Dealing with Missing Buttons: What to Do When Your Shirts Come Back Without Buttons

Dress shirts sent for professional cleaning are typically water-washed with soap, starched, and then pressed on a 3-part (collar/cuffs, sleeves and body) shirt steam/pressing machine. Shirt buttons can break while cleaning, when pressing, or just when trying to button your dress shirt.  While not a catastrophic event, it can be bothersome if you happen to be on a business trip and your important meeting is in an hour.

So, what to do? Here are a few things you can try both before and after your button’s gone missing at the cleaners.

• There’s a possibility the button was missing before you dropped your shirts and blouses off at the dry cleaner. Take a quick look at your garments before leaving them at the cleaners and point this out to the attendant when dropping the off.  If you can't remember to do this, place a safety pin where the button belongs and that should get the dry cleaner's attention.
• Top-notch dry cleaning services (including Marky's Dry Cleaners here in the Denton, Texas area) will make the time to check for missing buttons before and after the dry cleaning process is completed, so only take your clothing to a reputable location. Though even the best service will occasionally miss one, you should use someone who makes the effort and replaces the missing buttons before returning the garment to you.
• You can request that your cotton and cotton-blend shirts and blouses be dry cleaned rather than laundered. This leaves a softer feel on your shirts and blouses and is especially appropriate for delicate items. Shirt creases are not as sharp.  Expect to pay more for this option, as it requires more labor.
• It’s possible the buttons come off because the thread is loose. Try sewing your buttons back on with professional grade thread or even dental floss, which is incredibly strong.  But make sure the thread color used is the same as for the rest of the buttons.

As for that button you need replaced for the meeting? Check the inside of the garment to make sure there isn’t a spare, usually on a side seam near the bottom of the shirt. Use your travel sewing kit or ask for one at the front desk. Those little kits usually include one or two buttons that will do in a pinch, and most people will not notice your buttons don’t match. You can also try taking a button from the part of the shirt that gets tucked in and move it to the visible location.

A good dry cleaning service will often replace your shirt buttons free of charge as part of their services. Some dry cleaners will even give you a discount on future dry cleaning services if you have to return for button replacement. Don’t be afraid to ask – reputable dry cleaners want to earn your trust and keep your business.

Money Saving Tips

Money Saving Tips

Even the experts cannot agree on when the recession will ease, some say 9/09, others 10/09.  With up to a year and a half in front of us, try some of these suggestions to keep more money in your pocket:

Ø  Turn off lights and air conditioning when not in the room, in the house, or at work. This goes for the big corps too.  Even better, use smart, programmable units and save hundreds.

Ø  Switch to fluorescent lights, the savings is significant. Look for full-spectrum bulbs. If you really don’t like all fluorescent light, use incandescent bulbs in strategic places, like where you read. 

Ø  Stop buying new clothing every season; take better care of the clothes you already own.

Ø  Minimize convenience item purchases. Wherever possible, use dishcloths rather than paper towels, a sports bottle filled with filtered water rather than a new bottle of water,  etc.

Ø  Make your own greeting cards and your own gourmet coffee at home.

Ø  Check out movies at your library before buying or renting them.  It’s free!

Ø  Before you dial 411, use the phone book or the internet to look up the number.

A great big thank you to all our customers who voted for us this year for best Dry Cleaners in Denton Texas.  We believe that our customers are our business and do what ever it takes to ensure they get the best service possible.

Visit our website, www.dentondrycleaners.com to find information and discounts for you next visit.  We hope to continue to provide the best Dry Cleaning service possible.  Let us know how we can better serve you by sending an email to info@dentondrycleaners.com or contact us at our website using this link.  Contact Comet Cleaners of Denton Texas.

Comet Cleaners   507 W. University Drive Denton, TX 76201   940-381-1182

we serve customers in the 76205, 76201, 76208, 76209 zip codes

Have you thought about preserving your wedding dress?

With all the work and money that goes into choosing the right dress, you need to know how to properly preserve your wedding dress after the big day, and that is where we can certainly help. Couture gown or vintage family gown, we make your dress perfect for your wedding day. We also press, protect, and clean your wedding dress so that it travels safely to your home or destination wedding.

To Learn how the pros do it check out this link to the Smithsonian Museum method. 

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.

How To Make Your Leather Boots Last

Rain, mud, snow and salt are just a few of the conditions you may find yourself ankle-deep in, so it’s best to care for your boots on a regular basis. Depending on the material, consider waterproofing before wearing them regularly – consult with an associate or the manufacturer if you’re unsure about application. Also, brush them off, wiping away the dirt, salt, or any other debris after each wear.

To keep your boots looking good as new, treat them with a leather oil or cream to provide moisture (this can be messy, so consider applying in a well-ventilated area over old newspapers.)

If the weather in your area is particularly inclement, consider adding a traction sole to keep your footing solid. And when your boots do begin to show signs of wear, don’t fret – check with your local shoe repair person and look into a re-sole. Love your boots and your boots will love you!
At Comet Dry Cleaners in Denton Texas, we are a full service Dry Cleaners and would love to take on the task of cleaning your delicates.

On Site Cleaning = Access To Professional Dry Cleaning Management At Comet Dry Cleaners we do our dry cleaning and laundry on site.  This gives you access to professional dry cleaning management and 60+ years in combined dry cleaning experience.