What shade of green is C.E.D.?  Classic Cleaners knows. 

The first dry cleaners in Indianapolis to earn the designation Certified Environmental Dry Cleaner, Classic Cleaners assumed leadership early on in our increasingly “green” Indiana economy.

The C. E. D. designation comes from the International Fabric Care Institute (IFI) and is accepted as identifying “masterful knowledge of the fabric care process”.  The owners of Classic Cleaners elected to participate in the program because we believe in protecting the environment while producing quality garment care. 

Our commitment includes:

• No smoking permitted in our cleaning facilities or delivery
• Reusing and recycling hangers, garment bags, and boxes
• Proper handling of waste
• Safe dry-cleaning operating
• Reducing “carbon footprint” from autos by reducing customer trips through our free delivery route system

Each year, owners or operators of drycleaning facilities must register with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and obtain a permit to do business in compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules.

To borrow a once-popular banking slogan, “It’s not easy being green.” But, at Classic Cleaners we find it’s quite rewarding. We’re very proud of our Indiana Five-Star Environmental Recognition award – and of our C.E.D. “green”!

So, what shade is C.E.D.?  We call it Classic Cleaners green!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

 ”The race is not to the swift,” the Bible tells us.  But when it comes to dry cleaning in and around Indianapolis, the race may be to the fleet! That’s because, twice a week, our Classic Cleaners fleet of vans visits homes and offices all around the Indianapolis area to pick up and deliver items for our customers.

Classic Cleaners fleet

Our newly decorated vans, proudly displaying the Classic Cleaners motto “The Modern Craft of Clean”, travel from Fortville on the east, Pittsboro to the west, Cicero to the north, and 42nd Street in Indianapolis on the south.  It all adds up to thousands of locations, tens of thousands of garments, and twelve different routes.

How does the “fleetness” work?

• You sign up for the free home or office delivery service.
• You’re provided with large clothing bags.
• A Classic Cleaners driver visits twice a week to pick up and deliver. (There is absolutely no obligation to have anything to pick up every time.)
• 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), with Fluff and Fold laundry left in recyclable boxes.  Or, you may choose to give the driver access to hang your clothes in a front closet, mud room, or garage.

Fast, convenient, efficient, and……clean!  As a Classic Cleaners customer, you’ll soon realize: The race may not be to the swift, but the real service IS to the fleet!

by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

2010 – 2011 winter was certainly UGG season for Classic Cleaners Carmel customers, with many already taking advantage of our new boot-cleaning service, which came about because of the enormous popularity of sheepskin boots. So, whether you own footwear made by designer boot company UGG® or any other brand of tanned sheepskin boots, now that the big snows are behind us (we all fervently hope), it’s time to freshen up those boots.

Both UGGs and UGG look-alikes are made from tanned sheepskin with the fleece attached, and have rubber soles. And, while dry cleaners – in Carmel or elsewhere – don’t typically get involved with shoes of any kind, with the approval of UGG® Australia, Classic Cleaners now extends its “modern craft of clean” to boot-freshening.

“Sheepskin boots are a casual type of boot…exceptionally warm and great for cold weather,” advises about.com. “However,” the article continues, “they should not be worn in excessively muddy or wet conditions.”

We at Classic Cleaners were rather amused by a question posed by one reader to Yahoo! Answer : How do you get rid of wet sheep small from UGG linings? Yahoo’s answer: make sure the boots are dry.  Our customers are more worried, we found, about how to get rid of foot smell in boots after a long, hard winter of wear!  

For fresh-smelling, fashionable footwear, ready to take you places next winter season, bring your sheepskins in for freshening.  That way, roomies and relatives will have no reason to think “‘Ew, Ugh”, when they really mean “Oh, UGG”!

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