January 23, 1995 : Love, Honor, Cherish, reads the inscription embroidered on the blanket given to Rick and Regina Mattson to mark the occasion of their wedding fifteen and a half years ago.  But, while Rick and Regina continued to love, honor, and cherish each other, time had been less than kind to their blanket, as Regina discovered to her horror a few weeks ago.

Regina's wedding blanket before restoration

A gift from Rick’s parents, the blanket had been displayed in an honored spot in the entryway to the Mattson home, with a stuffed toy holding it in place. But, over the years, the white blanket had gradually yellowed, and streaks of gray had collected on the hem.

Regina's blanket after Classic Cleaners' restoration

Regina, manager of Classic CleanersStore #12 at 11202 Fall Creel Boulevard, rushed to have the blanket dry cleaned, only to learn that the yellowing had persisted.  Leon Neal came to the rescue, using heirloom restoration techniques to return the blanket to its former glory.

Formerly employed by a construction company, Regina Mattson came to work at Classic Cleaners last November.  She reports she “absolutely loves” her great customers and all the support she receives from management, in particular from district manager Dee Godwin.

Now, with her wedding blanket restored, Regina is glad to provide her very own “testimonial” to the talents of Classic Cleaners’ professionals!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Classic Cleaners Spnsors the Ice Cream Social

Social? Free? Ice Cream? What’s not to love about that threesome? 

Classic Cleaners, always looking for ways to give back to the Carmel community, is involved again this year as an event and a game prize sponsor at the Village of West Clay’s annual family event.  (Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, for our Ring Toss, and YOU could become the proud owner of a beach ball or Frisbee from Classic Cleaners!)

The annual Village of West Clay Ice Cream Social will be held Sunday June 27th on the Village Green.  If you’ve never been to this event, you’re in for a treat, beginning with the big bike parade.

At Classic Cleaners, we get a kick out of sponsoring events like the Ice Cream Social at the Village of West Clay.  Our work, though, starts when the social ends.  After all, when you combine face painting, cupcakes, ice cream, grass, sweaty kids, and sometimes sweatier parents, what do you get? A lot of stained clothes, that’s what!

Perfect opportunity for you to try our Fluff and Fold laundry service. That way, the only reminders of all the fun – and all the resulting messes – will be baskets of fresh, clean family clothing.  And, if Dad’s gotten a little “hot under the collar” (when Junior beat him at Ring Toss), not to worry.  Classic Cleaners’ professionals will pay special attention to the inside collar of his favorite golf shirt, delivering it crisply pressed on a hanger.  (What’s not to love about that?)

While Classic Cleaners’ General Manager Steve Arnold and the other 24 members of the 4th Virginia Company were cooking wild turkey at Conner Prairie Village’s civil war re-enactment last month, Arnold realized, their vintage uniforms were absorbing the smell of the campfire.

Interesting.  Although Classic Cleaners has earned a reputation for expert stain removal, it’s often true today that garments with no stains still need dry cleaning in order to remove smells.

Back in Civil War times, clothes were left out in the open air to get deodorized.  Today, Classic Cleaners’ technicians use an ozone-making machine the size of a small space heater. Clothes are exposed to the ozone within a closed-off room.  Just a few minutes with the ozone machine equals the effect of a couple of weeks leaving clothes to air outside!

Classic Cleaners Partner Steve Arnold at 4th Virginia Company

Clothing in Civil War times was made to last for many years.  Battlefield soldiers often didn’t have the luxury of owning several changes of clothes (average monthly pay was $11!).  Still, the hand-brushing soldiers used to restore the “nap” to fabrics is still used as one of several garment hand-care techniques at Classic Cleaners today.

You may not be in the habit of cooking wild turkey over a campfire, but clothing absorbs odors from many sources, and clothing needs periodic professional deodorizing.

When Classic Cleaners returns your garments to you at the counter or at your home, you may be assured those garments are not only clean and pressed – they can pass the smell test!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

It seems like only yesterday that Delores Godwin left her position as RCA group manager to manage the Classic Cleaners store on 62nd and Allisonville Road.  Thankfully, the rest isn’t history, because, 22 1/2 years later, Dee’s still very much an important member of the Classic Cleaners management team.

Now district manager at Classic Cleaners, Dee is greeted with hugs when she stands

Dee Godwin smiles for customers, not for spots!

in at the counter at any of the eight district stores and is spotted by longtime customers. Biggest change in the business she’s noticed over the years?  The new fabric blends.  (In Dee’s early years at Classic Cleaners, most of the clothing was pure wool, silk, or cotton.) One thing that has not changed at all in Dee’s world – the importance of customer service.  “Be friendly, outgoing, and let your customers know you really care about them and their clothes,” Dee teaches new employees.

Asked to identify her favorite aspect of working for a dry cleaners, Dee immediately mentioned stain removal.  “It’s like being a detective.  You don’t always know what the stain is, and you’ve got to use clues, then try the right combination of chemicals and techniques to get that stain out.”

Dee recalls her very first day on the job, when Classic Cleaners’ founding partner Carl Arnold called her attention to something at the back of a machine which he was illuminating with a flashlight.  “Do you see that?” he asked.  “Will you tell me what I’m looking for?” she replied.  Inside the machine, Carl pointed out, was cleaning solution that needed to be “cooked down” to take out dyes and oils and impurities so that the solution could be reused.  Carl was teaching Dee to recognize what level in the machine the solution needed to reach so she’d know it had been fully purified. That lesson would be useful to her for the next twenty two and a half years!

Dee resides with her husband of 46 years, James Godwin (now retired from the former Allied Grocers), and with their two female Jack Russell terriers, P.J. and Peety-Boo. Meanwhile, at work, Dee helps carry on the company’s culture of customer service that helped earn the Classic Cleaners’ “ Best Dry Cleaner in Indy” rating.

The famous Lady Macbeth line from Shakespeare is “Out, Out, Damned Spot!”. But, unlike the evil Lady Macbeth, Dee Godwin is interested in doing her very best to serve Classic Cleaners’ customers!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team