I'm often
asked why wools, silks, cottons and linens and silks feel stiff and
crusty when they're returned by a cleaner.
My answer is quite simple: It's your wools, silks, cottons and
linens feel stiff and crusty because of sizing.
You see, ordinary cleaners love sizing. So they add or inject
sizing into their drycleaning machines during the drycleaning
"wash" cycle. In much the same way that you add detergent or
softener to your home washer.
Their stated reason? According to one Phoenix cleaner's
literature, to "keep each garment feeling new and crisp" and to
"retain your garment's original shape, weight and feel" (Really,
I'm not making this up!).
And the true reason? The more sizing they add, the quicker and
easier it is for their employees to bang out your garments on a
press. This is particularly true in those cases where a dry cleaner
pays his pressers by the piece and/or where the pressers must
produce a certain minimum number of pieces per hour.
And what gets sized? Everything in the dry cleaning load.
Cottons. Linens. Silks. Rayons. Wools such as alpaca, angora,
camelhair, cashmere, escorial, marino, mohair and vicuna. Super
100s, 120s, 150s and 160s.
Is it any wonder your fine wools, silks, cottons and linens feel
and drape like cardboard when you get them back from an ordinary
cleaner?
So what to do? Ask your cleaner whether he adds sizing to his
dry cleaning solvent or fluid, whether he pays his pressers by the
piece, and whether his pressers are required to meet specific
production quotas.
Alternatively, if you live in the metro Phoenix area, you can
call me. I'll either know the answer or I'll find the answer for
you.
How can I help you?