One of a dry cleaner’s biggest challenges is “invisible stains” such as sprays from grapefruits or apples, hair sprays or perfumes. These stains often go unnoticed by customers until after cleaning, prompting them to say, “That wasn’t there when I gave it to you!”
What happens is that these stains remain hidden until heat from the drying cycle or pressing makes them visible. For example, sugar from the apple stain caramelizes, and the oil stains oxidizes, making them visible.
Dry cleaning alone will not remove these stains. Depending on the material, only some can be removed even with the most expert of technicians and others may never come out.
If you are aware of such invisible stains, be sure to inform the dry cleaner so that they may treat them before dry cleaning and before the stain sets.
Spot cleaning a garment means cleaning only the specific areas where stains are visible. This method is used if a portion of the garment is not capable of withstanding an overall cleaning method or if only a small area has a stain and the rest of the garment is clean.
Spot cleaning is accomplished on a stain removal board with steam, vacuum, and the appropriate stain removal agents as needed.
One way to find a reputable dry cleaner is to ask your fine garment retailers. Ask managers, especially from the upscale departments, and try a couple of stores. If there is a consensus towards the same cleaner, you have probably found one of the best in town. These stores have a vested interest in ensuring the clothes they sell are well cared for and therefore know the best in the business.
A fine dry cleaner nowadays should offer a lot of hand washing and wet cleaning services; be sure to ask. On your first visit, request to see some of their work. If the shop is cluttered and unhygienic, it’s best to thank them and keep looking.
If your clothes come back from the dry cleaner smelling of solvent, it’s time to find a new cleaner. This smell is a sign of impure solvent and bacteria growth in the system, not just a strong solution as often assumed. The bacteria clings on to garments and solvent molecules and slowly releases the solvent over time, thus the smell.
Contrary to popular belief, cleaners do not replace all their solvents on a set day. Instead, they add small amounts to compensate for evaporation. To properly care for your clothes, distilled solvent should be used with every load. A well-maintained dry-cleaning system should always produce odour-free garments.
Dry cleaning is a method of removing stains and dirt from garments and fabric by using little to no water. Dry-cleaning is not “dry” as solvents, or liquids, are used during the cleaning, but with minimal water thus the term “dry”.
Dry cleaning machines are similar to washing machines in that a large tumbling drum is used to facilitate the cleaning process. Garments are placed in this drum that is partially filled with solvent and tumbled in a manner in which they drop through the solvent. This agitation and flushing action of the solvent is responsible for the majority of the cleaning.
Certain elements must be present in a dry-cleaning system. These include a rotating wash cylinder, a tank for storing solvent, a pump to circulate the solvent, a dryer, filters, a distillation system, and of course the solvent itself. Other components that may or may not be involved include vapour absorbers or refrigerated condensers for capturing solvent vapours, moisture injection systems, computer or card controllers, and etc.
The most widely used solvents are perchloroethylene and hydrocarbon. The cleaning solution is comprised of approximately 98% pure solvent, 1% water, and 1% sizing and detergents. If impurities comprise any more than an additional 1% of the cleaning solution, the cleaning quality can be detrimentally affected by odor and dinginess.
Some of the more difficult stains are removed with the use of chemical agents, water, steam, air, and vacuum on what is called a “spotting board”. This technique is performed both before and after cleaning, and the stains are removed individually.
The short answer is yes only if you will be wearing them soon. It is not advised for storing the garments for a long period of time.
Plastic bags inhibit the fabric from breathing and can promote the formation of mildew and cause fume fading. Fume fading will yellow whites and discolor colored garments.
We recommend storing garments in cloth garment bags that are breathable and will provide some protection to insect and moth damage.
Club soda, considered for so many years to be a “cure all” for practically every mishap, usually just spreads out the stain and can make removal of oily stains like butter and gravy almost impossible.
If you rub a stain with a napkin dipped in water or club soda, it breaks the fibers and causes color loss (crocking). It appears to be helping, when in fact the majority of the time a very expensive piece of your clothing investment is being ruined.
It is best to blot the stain with a clean dry napkin or towel then STOP. Be very careful with a damp or wet cloth as color loss or a water ring may be the result.
We are trained stain experts and at work we have all the right tools, and agents, but at home or in a restaurant we are as powerless as you. We have preached to our customers not to attempt daring feats of stain removal because it simply ruins clothes. Our customers now announce proudly, “I left the stain alone as you taught me”, and their expensive garments will live to be worn again.
The following is a partial list of factors that determine the stability of a garment to different types of care.
- Was the material pre-shrunk? Dry-cleaning generally induces less shrinkage than machine washing.
- Dye stability: some dyes are stable in one, either, or neither water or dry cleaning solvent.
- Finishes: optical brighteners, sizing, shrinkage control, and other finishes can react differently depending on the cleaning method.
- Embellishments: many beads, sequins, leather trim, and other embellishments can severely limit the serviceability and care of garments
As shown above, we cannot select a care method based solely on the material and must rely heavily on the care label and past experience.