“For most parents, dressing a child represents one of the greatest joys of parenting,” Art Gib points out in “Tips for Preserving Fine Children’s Clothing”, adding that “Buying fine children’s clothing represents a little bit of an investment, so you want tto be sure to take every means to preserve them for as long as possible.”.

A second piece of advice is offered about baby and children’s clothing at www.bouncing-new-baby.com, reminding new mothers that “when it comes to baby clothes, you will find you do need to be practical in your choice.”  For example, some baby clothes look cute and attractive, the article points out, but may prove totally impractical and even cause discomfort to the baby.

At Classic Cleaners, we know all about fine baby and children’s clothes, and customers often turn to us for three kinds of help when it comes to the wardrobes for younger family members:

• Some fine clothing items from children’s boutiques require day cleaning. (Information Hut explains in no uncertain terms – if the label on a child’s garment says “dry clean”, don’t try to get away with washing it; “You’re sure to be sorry later.”)
• Laundry orders turned in for Fluff and Fold service often contain many items belonging to infants and children. Even non-regular Fluff and Fold customers, especially following a family vacation or during particularly busy periods at work, relish turning over the “big” chore of caring for “little garments”.
• It’s always a special pleasure for the professionals at classic Cleaners to help restore heirloom baby and children’s clothing. From christening gowns to bris milah circumcision gowns, to vintage baby clothes and even collector doll clothing, precious little garments need and deserve special care.

  But, just as you’re going to try your hardest not to allow the little ones to get away with too much mischief, don’t try to “get away” with tossing their fine clothing into the wash without so much as a glance at the care labels.  You won’t ever be sorry you entrusted those special children’s garments to the special care of the technicians at Classic Cleaners!

 - By Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

“Today’s independent woman doesn’t want to go along with the crowd; she wants to stand on her own merit,” says Lovetoknow.com.

Jill F. said her vows in silver gray

While white wedding dresses remain the most popular choice for many brides, colored wedding dresses are growing in popularity for modern, trendy brides. Lovetoknow reminds critics that white wedding gowns weren’t the norm until 1840, when Queen Victoria chose a white dress for her wedding.

At Classic Cleaners, we know.  In just the past season, of the many beautiful wedding gowns brought in for post-wedding cleaning, one was red, the other a silver gray.

Jill F. confided that she’d never even considered white.  Seeking a non-traditional dress, she’d chosen the one with the most appealing style and fit – it happened to come in gray.

Lovetoknow names five reasons brides are beginning to branch out in their wedding color choices:

• Desire to be different
• Greater selection of styles
• Cheaper prices for party dresses as compared to bridal gowns
• Cultural considerations (where a certain color is traditional or symbolic)
• Ability to reuse the gown for other occasions

 Every profession has its special challenges, and dry cleaning is no exception. 

• The delicate fabric on evening gowns needs special treatment.
• The color red presents its own set of special challenges.
• Beading and trim need to be handled with special expertise.

Dry cleaning wedding dresses is a specialty at Classic Cleaners.  There’s an extra measure of satisfaction, though, when Classic Cleaners technicians can do their work in “Technicolor”!
 

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Different dry cleaners handle clothes differently. But which of those differences – differences in processes, differences in equipment, and differences in expertise –  are going to matter most when it comes to helping your family’s garments lasting their longest and looking their best?

Take this simple ten-question test to see just how much you know about dry cleaning….

1.  Table linens should always be laundered in water that is 110º.

 ___True                           ___False

2. The certification for environmentally responsible dry cleaning practices is
 called Green Dry Cleaner.

  ___True                           ___False
                  
3.   To preserve wedding gowns, you should store them in special boxes treated with  acid.
 

___True                           ___False
                 
4. If a garment has studs or beaded buttons, the buttons should be detached prior to dry cleaning and reattached.

___True                           ___False

 
5.  Home dry cleaning never rinses out the spotting solution.

 ___True                           ___False

 6. If you get bubble gum on a garment, scrape the gum off the best you can before
 bringing the garment to the dry cleaners.

 ___True                           ___False

7. When drapes have smoke damage, homeowners trying to clean them on their own will only smear soot into the fabric.
 
 ___True                           ___False

8. Dry cleaned clothes should be kept in their plastic bags until you’re ready to put them on.

___True                           ___False

9. Zippers should be left open when clothes are hanging in the closet, in order to allow fabric to “breathe”.

 ___True                           ___False

10.  If a garment label reads “fire retardant“, the dry cleaners must use special non liquid cleaning agents on that garment.

___True                           ___False

How did you do on the test? At Classic Cleaners,” the modern craft of clean” combines the latest in equipment and technology with decades of experience in caring for clothes. Nothing less than a ten out of ten will do for our customers!

 
Answer key: (Click on the link for each question to find the full explanation.)
True: 4, 5, 7, 10
False: 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Mel Gibson may have learned some lessons about what women want, but at Classic Cleaners, we’ve had twenty five years to learn exactly what dry cleaning and laundry customers want.

Three things, really: My clothes back. On time.  Ready to wear.

How do we know about the three wishes? We can read them in your eyes when you’re dropping off the precious wardrobe pieces you’ve so carefully selected for fit, comfort, and to make your very own statement of style. We can hear, loud and clear, each customer’s unspoken plea: “Please take good care of these clothes for me!”

At Classic Cleaners we have an expression for the way we respond to that plea: We call it “the modern craft of clean”. The unspoken, yet very loud message behind those five words of the new Classic Cleaners motto is simply this:

1.            Every garment gets back to its owner.
2.            On time.
3.            Ready to wear. 

We take our standard one important step further:

• As close to new as possible.

The Classic Cleaners motto means excellence. And excellence in dry cleaning means combining the latest technology with the highest levels of professional experience and skill.

Our heat seal label inventory tracking system guarantees we know exactly – every time – which garments belong to which customer.  With zero minutes wasted on a hunt to match “orphan garments” with paper sales tickets, our computerized order and bagging system has each order ready for delivery to the customer precisely on schedule.

The Classic Cleaners’  large, professional-grade linen press and the Unipress shirt machine yield results that cannot be replicated at most competitors’ operations.

The “modern craft of clean” translates into professional skills in stain removal, restoration, and pressing. No dry cleaning customer should ever receive a garment with a missing button, a loose thread or belt loop.

We love to chat with our customers and learn more about their lives.  But as far as what you want when you entrust your clothes to us – you don’t need to say.  After 25 years – we know!

 
By Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team