dry cleaning essential guide
Dry cleaning is a method of cleaning using a solvent. It is almost like washing your clothes at home in a washing machine but not with water.
We use a solvent called Perchloroethylene or PERC for short. The textiles go through the wash and dry cycles and they come out clean, warm and dry. We will then hung them to air, piece up, finish them by either a press/steam/fold, quality check and package them ready for collection or delivery back to you.
There are various care label symbols which will help you know how to take care of your textiles at home but also how you label them for what service you require. You can find out more on other care label symbols and what they mean here.
We reuse or recycle hangers, safety pins, paper and plastic packaging so drop them to us. You will be helping us save the environment.
SOME REASONS WHY……….
With our decades of experience and expertise, we know that textiles/ garment manufactured suitably for dry cleaning can hardly be damaged during the dry cleaning process but sometimes it can happen. We have put together some reasons why this might happen and this is not exhausive but most frequent:
- It’s very old and this process can highlight wear to the item.
- It’s very worn so looks worse after cleaning if they’re worn..
- We have no control over colours that can run into each other if they’re not manufactured correctly. It’ll be deemed a manufacturer fault.
- We cannot guarantee that trimmings, beads, sequins etc.cannot fall off or get damaged. Wear and tear and manufacturing will dictate their longevity.
- Some garments are made with fabric glues that bond the interfacing. If not correctly manufactured and/ or after a period of wear it can appear bubbly where the glue breaks down.
- Moths like to eat natural fibres like wool and silk which isn’t always visible until after cleaning. If you do spot any holes before a dry lean, tell us. A repair if possible will give the textile a better chance of preservation.
- Invisible stains – sugar-based stains such as white wine cannot be seen until after the clean. We are in the business to clean not to stain your items.
WE DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH ALL STAINS BUT WE CAN’T ALWAYS SUCCEED. HERE ARE SOME MORE REASONS WHY…..
- Silk – Most silk dyes are water-sensitive which in turn limits the spotting treatments available as several can cause colour loss.
- Whites – When we use water to ‘gun’ away stains on whites, they must completely dry first prior to cleaning hence the process can take longer.
- Linens – Most linen dyes like silks are water-sensitive so again limits the spotting treatments available as several can cause colour loss.
- Sensitive Wools – Angora holds a significant amount lot of moisture and if treated can result in colour loss or shrinkage. Treatment options are very limited.
- Deep Dyed Cottons – These can lose colour when treating marks so again treatment options are very limited.
- Trims – to preserve the trims less mechanical action is used with a correct programme selection and so with limited action it may not clean well.
POSSIBLE ISSUES CLEANING WHITES AND ITEMS WITH SENSITIVE TRIMMINGS:
- White Fabrics – Marks can be difficult to remove because excess water can cause the fabric to go grey in the cleaning process unless properly dried first.
- Some manufacturers use artificial brighteners on whites that wash out in the cleaning process leaving the fabric looking dull.
- Sensitive trims – Most care labels do not cover the trims and they have not been tested for surviving the dry cleaning process. This is why we do not take responsibility for these but we will do well to bring this to your attention.
- The trims may be attached by thinly attached or stitching may be loose over wear and tear so we may advise for it to be removed before cleaning or if the customer takes a customer risk prior to cleaning.