“The Terrible Twos are a phenomenon most parents could quite happily live without,” says suite101.com, referring to toddlers who say “No!” to everything and make throwing temper tantrums a habit, beginning around their twentieth month of life.

At Classic Cleaners, we only occasionally experience the results of Terrible Twos toddlers’ behavior in the form of some of horribly stained and ripped clothing coming in with Fluff and Fold family laundry orders (one can only imagine the tantrums!).

As members of the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, what we are trained to look for are the “Terrible Threes”.  Just as the “terrible two” toddlers stretch parents’ patience and wreak havoc on toddler wardrobes, when it comes to the terrible threes – sugars, salts, and acids – these wreak havoc on wedding gowns, doing the kind of damage with which conventional dry cleaning simply cannot cope.

Wedding dresses with lace appliqué, beading, and trim are most vulnerable to theTerrible Threes, which accumulate near the borders of the trim or beading.  Left untreated – or treated using only traditional dry cleaning methods – the at first invisible sugars, salts, and acids turn into ugly brownish-yellow areas on the dress.

The MuseumCare™ system of wedding gown preservation used at Classic Cleaners was shown to be the cleanest and safest in a blind test of four nationally-known wedding gown preservation processes. In fact, Classic Cleaners is the only dry cleaners in its area endorsed by the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists.

Whew!  With the beautiful wedding gown having been given the proper care and then preserved in an archival-quality box, the Terrible Threes will be safely out of the way.  As they begin their family, the bride and groom can spend their next few years preparing for the Terrible Twos!

By Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

With snow on the ground and cold winds blowing outside, there’s nothing more comforting than, well, a comforter, especially if it’s a bed comforter made of down, right? “Of course right!”, as Yenta the Matchmaker from Fiddler on the Roof might say. Ah, but, down feathers in a comforter can bring comfort only if those feathers stay where they belong!

“Down is the soft inner plumage of waterfowl such as ducks and geese,” explains Supercomfort.com, adding that” down has numerous light, fluffy filaments extending in all directions, without a feather’s quill shaft.  Down keeps birds cooler in summer yet warmer in winter, and provides breathable comfort.”

Classic Cleaners’ expertise in bedding cleaning extends to quilts, bedspreads, and down pillow rejuvenation, along with cleaning of down comforters.  Our technicians always follow the instructions given on the manufacturer’s care label of each item. In the rare instances where problems arise, those problems are due to poor construction of the comforter. The typical comforter is made from cotton fabric stuffed with goose down.  Intersecting stitching lines keep the down properly distributed throughout the entire area of the comforter.  However, if there is an inadequate amount of stitching, the tumbling action during the dry cleaning process can stress the fabric, so that the feathers pop out or become bunched in one spot.

The Federal Trade Commission says care labels must explain one safe cleaning method for each garment or item, but, if the comforter is not properly constructed to begin with, it may still break down even when the prescribed method of care is used.  Feathers poking through the fabric on a down comforter? That almost always means the responsibility lies with the manufacturer. Right? Of course right! 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