Your Clothes Matter

The way you dress does matter. In fact, by most accounts, it matters a lot.

According to Cynthia Nellis, a style expert at about.com, you have to always put forward your best image:  “If casual wear is acceptable at the job, it has to be freshly cleaned and neat to take it a notch above others that presume casual wear means sloppy. They will never make a good first impression.”

Just behind communication and presentation skills, how someone is dressed was the most important attribute in getting and keeping a job, according to a study by Total Executive, Inc. and Syracuse University.

We’re Not Casual About Casual Wear

Sure, you may be able to wash your casual clothing at home, but time spent doing that along with the most hated household chore — ironing—only takes away time from family and other pursuits.

We have the skills to make your clothes look and feel their best by creating a crispness that simply cannot be duplicated with home care.

No matter what the surroundings and circumstances, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

How You Can Help

• Stains and soil left too long can be impossible to remove. Studies by the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute show that after aging for only one week, 20% of stains cannot be removed satisfactorily. After three weeks, this increases to 47%. If staining occurs, bring it to us as soon as possible.
• Don’t press stained or soiled clothes. Heat is another factor that makes stains more difficult to remove.
• Please point out spills such as those from white wine, fruit juices, or soft drinks, or other stains that may not be visible, when you bring in your cleaning. These invisible stains require special attention by us in order to prevent them from permanently discoloring your item.
• Perspiration can cause dyes in fabrics to change color so, if possible, protect your garments from excessive contact with perspiration.
• Always allow lotions, antiperspirants, perfume, and other toiletries to dry before you get dressed. These products can contain ingredients that cause color loss or color changes in your garments.
• Protect your garments from prolonged exposure to direct sunlight or strong artificial lights. This too can affect the color in your items.
• Before putting clothes away for storage, have them cleaned to remove stains first. This prevents insects from causing holes in the fabric, and stains from ageing and discoloring.
• Clean all matching pieces together. Whether your work surroundings call for appropriate casual or traditional attire, we know that how you look does matter. That’s one of the reasons we work hard for you and all that you wear.

Clothing Care - The Single Biggest Mistake

Well, I did it.  I own a dry cleaner and I made the single biggest mistake possible in clothing care.

I have a white jacket for my morning walks with Chuy.  When the temperatures dropped a couple of weeks ago, I pulled it out of the closet only to find a big yellow spot right on the front that looked a lot like mustard. On my white jacket!

I’m sure you know to always put your clothes away clean when the seasons change.  I didn’t do that so I was at the mercy of the fabric, the stain and the knowledge of my dry cleaning spotter...who happens to be Alma (luckily Alma, is a  “Certified Garment Care Professionals” and know all about spot removal, fabrics and cleaning techniques).  They can’t guarantee that she can get out every stain, but if anyone can, Alma can do it.

Fortunately for me, Alma removed the spot from my jacket without fading the color of the jacket in the area of the stain.

So the biggest mistake you can make in caring for your clothes is to not keep them clean.  And while this may sound a bit self-serving since I’m in the dry cleaning business...it’s just the truth about clothing care. 

Here are my suggestions for protecting the investment in your clothes:

1. Clean your clothes soon after wearing them.  Don’t wait several weeks between visits to your laundry room or to Comet Cleaners.  And when the season changes, don’t put your clothes away dirty.  Stains have a better chance to set in and they won’t be ready to wear when the season changes again.

2. Clean your clothes often enough.  Trying to get an extra time wearing a dress shirt, your favorite blouse, or even those dress pants might seem like a frugal thing to do.  But food spills, perspiration and even deodorant can cause stains.  The sooner you tend to the problem, the better chance you have of not having to replace the garment early.

3. Don’t try to treat those spots yourself unless you really know what you’re doing.  Magic formulas of hairspray or Windex to remove ink on a dress shirt rarely work and most often compound the problem. If you find a spot, blot it off and let us help with it...right away.

I have a regular customer on Hilton Head island who ships any garment with a stain to me to handle.  Alma does her magic and I ship it back.

If you live in the Highland Village, Lantana, or the 76205 zip code in Denton and are interest in dry cleaning pickup and delivery have a look at my delivery service Marky's Dry Cleaners.

On Site Cleaning = Access To Professional Dry Cleaning Management At Marky's Dry Cleaners we do our dry cleaning and laundry on site.  This gives you access to professional dry cleaning management in Denton with Certified Garment Care Professional credentials.