Twice a week, we visit homes and offices all around the north side of Indianapolis and the downtown area to pick up and deliver items for our customers.  We’re happy to announce that this service now includes Avon and Brownsburg.

With this free service, we provide you with large garment bags for pickup and return your crisp, clean garments neatly bagged and your family wash laundry in recyclable boxes.  Return the boxes to us and you’ll receive $1 off your next family wash for each returned box!

If you’re not at home, your clothes can be left on special hanger hooks (which we provide to slip over the top of your door), or, you may choose to give the driver access to hang your clothes in a front closet, mud room, or garage.

Whether you have one garment to clean or many bags of items, we are happy to stop by.  In fact, there is no obligation to have anything for us to pick up each time we visit.

If you would like to make arrangements for Classic Cleaners to begin home delivery, please complete this form. Your information will be e-mailed to Classic Cleaners and someone will be in touch with you to confirm your request.

Our delivery days to the Avon and Brownsburg areas will be Tuesdays and Fridays.

If you have items that need special attention such as stain removal, loose threads, broken buttons, etc., just leave a note in the bag and we’ll take care of it!

- S.O.

We’ve talked about how to soften your scruffy towels but what about when your towels get that awful, mildewy smell?  This happens when they don’t dry all the way before you use them again or if you left a forgotten load of towels in the washer for too long.  You open the door to retrieve them and they smell so bad, you’re tempted to throw them out.  But don’t  – they can be revived.  Just follow these steps.

• Wash Towels on the hottest water setting possible.  You may need to turn your hot water heater up for this wash.  This is heavy duty stink you gotta get rid of and it needs hot, hot water.  If you have a machine with a sanitizing option, use that.
• Wash on the longest, most heavy duty cycle your washer offers.  The sturdy cotton material most towels are made of can handle it.  This is the type of item your “heavy duty cycle” is made for so have no fear and use it!  To get rid of that horrible smell and most likely the bacteria causing the smell, the towels need a lot of agitation and the long cycle will help the process.
• Use a capful of detergent up to the top fill line.  Be sure to use high-quality detergent and a lot of it.
• Use a full scoop of oxi-clean in the wash and 1/2-1 cup of white vinegar in the rinse. Just put the vinegar straight into the fabric softener dispenser.  Do not use fabric softener.  It will only mask the smell and the next time you use the towels to dry off, the smell will be back.  If after this initial washing your towels still smell moldy, repeat the above steps before drying.  Heat will set in the smell.  You may have to repeat the washing steps a few times if the towels are exceptionally stinky.
• Line dry or set on a portable drying rack in direct sunlight if possible. Fresh air and hot sunshine will help further get rid of the smell.  If you can’t dry them outside, dry them on the hottest setting on your dryer.  Make sure they are completely dry.  This advice contradicts our drying guide in our blog ”top 10 ways to ruin your clothes” but remember, you’re trying to get rid of a very difficult smell to remove.  In this one situation, you want to use the hottest heat and be certain they are completely dry.  If they are wet at all when you put them away, they will smell horrible again the next time you use them.

If the do-it-yourself process above sounds more than you’d like to tackle, we’ll clean your smelly towels as part of our Family Wash.  Just let us know they need special attension.  We use the highest-quality detergents or we can use the detergent (we retain these for you and inform you when supplies are low).

To get started, please bring your laundry to any of our 17 locations, or call 317-577-5752 to set up free delivery within our delivery area.

- S.O.

Meet Devin Garner, our Customer Service Representative at Classic Cleaner’s 96th and Allisonville Road store.  She’s coming up on her one year anniversary this fall and we’re happy to have her on our team.

Get to know her via our recent Q-&-A session.  You’ll notice that she’s got a fun wit about her and some of her answers are pretty amusing.

Q: If you had to change your full name, what would you call yourself ?
A:  Susan Deschain

Q: Where were you born?
A:  Indianapolis, IN

Q: What is your favorite kind of challenge on the job?
A:  Keeping the customers happy is the best challenge this job offers.

Q: What is your favorite tool at Classic Cleaners and why?
A:  Our Heat Seal machines.  It’s kind of fun to play with a 400 degree heat plate every day and not get burned

Q: What do you enjoy most about working at Classic Cleaners?
A:  Meeting all the personalities that walk through the door because what you see on the surface is usually not what’s underneath.

Q: What is your favorite type of fabric and why?
A:  Cotton.  It’s simple, comfortable, and soft, and I don’t panic if something is spilled on it.

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
A:  I’m a pretty avid reader.  Avid to the point of carrying a book with me everywhere I go.  I usually read them one at a time but I’ve gotten up to reading 7 at once before.  I’m a little addicted.

Q: If you were a toy, what toy would you be?
A:  A Frisbee because who wouldn’t want to fly every once in a while?

Q: If you were asked to speak to a graduating high school class, what would you say?
A:  Never give up on yourself.  Absolutely everything is possible and right at your fingertips, all you need to have is the drive to do it, and everybody has the drive, some people just haven’t unlocked it yet.

Q: If you had a time machine and could be transported to any time, the past or the future, what time and place would you choose and why?
A:  I’d probably go 15 years into the future.  I already know what my past holds and I don’t need to go back.  However, going to the future and getting to see what’s in store, it’s almost like getting the opportunity to see what fate has in store for you and maybe getting to change it.

Q: If you had to spend 100 days on a deserted island, what five things would you take with you and why?
A:
1.  Sunscreen because I burn pretty easily.
2.  Water.  I don’t think I’d have the patience to boil salt water and collect the condensation to drink.
3.  A toothbrush.  Clean teeth are happy teeth, after all!
4.  A copy of “The Zombie Survival Guide” by Max Brooks.  I mean, what if I get back and the zombie apocalypse has happened?  I need to be ready.
5.  An Axe.  It’s good for chopping wood, hunting, and protection.

And, Devin, if needed, you could use that axe to fight off the zombies when you get back, we’re sure.  Thanks for letting our Customers get to know you and for doing such a great job each day.  Stop in and say hi to Devin next time you’re in the Castleton area.

- S.O.

Pants and skirts look amazing when they are freshly pressed.  It projects an image of professionalism and displays pride and thought in your appearance.  But, who likes to hunch over an iron for hours getting the perfect press?

Of course, we’d love to perfectly press all your pants and skirts for you.  But, we know there will be days in which after constructing the perfect ensemble, you’ll discover the pants or skirt needs ironing pronto.

When this happens, follow these easy tips:

• Read the care label and always select an iron temperature and setting consistent with the pant fabric.
• Test on a small hidden area such as the pocket bag or waistband inside before pressing the entire pant.
• Press on a long flat surface, preferably a padded ironing board.
• Turn the pant or skirt inside out, pull out any pockets and press them flat first.
• Pull the waistband over the end of the ironing board and press the band area, rotating it around the end of the ironing board as you go.
• Continue pressing the upper pant section down to the crotch curve, being careful not to over press.
• To press creases in the legs, fold the pant legs in half carefully matching the inseam and out-seam, and lay both legs along the length of the ironing board up to the pant crotch level.
• If the pants are cuffed, be sure to firmly press the crease through the cuff/hem area.
• If the pants (or skirt) have pleats, keep them positioned as stitched and lightly steam into place.
• Press the pant legs only in the lower hem area if the pants are flat-front (no pleats or darts at the waistline) to help the legs hang properly.
• Press along the entire leg length if the pants have pleats or tucks.  Creases may be pressed firm to the crotch area then softer as they join tucks or pleats at the upper pant.
• When pressing creases, use a lifting motion with the iron.  Sliding and pushing the iron may stretch the leg crease area and cause distortion.
• Let the pants cool after pressing each leg before changing legs.  This will help set the crease-line.

Additional Tips:

1.  If you accidentally press the creases in the wrong place, dampen the crease-line with a spray bottle of water and re-press them in the proper position.

2.  To help with the longevity of pant creases, you can set them with a solution of one part white vinegar and one part water.  Put the mixture into a spray bottle and dampen a press-cloth (don’t spray the pants directly).  Place the damp cloth over the crease-line and press until it’s dry, then respray and move to the next area.  The solution helps give the fabric memory.

3.  Store your pants from a pants hanger or folded over a hanger keeping them in the creased position.  Store your skirts hanging from a pants hanger, careful not to crowd them in the closet to avoid wrinkles and smashing.

When you’re not in the mood to iron, we’ll press your pants and skirts to perfection for you.  Just bring them to any of our 17 locations or if you are part of our free pick up and delivery service, just leave them for your route driver.

- S.O.