In cleaning their clothes, Civil War soldiers knew that, to avoid shrinkage, they had to be aware of three elements:

•   Mechanical action
•   Moisture
•   Heat

The stains on their uniforms, which were made from wool or a cotton-based (denim-like material), generally fell into three categories:

• Grass and mud stains      
• Black  powder
• Food stains

Civil War re-enacting is a fun hobby and a terrific way to study history.  Classic Cleaners’ partner Steve Arnold certainly thinks so. Posing at the far left of the photograph below, Arnold was taking part a  2001 re-enactment of the first major battle of the Civil War, Manassas, which took place in 1861 in the state of Virginia. The uniforms worn by the re-enactors  were actually reproduced on 100-year old looms, copied from photographs of the original uniforms of the Liberty Hall Volunteers from Lexington, Virgina. 

Clothing back in Civil War days was made to last for many years. Garments would be reworked and repaired until they were threadbare, and yet people took a lot of pride in the appearance of their clothing.  Needless to say, battlefield solders had to make do, brushing their uniforms as best they could, as well as washing their garments in lakes or streams.

Hand-brushing garments, as a matter of fact, is still one of several hand-care techniques used at Classic Cleaners today for treating challenging stains and for restoring “nap” to fabrics (although black powder is rarely a problem nowadays!).  In place of the crude lye soaps of Civil War times, skilled Classic Cleaners technicians have available an assortment of specialty cleaning chemicals to help restore and clean garments of every vintage!

Classic Cleaners' Steve Arnold in Civil War Re-enactment at Menasses Battlefield

Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Sometimes you’ve got to take back in order to give, that’s all there is to it!

Dry cleaning plastic bags

One of the small but very important ways in which Classic Cleaners fulfills the dry cleaning industry’s highest standards of environmentally responsible practices is how we handle – bags.

It’s simple.  Plastic bags help keep clothes clean and fresh while they’re being transported from our plant to customers’  homes.  But, as the first dry cleaners in the Indianapolis area to receive Certified Environmental Drycleaner certification, we know throwing away those plastic bags isn’t good for the environment.

Some 89,000,000,000 plastics bags are used each year in the U.S.. According to Earth911.com, plastic bags are produced from natural gas.  When bags are recycled, the energy is available for new products, not only for bags, for products such as composite lumber and decking.  A five-year long study by the Ocean Conservency found that plastic bags make up 9% of the debris found along U.S. coasts.

We make it easy for our loyal customers to do the right thing, reminding them to return those plastic bags (and, wherever possible, hangers as well) to us by putting them into the cleaning bag along with their next order.  Classic Cleaners has contracted with a green recycling firm to turn that plastic into trash bags and other reusable items.

Our Classic Cleaners team has made a commitment to the environment.  We believe keeping our planet a safe place to be is every bit as important as producing quality cleaning. Plastic bag recycling is just a small part of that commitment.  We stay up-to-date on environment regulations of all sorts for proper waste handling and dry cleaning operating procedures and follow them all to the letter.

 At Classic Cleaners, we’re proud that we’ve never been cited for an environmental violation, and that we’ve never been required to clean up any of our sites.  You can bet, everyone on the Classic Cleaners team is proud of our “clean” environmental record!

Bags to give back, anyone?

Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Dress For Success Indianapolis Clothing donations

More than seven years and 100,000 suits and blouses later, we’re proud to say Classic Cleaners’ partnership with Dress for Success Indianapolis has been nothing but successful .

The April 17th “Super Sort” at the Classic Cleaners Bash Street plant is just one aspect of the ongoing partnership between Classic Cleaners and Dress For Success Indianapolis. DFS Indianapolis staff members, volunteers, and interns gathered Saturday morning to help sort the donated clothing and prepare it for delivery to the Dress For Success boutique at 820 North Meridian.

Susie Fucik, Professional Women's Group Program Manager, Juanita Galvis, first time volunteer, Mehida Perez, volunteer

The mission of Dress For Success is “to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.”

Classic Cleaners contributes to DFS Indianapolis in several other ways as well :

• Super Sort is the culmination of Send One Suit Week, during which individuals at a local business, place of worship, or organization host a private drive.  These individuals lead an on-site collection with their co-workers, associates, family or friends to collect 1 suit, 1 blouse, and monetary donations from each person to benefit DFS Indianapolis.  For the fourth year, Classic Cleaners was a sponsor for the private drives by giving each donor a coupon for $10 off a $20 or more order of dry cleaning.
• Throughout the year, Classic Cleaners acts as a collection site, accepting interview-appropriate suits and blouses on hangers, cleaning donated garments as needed, then delivering them to the DFS Indianapolis Boutique at 820 N, Meridian. (Other items such as shoes, jewelry, purses, and accessories may be dropped off at  DFS Indianapolis during open clothing donation days.)  
       
• In August of each year, Classic Cleaners runs a special DFS Indianapolis promotion. For every dry cleaning order of $20 or more, $2 is donated to Dress For Success.  A check is presented to the organization at the DFS Indianapolis’ annual September fundraiser, “Stepping Out in Style”. In each of the the past two years, Classic Cleaners September donation was more than $13,000.

Why does Classic Cleaners contribute to worthy organizations like Dress For Success Indianapolis? Simple!  It’s our way of showing our appreciation to society and to being good citizens of the human family.

By Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Classic Cleaners vs. The Toughies

Every profession has its special challenges, and dry cleaning is no exception. Over many years of perfecting the art of garment care, Classic Cleaners professionals have honed tools and techniques for dealing with special problems.  Here are some of the more common “toughies”:

Toughie fabrics:
Leather
Suede
Multiple fabrics in one garment – wool with spandex, cottons with silk

Toughie reds:
Red garments
Red wine stains, beet stains

Toughie stains:
Mustard
Ink (especially on silks)
Caramelized sugar stains
Oxidized oils

Toughie mysteries:

1.    Stains the customer forgot about (For example, champagne spilled on a wedding gown will dry clear, with the stain showing up only after the fabric is cleaned)

2.    Stains the customer doesn’t tell us about (The more we know about a stain, the more likely we are to be able to remove it.)

3.    Customers forgetting to notify us to suspend route service while they’re on vacation.

The old cliché “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” might have been coined to describe the Classic Cleaners team of professionals.  Our goal – keep you lookin’ good!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team