| Don's Dry Cleaning & Laundry

Frequently Asked Questions

To start off our Frequently Asked Questions page, we’ll begin with the basic most often asked question.

 

What is drycleaning and how is it “dry?”

The answer to this question can be simple or complex. Simply put, drycleaning is the process of washing garments or items in a non-water fluid or solvent. It is called “dry” because the items being cleaned are not immersed in water.

Items that are cleaned are immersed in a clear solvent inside a specially-designed machine. The clothes are loaded into the drycleaning machine and solvent is poured through the clothes as they are tumbled inside the machine. The machine then begins a cycle that extracts the cleaning solvent from the clothes – much like a home washer – and the next cycle dries the clothes. All of this is done in the same machine without loading or unloading between cycles.

If you want more detailed information about drycleaning, there is an excellent article on the website, HowStuffWorks.com. Click the link below to go directly to this article, where you will find answers to a number of questions related to drycleaning. Click Here to go directly to dry-cleaning article.

 

Why is an item missing from my order?

Help! I picked up my clothes from a Don’s Dry Cleaning & Laundry and later found that my favorite blouse is missing. I need it for this weekend! How did this happen and how can it be resolved?

Fortunately, in most cases, the missing clothing is being held by the drycleaner for special treatment. Perhaps there was a stain you weren’t aware of that needed treatment. Or your garment may need a special procedure and the person who performs this procedure was’t available. When you pick up your drycleaning there should be a note or some explanation to account for the missing garment. If there isn’t, there’s been an oversight and we apologize.

Another possibility is the garment lost its identification tag during cleaning. When our identification and inventory system works properly, our employees know when an order is incomplete – and they will locate the item before the order is returned to the customer. But sometimes mistakes are made and our staff returns an incomplete order to a customer without any explanation. If this happens, call the location where you picked up your clothing right away and let us know something is missing. Please be ready with a detailed description of the item when you call. Simple mistakes like this are usually corrected easily, and the staff should be able to locate your item quickly.

If you should find a garment in your order that isn’t yours, please bring it back as soon as you can with any tags still attached to the item. Also, if there is a hanger in your order without anything on it, that is a valuable clue for us, so keep that in mind when reporting that something is missing.

Sometimes customers think an item is missing from their drycleaning order but later find the item in a closet, drawer, hamper or suitcase. That’s an understandable situation. If you feel an item is missing, please be sure to thoroughly check your closets, drawers, hampers, and especially suitcases, if you have traveled recently. Also check your drycleaning receipt, which gives a piece count and a description of the items you dropped off. This can help determine whether you did, in fact, bring that particular item to us for drycleaning.

One more possible scenario: Items sometimes fall under the seat of a customers’ vehicle before or after the trip to the drycleaner. Be sure to check your vehicle thoroughly when an item is missing.

If the missing garment is not found, a reasonable amount of time has passed and the drycleaner has a record of cleaning that particular item, then a reasonable value for the garment will be determined and Don’s Dry Cleaning & Laundry will reimburse you for the item. We realize that the full sentimental value of a lost item cannot be repaid, but will do our best to right the situation in a fair and timely manner.

 

I picked up my garments from the drycleaner and some buttons and ornaments are broken or missing. What can be done about this? How can it be prevented?

First, it should be understood that buttons and ornaments that are fixed or permanently attached to a garment should be able to withstand the normal care process, whether it is professional drycleaning or home laundering. But sometimes buttons and other decorative pieces do break, even with proper care. To help prevent mishaps, always remove buttons, button covers or other ornamental pieces – when they are removable – before garments are laundered or drycleaned.

As a courtesy, Don’s Dry Cleaning & Laundry stocks various types of replacement buttons and will replace broken buttons at no charge. If you receive a garment with a missing ornament or button, please contact us immediately and bring in the garment. In many cases, missing buttons or ornaments can be found in a special button trap on our drycleaning machines. If the missing button cannot be found, it may have been broken and unusable when the garment was dropped off. We can provide a replacement set that matches the original as closely as possible, but most often it works out best when you choose a replacement set from a local fabric or specialty shop. Don’s Dry Cleaning & Laundry will pay for the replacement set.

Our policy is to remove any large or unique ornaments that we feel are at risk of being damaged. The charge for this service is 50 cents per piece. Don’s Dry Cleaning & Laundry also will remove buttons or ornaments at the customer’s request for 50 cents per piece. Please be aware that anything that is not securely attached to the garment must be removed. This includes detachable belts, broaches, pendants, and decorative pins.

While our staff does its best to spot any garments with broken or missing buttons, they are sometimes missed. If we fail to replace missing buttons on a garment or don’t notify you when a button is missing or broken, please bring in the item so that we can search for the missing button or do what otherwise might be needed to replace it.

The following is an excerpt from the April 2003 edition of Fabricare magazine, published by the International Fabricare Institute in response to very common questions that are posed by drycleaning customers and professesional drycleaners..

 

Can it be dangerous to peoples’ health to wear drycleaned clothing?

No. Properly drycleaned garments should have no detectable solvent levels and do not pose a health risk to humans. The suggestion to air out drycleaned clothing before wearing is unsubstantiated.

The International Fabricare Institute tells the public and its members that there should be no solvent odor in garments when the customer picks them up and if there is, the items should be returned to the cleaner to be reprocessed at no charge.