Being truly green is a multi-faceted matter, explains Darrell New, who, for the past 21 years, has worked with the dry cleaning industry to improve quality and services. “Green cleaning is a combination of environmentally responsible policies, programs, and priorities,” New adds.

At Classic Cleaners, we know.  As the very first dry cleaners in the Indianapolis area to earn the designation Certified Environmental Drycleaner from the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute, we are proud to put a checkmark next to each one of the items on Darrell New’s how-to-tell-if-your-dry-cleaner-is-green list:

Responsible waste disposal:
None of the chemicals used at Classic Cleaners ever go into city sewers or underground tanks.  Used-up cleaning agents are saved in above-ground tanks to be removed by licensed chemical companies, who either recycle the chemicals or dispose of them through state-approved processes.
 

 Recycling:
 As New points out, many cleaners accept used wire hangers and plastic bags, but the question is – what happens from there. At Classic Cleaners, we gather hangers (not just ours, but any hangers customers collect). We reuse some, and have the rest professionally recycled.   

We encourage our customers to return plastic bags to us by putting them into the cleaning bag with the next order.  Classic Cleaners has contracted with a green recycling firm to turn that plastic into trash bags and other reusable items.     

Proper machine maintenance:
At our Classic Cleaners processing plants, the machinery is constantly being updated and replaced with energy-efficient, cost and labor-saving models.  Keeping the building itself in tip-top shape in terms of insulation and repairs helps further reduce energy costs. 

Carbon footprint reduction:
The biggest “carbon footprint” reduction of all, though, comes from reducing our customers’ need to drive their cars to drop off and pick up their laundry and dry cleaning!  Our free and convenient pick-up and delivery route service adds convenience while reducing carbon emission from automobile travels.

In this case a plus and a minus equals – green!  Not just green, but true green.  At Classic Cleaners, we don’t mean to boast, but we can’t help crowing about our Indiana 5-Star Environmental Recognition award!

By Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

Table linen care at Classic Cleaners

If you’re like most families, it’s not an everyday occurrence, dining at home on a table spread with tablecloth and fine cloth napkins, that is.  Still, there’s no denying the fact – nothing adds elegance to a meal like crisp, clean, perfectly pressed table linen. 

And, at Classic Cleaners, we know table linen.  We give linens the old one-two-three :

1.   Our first task is removing stains. We’re so proud of our stain removal process that we guarantee removal of 100% of fresh stains (or the cleaning is free)!
2. Next comes laundering the linen in a special cleaning solution that helps restore the original beauty of the cloth.
3. At Classic Cleaners, drying and pressing happen in a single stage, which is possible only because of our large, professional press. Try as you might, it’s impossible to duplicate our process at home.  In fact, most dry cleaners cannot provide this kind of finish for table linens.

Two important reminders for you:

• Linens are breathers, too! Avoid storing clean table linens in plastic bags. (Tip: Clean pillowcases make great storage bags for fine linens.)
• It’s important to bring in all the pieces of a matching set to be cleaned at the same time.  Even if only seven of the dozen matching napkins were used, it’s best to bring in the entire set. As yourvalet.com points out, the same advice  holds true for matching sets of drapes and seat covers, sets of bedspreads, pillow shams, and drapes, and the top and bottom halves of suits. 
  

With Classic Cleaners’ professional expertise, you can be sure the color will be a perfect match! 

 by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team

In the famous Edgar Allen Poe short story, The Telltale Heart, the murderer was convinced he’d covered his tracks.  “There was nothing to wash out – no stain of any kind,” he’d told himself.

Have you ever spilled something and had the stain disappear, leaving no sign of champagne, soda, or food? 

Telltale Stains Too Late To Fix

Weeks or even months or years later, a yellow or brown stain magically appears at the very spot of the original spill. How did that happen?

At Classic Cleaners, we see many such unwelcome “encore appearances” of stains.  Clear alcoholic beverages often don’t appear to have done any damage at the time they’re spilled on a dress, jacket, or trousers.  But, stealthy as ”telltale hearts”, back come the telltale signs of  past spills of tea, coffee, soda, or champagne, white wine, or fruit juice.

Speaking of fruit, you’ve seen a peeled apple turn brown. No real mystery,  just science – the brownish color is a result of the sugar in the fruit oxidizing or “carmelizing” when it’s exposed to air.

The problem with carmelizing on clothes, though, is that time and heat help set in those reappeared stains, and the more time that passes, and the more heat there is, the harder it becomes to ever get those stains out of the fabric.

Spills happen on the happiest of occasions.  But for there to be a happy ending to your Telltale Stain story, remember these three rules:

• Blot – don’t rub! – the stain when the spill happens.
• Even if you see no signs of the spill on your garment, as soon as possible, bring it in for dry cleaning!
• Tell all!  Make sure your dry cleaning professionals know exactly what happened.  That way, the stain can be pre-treated before the garment is exposed to any heat in the dry cleaning process.

The murderer thought he’d gotten away with the crime, but the Telltale Heart “reappeared”, revealing the terrible truth.

That’s why Classic Cleaners’ word to the wise is:

If YOU don’t tell the truth about your stains, your stains will tell the story for you.  And, by then, it might be too late to restore your special garment!

TV reality show In A Fix highlights do-it-yourself home repair disasters – moldings that don’t reach to corners, paint colors that bleed through, wallpaper run short one panel shy of a room – you name it.

At Classic Cleaners, our technicians see more than their share of do-it-yourself stain removals gone bad. There’s nothing wrong with trying to save money on dry cleaning bills.  The problem is that using the wrong chemical – or the wrong balance of chemicals – may mean permanently setting a stain instead of removing it.

Products typically recommended on do-it-yourself stain removal websites include:

• Borax powder                                                               
•  Cream of tartar and lemon juice paste
•  Rubbing alcohol
•  Baking soda
•  Club soda
•  Salt
•  Non-oily hairspray
•  Dish detergent
•  WD-40

The most dangerous do-it-yourself products of all are those claiming to take any stain out. We at Classic Cleaners have one word for those: NOT!  That’s because alkaline is needed to take out acid stains; acid is needed to take out alkaline stains.  You can’t have it both ways and achieve the desired neutral – a Ph of 7.

Mrs.CleanUSA.com‘s.advice about removing permanent marker stains from carpet comes in three stages:

• Stage One: Use rubbing alcohol or hairspray, blotting up the ink with a white towel.
• Stage Two: Get advice from a professional carpet cleaner
• Stage Three: (last resort) Cut the stain our.  Cut clean carpet from an inconspicuous place such as a closet and glue it where the stained carpet was.

When it comes to articles of clothing you care about, we highly recommend going directly to Stage Two, turning the problem over to the professionals at Classic Cleaners!

 by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team