CONCORD, N.C. — There always comes a point when you choose to clean a “special” gown or to pass that gown on to a competitor. That choice depends on the tools that you have at your disposal.
Confidence, experience and knowledge are all tools. See, tools are not necessarily mechanical. Knowledge leads to experience, experience leads to confidence, and confidence leads to added revenue. There is no reason you should allow a high-profit-margin item like a formal gown, beaded cocktail dress or even a wedding dress to go to your competitor.
The biggest drawback to processing expensive gowns is a noticeable lack of training. The key to restoring these high-end gowns is strictly adhering to basics of fiber construction and dyeing, and going beyond the basics when it comes to pre-spotting.
A cocktail dress is usually characterized by a knee-length, flowing skirt. In most cases, it will contain a modest to excessive level of trim, the characteristic that first catches one’s eye. This trim must be dealt with (protected) during the cleaning process.
Protecting trim starts with a commitment to pre-spotting. Many times, a garment can be meticulously pre-spotted, allowing the cleaner/spotter to reduce the runtime for the garment to the absolute minimum. In cases of light to moderate amounts of trim, the garment can be further protected by turning it inside-out and running it in a loose bag.
With a heavily trimmed bodice area, a pillowcase can be pulled over the upper portion of the garment and secured around the waist with a length of cotton cord from your local home improvement store. When the entire dress is heavily trimmed, the addition of a second pillowcase, pulled up from the bottom and secured with cord around the waist, will greatly reduce any risk of damage from the mechanical action in the chosen cleaning process.
A formal dress is usually characterized by a skirt that is floor-length or longer. These dresses can be expected to have a “custom” tailored fit, even if the trim is minimal or nonexistent. Many times, there are plastic strips (boning) sewn into the inside of the bodice to add stability to the area above the waist. These strips may well be sensitive to overexposure to your cleaning solution, so runtimes should be reduced to minimize the risk of making the strips brittle by removing some or all of the plasticizer. The ornamental trim can be treated in the same way as with the cocktail dress.
You can expect to pay close attention to the bottom hemline of the dress. If worn outdoors, you will be faced with grass stains, gravel and mud. If worn inside, you can expect to find fine dirt clinging to floor preparations or wax. These stains are best pre-treated on the dry side with a general pre-spotter. After the first cleaning, you will have a better understanding of the individual stains that were under the hemline and can post-spot where necessary.
The mere mention of wedding dresses will cause some operators to duck for cover. The combination of high monetary value and sentimental value is just too much for them to accept the risk. However, somebody has to do it, so why not you? It’s a white garment that has been tried on multiple times but truly worn only once. It is not all that risky; it just takes time and effort. Walk, don’t run, and you will be fine.
Inspect the dress with the customer at the counter. Ask about the reception: food and drink served, condition of the floor, flowers that were in the bouquet, etc. Make notes for the spotter.
Re-inspect the dress in an open area by hanging the bodice, stretching the dress to its full length and placing a No. 3 safety pin in the train at the end of the center seam. Slowly inspect for stains, grass, twigs, even blood. If necessary, pre-spot the hemline on the wet side and allow to dry. Pre-spot food and beverage stains and allow them to dry.
If dry cleaning, treat areas previously spotted wet-side with a leveling agent. If the beads and sequins are minimal, turn the dress inside-out and bag it in a large mesh bag (about 2 feet wide and about 5 feet long). If the beads and sequins are excessive, they can be covered with a pillowcase and secured at the waist with a length of cord, then turned inside-out. This will reduce the risk of the trim or settings causing a snag during the mechanical action of cleaning.
This is another chance for me to suggest that you consider wet cleaning as a supplement to your solvent operation. If the trim is glued on, true wet cleaning offers a greater margin of safety for the trim (crushed ice). A 100% polyester garment is a wetcleaning candidate if the staining substance or volume of the stain makes water an advantage.
A disclaimer: Wet cleaning a garment marked “Dryclean” or “Dryclean only” is always done at the cleaner’s risk if a hold-harmless release is not signed by the customer prior to cleaning. By following strict wetcleaning protocol, you can enhance your reputation and increase your income.
Strict wetcleaning protocol is control of detergent pH (7 or less), water temperature (90 F or below), mechanical action in cleaning (one rotation in each direction per minute), and humidity-controlled drying. Your laundry cycles, alkaline detergents, and hot drying ain’t wet cleaning.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].