Frequently Asked Questions

We have all heard that dry cleaning is better for our clothes, but why is that true?  Well, when laundering a garment, high temperature heat is needed to evaporate the water that remains in the garment after the spin cycle.  The heat stresses the fibers that make up the garment.  This can result in the soft fuzz that some fabrics have to be lost and speed up the tear and wear process.  Colors also fade because of hot water that maybe used to launder a garment.  One should launder garments that are worn daily and not for special occasions and settings.  Dry cleaning however avoids some of these issues.  This is because the dry cleaning fluid that is used to clean many garments evaporates at a much lower temperature, sparing the physical stress that those fibers will go through.  Colors also fade in dry cleaning because of the inherent sub-standard quality of the dye that was used in manufacturing a garment.  When dry cleaning, any part of a design on a garment that is glued to the garment will fall apart.  The dry cleaning fluid dissolves the glue and results in garment separation.  Most high end brand makers are aware of this issue and have formulated their glue so the dry cleaning fluid does not dissolve the design and the garment apart.   

There are many sorts of odd and strange techniques that we have heard folks do believing it will help to remove a stain.  The best way to go after a stain is made on your garments is to first remove any solid particle as gently as possible and second, which is the hardest to do, is to take no other action.  Leaving a stain untreated helps its removal much easier and gentler on the garment.  If pretreated by an individual and then brought to the drycleaners it will cause several problems.  First, the technique that we use to remove the stain may react to the agents that the garment was pretreated with and this will result in possible damage and discoloration.  Second, if pretreated and allowed to sit for a long period of time, oxidation of the stain takes place.  The stain will no longer be the same color and its removal will be uncertain.  Third, pretreating chemicals work on a limited number of fabrics and colors.  As magical as the treatment may seem to an inidividual, more often than not the stain does not dissolve and it sets in further in to the fabric, making its removal impossible.

For many years now, commercial dying of garments by unauthorized businesses has been banned by Environmental Protection Agency.  This rule applies to us as well.  However, dying of garments can be done at home and the dyes can be purchased by the consumer.  We do offer reweaving services.  It is a costly and time consuming process.  After the reweaving is complete, unless marked, no one is able to locate where the torn area used to be.  Reweaving should be reserved for items that you feel are worth spending the cost on.  It usually takes about 3 to 4 weeks for the reweaving to be completed. 

No it does not.  It may fade the stain away and make us feel better at the time, but we could also end up causing a chemical reaction that will toughen up the stain and make it difficult or impossible to remove once at the spotting board.  Please resist the urge to experiment with stain removal as it may result in damage to the fabric.