A Man’s Guide to Dry Cleaning
Posted in Style & Taste on 19. Nov, 2009
As most people probably know, dry-cleaning isn’t actually “dry.” It simply means that garments are washed with a solvent (called perchlorethylene or DF2000) rather than soap and water. And despite the fact that many nicer garments do require dry-cleaning, it’s not necessarily easier on the fabric. So even for clothes that have to be cleaned this way, it’s best to do so only when necessary.
If you’re going to spend good money on clothes, it’s worth your while to take care of them—and to know what happens when you entrust them to someone else. The cleaner’s doesn’t have to be a black box–the place where you drop off valuable items and have them magically reappear the next day, looking like new.
To be honest, this is how I’ve always viewed the process…I know enough to check the labels and see if something I own has to be sent to the cleaner’s (the case with most dress pants, for instance). But what actually happens after things are dropped off? It’s always been a bit of a mystery to me.
Thankfully, I happened to find a pretty good overview recently. The author provides three good reasons it’s worth your while to know a little bit about the process:
- First, you have to understand enough about the process to know what to do if an expensive item is damaged or lost.
- Second, it’s important to understand the impact of dry-cleaning on your clothes. Since dry-cleaning can actually be tougher on fabric, you should know how often your garments need to be washed—and what the solvent does to the fibers.
- Third, if you’re going to spend money on something, it’s a good idea to know what it is you’re paying for—and whether you’re actually getting extra value by paying more.
The author of the guide provides quite a few good tips (picking a drycleaner, what to have cleaned, how often, etc.), but the explanation of the process itself is pretty straightforward:
The dry cleaning process starts when you drop your clothing off; first it’s tagged and then sorted by whether it needs to be dry cleaned, laundered, pressed, or altered. At this point the clothing is often moved to another location; in fact, it’s not uncommon for all the dry cleaners in an area to use the same contractor or be owned by a few companies. This is why many cannot offer same day service or when “they” lose a garment you’re out of luck because the garment is lost in a much larger system than just the facility you dropped it off at. Also, despite two cleaners charging different prices for the same service, if they use the same master cleaning facility, you are receiving no added benefit despite paying more. I always look to use cleaners who do their work in house – I like knowing my garments are kept right where I dropped them off and handled by the person I gave them to.
Back to the process – after the drop-off stains are pre-treated (note – it’s very important you point out stains and label what the stain is so that it is treated properly) and the clothing is loaded into large machines where they sit in baskets and rotate in perchlorethylene – the perc is then drained using centrifugal force (shirts and other cotton garments are more often simply laundered with water and soap – it’s less expensive and does the job without damaging the fabric). A good cleaning facility will then inspect clothing for any remaining soiled spots and post-treat if necessary. Next the clothing is lightly steamed, pressed, and ironed where applicable. Finally, garments are sorted out, shipped if necessary, and then stored for pick-up.
If you’re anything like me, most of this is probably new (and not exactly what you spend your free time pondering!). Still, it’s something worth knowing at least a little bit about: your clothes are an investment, and should be cared for appropriately.
-Trey
[A Man’s Guide to Dry Cleaning at The Art of Manliness]
Related posts:
