Dry Cleaning Tips

Primarily, dry cleaning is called so because it is a process of cleaning the garments without the use of water, instead, dry cleaning uses a certain solvent in its process.  Before sending off your clothes to the dry cleaning shop, it is important to understand the procedures that your garments will be going through.

A dry cleaning machine is composed of a stainless steel basket that contains and rotates the garments. Unlike the ordinary laundry where the clothes are immersed in the water, the dry cleaning machine drops a small amount of the solvent to the rotating basket. The solvent gushes through the clothes’ fibers and absorb the stains and soil contents. Then, the clothing is pumped out of the machine and is filtered. Finally, the garments are circulated again when they are cleaned to drain the solvent.

The thorough process of dry cleaning enables the clothes to remain soft and fresh. It does not damage the clothing unlike the ordinary washing machine. Dry cleaning also helps keep the color intact. However, the choice of whether to dry clean the garments or not shall depend on the labels.

Before going

Before sending off your garments to the dry cleaner, certain steps must be taken in order to keep your clothes out of trouble. The first thing to consider is the cleaning instructions attached to the garment. Certainly, if the garment label states that it should not be dry cleaned, then you can’t. Otherwise, you will be responsible for the damages that may occur.

You also need to point out to the dry cleaner the stains, where they are located and what the causes are. It must be noted that different stains have different approaches in order to keep the garments in shape. Also, stains must be treated as soon as possible before the problem aggravates.

Check the pockets of your garments. Although this is the primary procedure that the dry cleaner does, you must also know that a piece of candy left in the pocket will melt and leave a difficult stain.

If the garments have special instructions or specifications, inform the dry cleaner. You should also specify your preferences like in the pleats of some items. These will help you protect your investment on clothes.

At the shop

Upon submitting the garments to the dry cleaners, their first step is to tag and inspect. They systematize the dry cleaning process by separating the garments according to types. Normally, dry cleaners also attach a small paper tag to the clothing to avoid mixing up of clothes from different owners. At this stage, the dry cleaner also inspects the clothes for irregularities such as slits or broken buttons.

Secondly after tagging and inspection is done, the pretreatment will follow. At this stage, the dry cleaner treats the major stains before loading the garments to the machine. This will ease the removal of the major stains during actual dry cleaning.

Then the actual dry cleaning follows. The garments are loaded to the dry cleaning machine to undergo the different procedures explained above.

After unloading the clothes from the machine, these garments are again inspected for possible left stains. If there are still stains spotted, they are again treated. And finally, dry-cleaned clothes are ironed and folded.

These dry cleaning tips will help ensure that your garments are in good condition. After all, clothes require an investment and they need to be taken cared of.