We all know what goes into doing laundry: mainly water and detergent and if we’re feeling especially ambitious, perhaps a little bleach or liquid fabric softener. Have you ever wondered what happens when you send your clothes to Cavell Dry Cleaners? How can they be “dry” cleaned, anyway? You’re about to find out.
When you arrive at the dry cleaners, we count your items and document each piece (jacket, trousers,, blouse, etc). We then ask if you know of any areas requiring special attention due to stains, tears, missing buttons, etc. We then attach a small tag to each piece of clothing, in order to identify it as yours. Items that need special attention will also receive a special colored tag. These tags will remain on your clothing throughout the entire cleaning process. An ticket showing the drop off and pick-up dates will be generated; one copy stays with us and the other is given to you.
The process of pre-treating stains at the dry cleaner’s isn’t much different than how you do it at home. The goal is to safely remove any stains prior to cleaning the garment or to at least make it easier to do so during the dry cleaning process. Keep in mind that you are more likely to have a favorable outcome if you take time to bring your garment in to us as soon as you can after stains happen.
Once the pre-treatment is completed, the clothes are ready to be dry-cleaned. The cleaning and drying process takes place in one machine. The clothes are placed into a large perforated basket, which rotates as it is sprayed and submerged by constant flows of K4 cleaning solvent. The solvent most commonly used is perchloroethylene or “perc”. We no longer use this solvent due to potential health and environmental issues. Because the process does not use any water, it is referred to as “dry” cleaning.
A good dry cleaning company will do “post-spotting” after cleaning your clothes. This process uses special equipment and chemicals, along with steam, water, air and vacuum in order to remove stubborn stains .
The last phase of the dry-cleaning process is called “finishing.” This is the process by which your clothes are steamed, pressed, ironed and repaired. Once your items are finished, they will be folded and placed in wrapping or hung in plastic to ensure they remain safe and clean during the ride home.
All garments are hand finished to the best standard possible, this also includes items cleaned on our offers.