Preparing Your Clothes for Dry Cleaning

Many people who bring their clothes to us without preparing them for the trip may be disappointed with the results. While our depot supervisors will prepare them for you, at times if they are too busy, they may not do a super job. Adequately preparing your clothes before dry cleaning pick up will ensure your items are cleaned to your satisfaction.

Here are some tips for preparing clothes before you visit a DombaServ outlet…

1) Choose the right clothes to have dry cleaned

The care tags on your clothes will tell you whether or not an item can be dry cleaned. Those that can will have the labels “machine wash or dry clean” or “dry clean only.” Some clothes that may be dry cleaned may also have special instructions for handling. Separate these from the rest. If you make it easy for the depot supervisor to identify clothes with special needs, you are more likely to get the result you expect.

2) Empty pockets

Everyone accumulates things in their pockets. Sometimes these end up with the clothes to be dry cleaned. Things like chewing gum, ink pens and lipstick can damage clothes. All our depot supervisors try to check the clothes before cleaning. However, we greatly appreciate people who take the time to empty their pockets.

3) Mark stained areas

Make sure that stains can be easily identified. Marking these stains can be done by sticking a bit of masking tape over or near the stain. Pins can also be used.

4) Take away the guesswork

There are different ways to effectively remove stains. Choosing the right method will usually depend on what caused the stain. Telling the depot supervisor what caused the stain will help us choose the most effective way to remove it while keeping the rest of the clothing in top condition.

5) Take in your dry cleaning early

The best time to have a garment cleaned is soon after it is soiled… i.e. the moment that ink accident occurred or that function ends when mud went on your clothes or that food stain appeared. The longer dirt and stains stay on clothing, the harder they will be to remove.

6) Make sure it’s all on your slip!

As you specify your stains or point out information on the care label, make sure our depot supervisor writes it all down. The following is important to note on the slip (of which you should also get a copy):

• any visible stains and where they are located
• the cause or type of stain i.e. red mud, ink, grease stains
• any damaged locations, tears or burns on the garment
• other special requests i.e. URGENT, deliver on Tuesday, add starch etc.

By the way, we do not charge extra for stain removals and some stiches or alterations or button replacements can be done for free!! Visit the nearest Flash or Tip Top Dry Cleaners near you or simply call or whatsapp DombaServ Dry Cleaners on 08644 107526 to request and schedule a pick and drop or use any of our apps!!