Shirt Laundry
At RAVE FabriCARE, we consistently deliver the cleanest,
brightest and finest hand-ironed shirt in the Southwest.
And, unlike ordinary cleaners, we do this all without
brushing, bleaching, boiling and baking the life out of your fine
shirts.
Jermyn Street Shirtcare is the fine shirt laundry division of
RAVE FabriCARE, a fabricare specialist based in Scottsdale,
Arizona.
Now, with our local pickup and delivery service or
our nationwide clean by mail service, the art and
science of caring for fine shirts is, literally, right on your
doorstep.
Why, you may ask, do we process your shirts with such
extraordinary care?
"No brushing. No bleaching. No boiling. No Baking."
Because the majority of the shirts we care for are either
custom-made, made-to-measure, or are manufactured by serious shirt
makers such as Borelli, Brioni, Carnali, Charvet, Lorenzini and
Zegna; Harvie & Hudson, Hilditch & Key, New & Lingwood,
Thomas Pink and Turnbull & Asser; Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman,
Neiman Marcus, Paul Stuart and Wilkes Bashford.
Shirts of this quality dictate extraordinary care. This way
they'll still look their best after 100 plus cleanings. Instead of
being thrown out or consigned to the charity bin after 25 to 35
cleanings -- the "industry standard."
Don't Settle For Ordinary
Truth be told, any ordinary cleaner can "clean and press" a
shirt. In 6 hours or less.
But there's much more to crafting extraordinary shirts than
jamming them in a washer, injecting hot water and harsh, caustic,
industrial grade detergents, banging them out on a shirt pressing
machine, creasing the sleeves, and stuffing them in a bag.
This is the factory approach to cheap, fabric destroying shirt
laundry.
We're Different. Very Different.
First, we clean your fine shirts in our odorless,
dermatologically friendly, fabric gentle drycleaning fluid. This is
the only way to safely and gently dissolve oil-based
stains -- such as body oil, creams and lotions, and other
grease deposits -- without scrubbing your collars and cuffs with
nylon brushes. This is also the only way to ensure that, when your
shirt is finally hand-ironed, those body oils and grease deposits
don't transform or oxidize through heat into difficult-to-remove
yellow stains.
And the dryclean fluid we use? The same type of fluid --
siloxane -- that we use for "dryclean only" designer,
high fashion, specialty and couture garments.
Fact is, our dryclean fluid is so gentle it's used as a base
ingredient in many personal care products you apply to your skin on
a daily basis. Such as shampoos, antiperspirants, deodorants and
moisturizing creams. So gentle you can wash your hands in it.
Next, we soak your shirts in special solutions to relax the
fibers. And release soil and water-based stains.
For a minimum of 12 hours (24 hours for shirts with french
cuffs).
One of New York's renowned custom shirtmakers offers this care
tip on his website: "Allowing a shirt to soak ... reduces the
amount of scrubbing needed to remove soil, therefore reducing wear.
The longer it is permitted to soak, the better the
results."
Why is soaking critical to the care of fine shirts?
Because soaking reduces the wear and tear that
would result from the use of conventional washing techniques (aka
the scrubbing/hot water/industrial detergent/bleach method).
Here's some background ...
The tightness of the weave and the
thickness of the fibers in fine shirts requires an
increase in the time it takes for the water and detergents to
penetrate the fibers and release the soils and water-based
stains.
In addition, the sensitivity of fine shirts to bleaches
and high temperatures requires the elimination of all
bleaches and a lowering of wash temperatures.
Unfortunately, the removal of soil, oil-based stains and
water-based stains using conventional commercial washing techniques
requires an extended wash cycle, coupled with the use of aggressive
detergents, bleaches and hot water. All no
no's.
And the net result of these conventional washing techniques? An
acceleration in the wear and tear on your fine shirts.
Now you know why soaking is critical.
After soaking, we gently launder your fine shirts in
specialized, computer-controlled wetcleaning machines, where
microprocessors control water temperature, cylinder speeds,
mechanical action and moisture removal to exacting
specifications.
What's more
- We launder your fine shirts in presoftened water only.
- Our water temperature is warm, never hot.
- We only use gentle enzyme detergents from Sanitone®, the
premier manufacturer of fine drycleaning and wetcleaning detergents
in the USA.
Our Sanitone enzyme detergent is
- pH balanced. Because it's free of alkaline detergent residues
your fine shirts will have a pH close to that of human skin. This
makes them hypoallergenic.
- Fragrance free. So its suitable for the chemically
sensitive.
- Phosphate free. So it's biodegradable
RAVE FabriCARE is the exclusive licensee of Sanitone products
in the Phoenix metro area.
- We never use brighteners or bleaching agents such as
chlorine or peroxide in our wash cycle. Brighteners and bleaching
agents fade colors and weaken fibers.
- We never use fabric softeners.
- We never overload our wetclean machines. This reduces the
possibility of abrasion which can damage the fibers of fine
shirts.
- We never launder your fine shirts together with other items to
be wetcleaned. Zippers, metal buttons and other rough surfaces can
damage fibers and cause pilling.
- We rinse your fine shirts multiple times in cold water to
ensure that they're free from irritating chemical residues.
After laundering, we starch your shirts to your preference using
the finest, natural wheat starch. And hand iron them to
perfection, paying particular attention to the collars,
cuffs, front and sleeve plackets, side and sleeve seams, underarms,
body to sleeve seams, sleeve to cuff seams, pockets and
epaulets.
Finally, they're carefully inspected and packaged. Never more
than 1 shirt to an extra-wide bag.
A Hand-Ironed Shirt? Not!
Some ordinary cleaners claim that they
routinely hand-iron all their laundered shirts.
Can this be true?
Of Course it's Not True.
Show us a cleaner in the metro Phoenix area - other than
RAVE FabriCARE - that routinely hand-irons all your laundered
shirts, and we'll show you pigs that fly!
By way of background, here's what happens to your laundered
shirts - even at the so-called "better cleaners"...
Your shirt is laundered using conventional washing techniques -
scrubbing; hot water; harsh, caustic, industrial grade detergents;
and bleaches.
Then it's pressed on a series of machines: one for the body, one
for the sleeves and one for the collar and cuffs. Typically, at the
rate of 40 to 50 per hour.
Finally, your shirt is "strategically touched up" by hand ...
if deemed necessary ... if you're lucky. And then,
typically, only on the sleeves and underarms.
This is the shirt that's passed off to the
customers as a "hand-ironed laundered shirt" or a
"hand-finished laundered shirt".
Unfortunately, a 1 to 2 minute touched up laundered
shirt is not an 8 to 12 minute hand-ironed
laundered shirt.
To qualify as a hand-ironed laundered shirt, the shirt must be
PARTIALLY steamed by machine and then COMPLETELY pressed by
hand (that's a "hand-ironed laundered shirt"). Not
COMPLETELY pressed by machine and then PARTIALLY touched up by
hand ... if you're lucky (that's a "hand touched up
laundered shirt").
At RAVE FabriCARE, every laundered shirt is hand-ironed.
As a matter of routine. Not machine pressed and
then strategically "touched up" ... if deemed necessary ... if
you're lucky.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we'd never pass off a machine pressed
laundered shirt as a hand-ironed laundered shirt in the hope that
you'd never know the difference between a $1/$2 machine pressed
laundered shirt and a $5/$6 hand-ironed laundered
shirt.
What We Don't Do
Now that you know what we do, let's tell you what we
don't do ...
At RAVE FabriCARE, we don't abrade your collars
and cuffs by scrubbing them with nylon brushes. (Ordinary cleaner
response: "Sorry, but how else do you expect us to get your collars
and cuffs reasonably clean?")
We don't wash your shirts in hot water.
(Ordinary cleaner response: "Sorry, but how else do you expect us
to attempt to dissolve the body oils and grease deposits?")
We don't use harsh, caustic, industrial grade
detergents. (Ordinary cleaner response: "Sorry, but how else do you
expect us to attempt to try to get the stains out?")
We don't add fabric-destroying bleach to our
wash. (Ordinary cleaner response: "Sorry, but how else do you
expect us to attempt to get your whites white?")
We don't starch your shirts with cheap
synthetic glue that adheres to your shirt's fibers like multiple
coats of paint. (Ordinary cleaner response: "Sorry, but what do you
expect us to use? A premium wheat starch?")
We don't bang 'em out on a machine at the rate
of 40 to 50 an hour and then claim that our laundered shirts are
hand-ironed. (Ordinary cleaner response: "Sorry, but what more do
you expect for 79¢ or $5.00 a shirt?")
We don't crease the sleeves of your shirts.
(Ordinary cleaner response: Sorry, but how else to you expect us to
cover up the tell-tale signs of our poor machine pressing?)
We don't return your shirts with puckered seams
and wrinkled underarms. (Ordinary cleaner response: "Sorry, but
what do you expect? A hand ironed shirt?")
And, we don't stuff 'em in a narrow poly bag
like sardines in a can. (Ordinary cleaner response: "Sorry, but why
should we bother with the packaging on the outside, when we have
little regard for the shirts on the inside?")
At ordinary cleaners, these shirt travesties are called
"standard operating procedures". And the results? A
machine mangled, dishwater dingy shirt. That'll last 25 to 35
cleanings, at best (that's the "industry standard"). Before you're
forced to throw them out or consign them to the charity bin.
Say Goodbye To The "Slept-in" Look
And what if you're traveling or like to stack your shirts
vertically on shelves? How do you maintain the pristine condition
of your shirts and avoid that rumpled, "slept-in" look typically
associated with folded shirts from an ordinary cleaner?
The answer is simple: RAVE FabriCARE's hand-folded,
air-cushioned shirt.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we'll carefully fold your shirt in half. Not
in thirds, like ordinary cleaners. By hand. Never by
machine, like ordinary cleaners. We'll cushion the folds
with sheets of acid-free tissue. And support the body and collar
with a special shirt board and collar band. Finally, we'll seal the
shirt in a heavy gauge shirt bag with a "built in" cushion
of air.
So go ahead. Manhandle your folded shirts. Stuff 'em in that
suitcase. You'll find that the RAVE FabriCARE folded shirt travels
beautifully. With practically no wrinkles or creases.
All shirts that arrive at RAVE FabriCARE through our nationwide
clean by mail service and are assigned to our Jermyn Street
Shirtcare shirt laundry division are always folded in this
manner (unless you request otherwise).
That's the brief low down on what it takes to produce a truly
high quality shirt.
Now that you know some of the things we do,
you'll also want to learn some of the things we don't
do.
Trusted. Nationwide.
Any ordinary cleaner can "clean and press" a shirt. In 6 to 8
hours. But only RAVE FabriCARE crafts an extraordinary shirt.