dry cleaning

[prestige cleaner]

when customer requests to dry clean her sofa (firm on dry cleaning was told when she purchased the sofa to have it dry clean only) a well trained cleaner can wet clean any fabric i expressed to her,so should there be a price difference. for example cheaper prices when encap vs. hwe carpets..

 

[Dolly Llama]

encRap???
that's not "dry cleaning" , that's shampooing and involves h2o

if you're referring to the "dry cleaning" I know, absolutely you charge more.
Cause the dry cleaning solvent used in place of water is more expensive...and doesn't clean all that well either ..


.l.T.A.

 

[Doug Cox]

I'm not sure I can agree that ALL fabrics can be wet cleaned. I've seen way too many shrunken skirts to say otherwise. Dry cleaning has its place, too bad more guys don't go the safe route. And I do agree it is less effective but in certain situations it is superior and is much safer.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

People usually dry clean for the wrong reasons:

"Looks scary...."

"Upsell...(oh yeah there are guys who do it just to charge more)

"That's what the tag says...."

"Bleeder....(most dyes can be stabilized without solvent cleaning ...and solvent pulls color in some circumstances)

Dry cleaning makes sense with some textures and dimensional stability issues, but the fabric should be fairly clean if you expect decent results. I'd rather do such fabrics in plant. Shrinkage and texture distortion are easier to cure or avoid in plant, and if you do dry clean, your not polluting the customer's house.

Not that most can do it, but when you can, it's the best way for the most delicate fabrics.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

I've had good results with compressed air and patient vacuuming on difficult pieces.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

To clarify my point IN PLANT cleaning is best for hypersensitive fabrics, not necessarily dry cleaning, which is the often the least desirable option.

Good comment Lee. That's a great technique for smoke losses and dusty antiques.

Anyone using Microfiber cloths?

 

[ruff]

I've had good results with compressed air and patient vacuuming on difficult pieces.

Hey Lee,
Where do I buy patience :?:

 

[prestige cleaner]

encRap???
that's not "dry cleaning" , that's shampooing and involves h2o

if you're referring to the "dry cleaning" I know, absolutely you charge more.
Cause the dry cleaning solvent used in place of water is more expensive...and doesn't clean all that well either ..


.l.T.A.

 

[prestige cleaner]

thanks for the tip larry.

 

[Nate The Great]

[quote="Lee Stockwell":39fayjly]I've had good results with compressed air and patient vacuuming on difficult pieces.

Hey Lee,
Where do I buy patience :?:[/quote:39fayjly]

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Josh, it seems you were also asking about price, and not how to clean things.

The material cost and needed time to create as safe an environment as possible when dry cleaning should factor into your price.

However, I've never been comfortable with the following scenario:

"Wet Clean costs less money and cleans great"

"Dry Clean costs more money and doesn't clean"

First, the two terms stink. Few people want to think of things being "wet", and dry cleaning isn't "dry"....its oily and often feels that way longer than something you "wet" clean.

Instead, look at it this way:

To safely use water based products (hate "wet cleaning" as a term) it requires:

1. Knowledge and Experience
2. More expensive cleaning agents and dye stabilizers
3. More time to do the job safely.
4. More time to do finishing work, such as texture restoration

Therefore, even if you aren't using 20.00 + per gallon dry cleaning fluid, you are spending more time and taking more steps.

So you might have a "Special Care" price that covers any high value/high risk cleaning procedure, and a "Standard Care" price that covers the safe and easy synthetic fiber fabrics.

The other thought might be to simplify things and have one premium price that covers all cleaning you do, because your customer pays for you to know what to do and what products, tools, and procedures best suit their needs.

That's a marketing and management decision rather than a production cost decision, of course.