They say that there’s no accounting for taste, but in some cases there’s almost universal agreement. Take chocolate for example — almost everybody loves it, whether it’s a candy bar, ice cream or chocolate milk. The problem is that while delicious, chocolate holds its hidden dangers. Of course, too much of it can make you sick and wreak havoc on your waistline. And chocolate can do quite a number on a white shirt.

Chocolate is a nasty stain to have to deal with, partially because of its color, and partially because of its composition. It acts both as an oil stain and a dye stain, so it can be tougher to eliminate than other, simpler stains. Luckily, there are steps you can take to save your garments if they should happen to have a chocolate disaster.

The best course of action is to lay the stained area of the garment down on a few paper towels and blot the back side of the stain with a heavy-duty detergent. This will leech the stain out onto the paper towels. After doing this, launder the garment normally to remove any excess chocolate left in and on the garment.

If that fails, or if the garment you’ve stained is dry-clean only, just bring it in to Classic Cleaners! We’ll use our expertise and state-of-the-art methods to get that delicious (but very noticeable) stain out of your shirt or pants, and have your garments looking as good as new. Because as much as we all love chocolate, nobody wants to wear it.

For more stain-fighting tips, click here.

Not another tie! If you’ve given Dad a wardrobe of nice clothes over the past few Father’s Days, he’s probably running out of closet space. For the perfect Father’s Day gift, help him look his best with a gift card from Classic Cleaners. Here are some tips on how you can make your gift just right for Dad.

The avid golfer. An afternoon on the green can be quite sweaty, especially with Indiana’s summertime heat. Courses with no shade do little to protect golf shirts from unsightly underarm stains. Treat Dad to a day on the links, some new golf balls and a Classic Cleaners gift card to keep him looking fresh.

The proud veteran. Even if his days serving our country have ended, the service uniforms of these dads still deserve a salute. A great way to show your love and appreciation is by giving the proud veteran a gift card to Classic Cleaners for our heirloom services. We clean, restore and preserve armed services uniforms so future generations can respect and appreciate the sacrifices made.

The business professional. With tightly tucked-in shirts, these dads are no strangers to buttoned-up, business-casual or professional environments. If dry cleaning is part of your pop’s routine, make things a little easier for him. Classic Cleaners’ Pickup & Delivery helps him keep the errands to a minimum and his collared shirts clean and pants neatly pressed. Pickup & Delivery is free, so sign up today and then stop by your nearest Classic Cleaners location to purchase a gift card for Dad.

Show your love by helping Dad stay well dressed for any occasion. Happy Father’s Day!

We’re on the heels of fashion, following clothing and home goods trends to ensure that we’re the best at what we do. To remain always fresh, Classic Cleaners maintains a membership with several industry-leading professional associations. These affiliations help us to stay current with everything fabric-and-textile-related, including the latest trends from the runway.

Classic Cleaners is a member of FabricLink, a professional association that works to educate both consumers and trade professionals on the ins and outs of the fabric industry. To help us prepare for the latest fashion trends coming through our doors, we check out the Fashion Forecast to find out what’s hot and what’s not. Did you know the dry cleaning business was so glamorous?

As a company dedicated to providing the highest quality service, following what’s hot on the runway is all in a day’s work. By staying abreast of current and upcoming clothing and textile trends, we can appropriately prepare for new materials and designs that will inevitably find their way into our stores, possibly requiring special care and attention.

According to the Fashion Forecast, we can expect to see contemporary and metropolitan designs with a distinct Scandinavian aesthetic for the autumn 2011 and winter 2012 season. Shades of pink, green and orange in color-blocking styles will complement primal styles with distinct symbols of nature. Time to go shopping!

FabricLink is a resourceful tool for consumers too. The association’s website provides suggestions on removing stains from carpets and upholsteries in addition to clothing stain removal tips.

To make the lives of our customers a little more convenient, Classic Cleaners offers a free service known as “Customer Connect.” Whether you are constantly booked, live a life of leisure by the pool or live a life of taxiing children around town, you have the ability to conveniently access your account 24 hours a day, seven days a week, just by visiting our website.

Not only is the service free, but it’s also user friendly and available on your schedule. Midnight or noon, Monday or Saturday, customers can access the site to update personal information and preferences anytime.

Customer Connect adds convenience and saves time by giving customers the ability to do the following things (and more) from the Internet:

Track Orders. Get real-time updates on the status of your orders, plus find the status of current and previous orders.

Get it on the calendar. You name the time and the place for your order to be picked up and delivered. If you need to cancel a previous request, that’s no problem.

Update preferences. Need a little more starch? Like your sweaters folded in bag, not on a hanger? Change your preferences at your convenience.

To sign up for the service or to get more details, just visit the Customer Connect page here.