. If there is color loss, it will happen to each piece instead of just one. While our team at Domylaundry.ca is very good at keeping the color from fading, they still advise that you clean matching items at the same time. This is just a good practice to get into and will save you quite a bit of hassle down the road.