What to Look for in a Dry Cleaner or Laundry Service
What do you notice when you enter the dry cleaner? Are you greeted at the door with a smile and a friendly hello? A good dry cleaner will ask questions about the garments they will be washing as they give them a thorough inspection. Also, is there an on-site specialist that can discuss your dry cleaning with you and offer advice for getting the best results? These are some of the minor details that go a long way in providing quality care and exceptional customer service.
Here at Universal Cleaners, you will get the reliable and efficient help you need from a new dry cleaner. When you choose our team, you can expect a great experience and pick your fabrics up at your convenience.
Maybe you are looking to find good dry cleaners and laundromat services in Carmel, Indiana, for your best clothes, or you are not satisfied with the services you are currently receiving. It would be best if you had a cleaner that will use eco-friendly products on your clothes and deliver a quick turnaround time while delivering on their service commitments. Are these some things you consider when searching for a good dry cleaner?
Chances are you take one of the first listings on Google for a dry cleaner near you and decide to go with them. You may not even take the time to see what has been said about the service you may expect. There is more to a quality dry cleaner than being closest to you. We will discuss what you want to look for in a dry cleaner and laundry service. You understand the dry cleaning process, what process you should choose, and some things to look for in a local dry cleaner.
How Do You Know If a Dry Cleaning Service Is Good?
Selecting a high-quality dry cleaning and laundry cleaning service will help you clean your clothes and keep them looking new for longer. Keeping your clothes fresh for as long as possible is the goal, which will help to have a good cleaner. Here are some tips on choosing the best dry cleaning and laundry service companies.
When You Do Dry Cleaning, Do They Wash Your Laundry?
Dry cleaning uses the process of cleaning your laundry without the use of water and detergent.
In place of water and detergent, dry cleaners use organic agents that pull stains from delicate fabrics without damaging the clothes. These fabrics can be a wok, silk, or even velvet.
While dry cleaners may look similar to washing machines you are used to using at your home, they are not the same. A dry cleaner is much more sophisticated, and dry cleaning clothing is not for the untrained person. It would be best if you also had the right equipment. Dry cleaners tend to have years of experience thanks to Drycleaning and Laundry Institutes that offer training and resources for cleaners.
What Do I Need to Know Before Selecting a Dry Cleaning Service?
Of course, you are also responsible for getting the best results from a cleaner. Bring in clothes as soon as possible after a stain occurs. Take time to point out stains and identify them, if possible. Even the best cleaners are not mind readers.
What Are Dry Cleaning Laundry Services?
A laundry cleaning service is a place that has cleaners who wash, dry, and fold your clothes for you so you can utilize your time better. If you’ve ever wanted to have your laundry washed and folded laundry or have a professional tend to your tough-to-clean laundry but you have questions about the whole process, you came to the right place.
How wash and fold dry cleaning services works
The dry cleaning process can be slightly different depending on where you go and what services you choose. One part of the process that will differ is whether you decide to drop your clothes off yourself or have them picked up and delivered to you once done. Here is what you can expect when dry-cleaning your garments:
You start by gathering any dirty clothes you need dry cleaned and put them into your laundry bag and place.
You will then drop off your laundry at your local dry cleaners. Once the cleaner takes your items, they will be weighed before washing begins. This is how your price to pay will be determined. Most dry cleaners charge by the pound. Your clothes will be washed and folded for you, and once they are folded, you will have the load weighed to determine the price you will pay for your garments being washed. You can then pick up your clean, folded clothes once they are clean and ready for you to pick up. This whole process typically takes a few days.
Do Dry Cleaners Clean Things Dry?
The name “dry cleaner” can be a bit deceptive since the dry cleaning process is not a dry process at all. Saying that dry cleaning was a water-free way of cleaning your clothes would technically be more accurate. Dry cleaners will use cleaning agents in place of water and detergent to get fabrics clean. Heated hydrocarbon solvents are one form of cleaning agent used instead of your traditional washing methods.
While inside the dry cleaning machine, your garments get introduced to the liquid solvent. This solvent is recirculated through filters during the entirety of the cleaning process. Before being used again, the solvent gets distilled and purified completely. Once cleaned, the dry cleaner will remove your clothes from the dry cleaning machine. Once out of the machine, the dry cleaner will steam and press your garments before folding them and putting them in the protective plastic cover. Doing this final step in the dry clean process will give the customer wrinkle-free apparel that has no stains and is now ready to be worn again.
Using a method that uses water to clean laundry will cause the fibers in the fabrics to swell. This swelling could result in the shrinking of your clothes. It can also lead to color loss. When you have your clothing cleaned using liquid solvents instead of water, a professional dry cleaner can better preserve the quality of your delicate fabrics, such as leather, silk, wool, and cashmere, to name a few.
Grease and oil are some of the toughest stains to get out of clothing. This is true because oil is insoluble in water, so it does not respond well to being cleaned by a water-based process. Instead, dry cleaning fluids, which interact much better with these kinds of stains, are used in stain removal.
What Fabrics Should Not Be Dry Cleaned?
While you may find laundry services in Carmel, Indiana, beneficial, some articles of clothing are best in a regular washer. The reasons for not wanting to dry clean your clothes may differ based on the fabric, but it is best that you stay away from getting them washed professionally. Here are some materials to avoid having dry cleaner:
Durable synthetic fibers
Stronger knits made of synthetic material like acrylic, nylon, or polyester can be run through a washing machine but never on a regular cycle. Putting these fabrics in the washer on the delicate cycle using cold water will work as effectively, but be careful not to have them on the wrong cycle. When these clothes are washed, you must lay them flat or hang them to dry. Drying the clothing this way helps avoid permanent wrinkling.
Cashmere and other fine-haired wools
The chemicals used in dry cleaning can be harsh on specific fabrics. It is advised that soft or natural fibers such as mohair or cashmere be washed by hand at home. A shampoo or mild detergent should be used for these types of fabric, and they should be rinsed off with cool water. The cool water helps preserve the materials that make up these delicate garments.
Light colored silks
You want to test your clothing first to ensure it will not bleed on you. Once you have confirmed they will not bleed, you can determine the best way to clean them. It would be best to hand wash most light-colored silks in your sink at home. However, if you are unsure what to do with them, call your local Carmel, Indiana, dry cleaner and ask them for some advice. They will be glad to help you with any questions you may have.
Linen and cotton
Washing your linens and clothes made from cotton in a regular washer makes more sense as long as they are not embellished. While you should stick to washing these fabrics in a standard machine, keep them in a warm or cold setting for your water because heat will cause colors to fade faster.
Denim
Taking your denim jeans to the dry cleaners is a bad idea. Dry cleaning often leaves jeans starchy and creased, looking like a mess. Only run your denim clothing through a machine wash if you know it can handle it. If you are unsure if your denim can be machine washed, turn the garments inside out and let them soak in lukewarm water for around an hour. Make sure to use a color-safe detergent. Once your denim has been soaked, rinse the clothing in cool water and hang them up to dry.
What Happens When My Clothes Are Dropped Off?
When you drop your clothes off at our dry cleaning services in Indianapolis, Indiana, we will follow a process that they use to ensure the best results for your articles of clothing. Whether it is a wedding dress or your favorite suit, your clothes will go through the same treatment. Here is the process your clothes will go through after being dropped off
Tagging your items.
When you first bring your clothing to the dry cleaner, they give your items a number unique to your clothing. They are then tagged with a unique number to identify each item in your order. This helps a dry cleaner keep track of each customer’s belongings and avoids the grief of messing up a customer’s order.
Inspecting the clothes and providing stain pre-treatments
Your clothes get looked over, and any tough stains are noted and given spot and stain removal services if needed. This pretreatment uses a chemical made for specific colors on certain fabrics. The dry cleaner then covers any buttons and zippers that can get ruined with a soft cloth for protection. Dry cleaners may even decide to temporarily take off the buttons and zippers the ensure their safety.
Your clothes go into the dry cleaning machine
Your dirty clothes are placed into a dry cleaning machine. The organic agent you choose to go with is added to the dry cleaning machine while they are tumbled and gently agitated. Water is added sometimes, but only if you go with a dry cleaner that uses the wet cleaning method. These oversized washing machines utilize a similar spinning function as a residential washing machine, except Dry cleaning machines can spin at a significantly slower speed. They also have a better range of temperature control for specific needs.
Your clothes get inspected a second time
Once your clothes finish in the dry cleaning cycle, your clothes will be inspected for a second time. This double-checks that no stains are remaining. When the clothes are found to be clean, any part of the removed clothing is put back on, and the integrity of the seams is inspected.
Giving your clothes some finishing touches
After your clothes pass the second inspection, the dry cleaner will remove any wrinkles. This can be from steaming, pressing, or ironing each garment individually. Form finishers are usually used for this step. A Form finisher is a machine used to iron clothing. They use either air or steam to remove them. Using a form finisher allows for a smoother, more immaculate finish to the clothing. A final inspection is given before plastic is placed over them and hung up for their owner.
What to Look For In a Dry Cleaner
Your lifestyle may require you to bring your garments to a dry cleaner regularly, especially if your work attire involves a strict dress code or if you attend numerous social outings that are business related and require formal attire. Going With a reputable dry cleaner is essential and should be taken seriously. You trust the dry cleaners with your most valuable clothing, and the wrong cleanser can ruin your wardrobe. A ruined wardrobe can diminish a person’s confidence and lead to you needing to spend more money to replace destroyed clothing. Here are some of the most significant factors you should consider when choosing a dry cleaner near you to help you find the best option nearby.
Quality of cleaning done
When looking for a dry cleaner, one of the most important things to consider is if the cleaner will provide a high-quality professional clean. The only way to know for sure is to try them for yourself. When searching for the right cleaner, you should not do full loads at first. Choose to do so. Start with a few articles of clothing that are easy to clean, like your dress shirts. Doing a small sample size will ensure that if something goes wrong, you will not lose your entire wardrobe.
Even if you try a cleaner, you should still research other cleaners. See how long they have been around and the general feedback for them. The internet is a great place to find out what people think of a company since you can leave reviews and post photos. These reviews help give you a look into what the quality of service is like at the selected cleaner.
Accessibility
It is crucial to find a dry cleaner that is easily accessible for also fits your schedule. Typically, dry cleaners are only open during normal 9 am to 5 pm business hours, besides the time when you can get your clothes taken care of. It would be best if you also considered parking availability. This schedule may be problematic for you if you have a typical 9-5 workday since you are less likely to want to use your time before work, bringing your garments to the cleaners so you wash them.
A dry cleaner that offers a pick-up and delivery service could be perfect for your busy schedule. Having someone that can come and get your laundry from your home before you go to work can be not only time-saving but a huge stress relief also.
Damage Policies
Accidents can happen at any time when dealing with stains and other hard-to-clean pieces of clothing. A dry cleaner is no different in the sense that it can mess up on clothes once in a while. Dry cleaners can damage your clothes by accident or may even cause you to lose some garments. It is essential to have a cleaner that will handle the situation with class and provide not only answers to their customers but solutions also.
A reputable cleaner rarely encounters problems like this, but it occasionally happens. To address this issue, they might have policies for these worst-case situations should they occur.
Why Should You Use a Wash and Fold Dry Cleaning Service?
We know you have limited time in the day. There are many things you could be doing rather than your laundry. Instead of spending hours doing your laundry, let the professional cleaners at Universal Cleaners do it for you. Aside from saving time, you can also be a little less stressed, knowing that you can focus on things that need your attention instead of when your clothes will be done.
We Care About Our Dry Cleaning Customers
Not only do we offer Dry cleaning free pickup and delivery services, but we offer some of the best dry cleaning and laundry services promotions out there. We are dedicated to bringing you the highest quality service possible. Whether you were planning to have your clothes picked up for you or you will be dropping them off yourself, we have the necessary tools to get your clothes spotless.
If you have any questions or concerns or would like to schedule an appointment to wash your garments with our expert dry-cleaning team, contact us today. We will take care of those tough-to-clean stains so you do not have to. Schedule your free pickup and get the great service you deserve. Or, contact our team for free pickup and delivery dry cleaning so you can get the clean clothes you need.