You've invested time and money in a quality wardrobe or in a few
prized bespoke, made-to-measure, designer, specialty and couture
garments. And you want to maintain that wardrobe and those garments
in pristine condition. Looking, feeling and smelling great. And
lasting much longer.
Like most, you'll probably turn to a "professional cleaner" for
help.
So what are your drycleaning rights? And what you should expect
from a cleaner?
- The right to garments that are exceptionally clean and free of
both oil-based stains (such as body oil, creams, lotions, salad
dressing, steak sauce, etc.) and water-based stains (such as
perspiration, soda, juice, wine, etc.)
- The right to spectacularly bright whites, creams and
pastels.
- The right to colors that are rich and lustrous, without that
"washed out", faded look.
- The right to renewed, revitalized fabric textures that feel
butter soft.
- The right to cottons and linens that have been drycleaned as
you requested or as specified by the care label. Not washed and
dried in a dryer.
- The right to garments with absolutely no dry cleaning solvent
smell. Ever.
- The right to garments with absolutely no fragrance or perfume
smell.
- The right to garments that are meticulously finished. Inside
and out. By hand. Not by machine.
- The right to garments that are carefully and thoroughly
inspected. From inside to outside. From top to bottom.
- The right to garments that are professionally repaired whenever
feasible.
- The right to a complete set of matching buttons that are secure
and not scratched, chipped or cracked.
- The right to garments that are individually and elegantly
packaged using hangers and other packaging materials that support
the integrity of those garments.
And how can your cleaner achieve the results?
- By pre-spotting every garment instead of just
loading all garments into a dry cleaning machine and maybe
post-spotting them. Pre-spotting is targeted stain removal by a
skilled technician prior to cleaning the garment in a dry cleaning
machine.
- By cleaning your garments in an odorless, crystal clear,
dermatologically-friendly, fabric-gentle dry cleaning fluid
instead of a fabric aggressive, dye stripping,
toxic solvent like perchloroethylene (aka perc) or synthetic
petroleum, the solvents used by 97% of all cleaners.
- By drycleaning your cottons and linens as you requested or as
specified by the care label instead of wetcleaning
or washing them and tossing them in a drier.
- By operating their dry cleaning machines with zero moisture,
zero fragrance and zero sizing instead of
injecting moisture, fragrance and sizing into their dry cleaning
solvent.
- By gently hand-ironing your garments instead
of machine pressing them.
- By conducting a detailed inspection of every garment prior to
packaging instead of a cursory look over, if
any.
- By employing a skilled, on-site tailor or seamstress to make
all necessary repairs instead of assigning the
task to a customer service representative.
- By packaging your garments individually and using the finest
packaging materials instead of stuffing them in a
bag and using materials that "look pretty" but aren't technically
aligned with and supportive of your garments over the short and
long term.
- By taking the time to do the job right (3 to 5 days in most
cases) instead of routinely offering same and next
day service or 3 day pickup and delivery service.
By now you've probably come to the realization that your cleaner
doesn't come close to delivering on these rights. That your cleaner
has never told you - in detail and in writing - what results you
should expect from their cleaning (other than in meaningless
generalities). That your cleaner has never told you - in detail and
in writing- what they do to achieve those results (other than in
meaningless generalities). And that your cleaner has consciously
and intentionally withheld that information from you in order to
ensure that you don't ask too many awkward questions.
How can I help you?