“Consumers aren’t just time-pressed – we’re downright lazy,” according to USA Today.As one sign of the times, USA Today points to ConAgra, maker of Orville Redenbacher Popcorn.  Next month, the company will roll out the PopUp Bowl, microwave popcorn that pops into a convenient one-serving bowl.

Convenience - from popcorn to dry cleaning at Classic Cleaners!

Classic Cleaners is several jumps ahead of the popcorn maker when it comes to using the latest and most complex technology to make customers’ lives simple.

Time-saving:
Our innovative heat seal system has been in place for more than a year.  Heat seals guarantee we know exactly – every time – which garments belong to which customers. Zero time is wasted collecting garments – our order and bagging system is all computerized.

Convenience:
Popcorn buyers need to take the product off a grocery store shelf.  Classic Cleaners’ customers, by contrast, can choose our FREE pickup and delivery service!

Quality:
No matter how innovative the microwave bowl, the way to eaters’ hearts is through their stomachs – the popcorn must be delicious to keep the clients loyal.  At Classic Cleaners we know all about the quality our customers expect, and we deliver clothes as close to new as possible.

Our equipment represents th very latest in dry cleaning and laundering technology Our Unipress shirt machine, for example yields the kind of results that cannot be duplicated by most competitors.

The 2011 trend towards simplicity and speed? At Classic Cleaners we’ve been “on it” before it was a trend! Most important, though, once you’ve finished ooh-ing and ah-ing over the technology, are the beautifully finished clothes, ready to make you proud!

 by Reb of the Classic Cleaners’ blog team

 ”Spotters vs. Toughies” might have been the title of Classic Cleaners’ latest film. The challenge – a white wedding dress with a big red wine stain.  The goal: demonstrate the Classic Cleaners expertise in stain removal. 

The profession of dry cleaning has challenges.  Some common “toughies” are:

• “Toughie” trimmings: beads, sequins, vinyl, feathers, fur, mesh
• “Toughie” fabrics: leather, suede, wool with spandex, cottons with silk
• “Toughie” stains: mustard, ink, caramelized sugar, oxidized oils
• “Toughie” reds – red garments, beet stains, and…wine stains!

When the going gets tough, Classic Cleaners gets going, and, as you can see from the before-and-after photos, the score was 1-0 in favor of the spotters. 

Savvy post-”game” commentators on the Spotters vs. Toughies might have mentioned several points:

1. Classic Cleaners spotters knew the stain was from red wine. The toughest stains are often those the customer forgot about; the dry cleaner needs to solve the “mystery” before deciding how to treat the stain!
   
2. The stain was recent. The sooner a stain can be treated, the better the chances for success in removing it without damaging the fabric.

toughie wine stain on wedding dress

Wine stain gone

“When leather is just too expensive or impractical, vinyl offers a more affordable and practical option,” says WiseGeek.com. Affordable? Yes.  Practical? Not always when it comes to dry cleaning care.  In fact, vinyl trim is included in our category of “toughie” challenges.  While Classic Cleaners professionals have honed tools and techniques for dealing with special problems, customers need to know that vinyl can crack after repeated cleaning.

Vinyl is a plastic material.  The base ingredient is brine, a solution of salt and water.  Highly versatile, vinyl is the only plastic that can be made thin and flexible enough to be used for everything from wall coverings to house siding, from auto trim to digital albums, and – for clothing!

So, is there a problem here?  Well…maybe.  Classic Cleaners follows the instructions on the care label of each garment, which by law must recommend one cleaning method safe for all parts of each garment, including the trim. In reality, however, there is always the possibility that vinyl on garments will:

• harden
• crack
• peel

For that reason, customers bringing in vinyl-trimmed garments are asked to sign a waiver acknowledging the risk of damage to the trim during cleaning.  Most of the time, garments come through dry cleaning in fine shape, trim and all.

It’s good to be in the know, though – vinyl isn’t always viable!

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