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Charlie Traffas
Charlie Traffas has been involved in marketing, media, publishing and insurance for more than 40 years. In addition to being a fully-licensed life, health, property and casualty agent, he is also President and Owner of Chart Marketing, Inc. (CMI). CMI operates and markets several different products and services that help B2B and B2C businesses throughout the country create customers...profitably. You may contact Charlie by phone at (316) 721-9200, by e-mail at ctraffas@chartmarketing.com, or you may visit at www.chartmarketing.com.
Dry Cleaning
2004-02-01 15:36:00
Looking for a dry cleaner?
ANSWER: Dry-cleaners should not only clean your clothes, but also return them to you like in decent, unblemished, wearable, order. The dry-cleaning process is a science in itself. Clothes are gently and expertly cleaned and dried in equipment especially designed for that purpose. Labels are checked for proper care instructions and fiber content; spots and stains are removed with steam and spotting agents; and garments are classified according to fabric type, color, and degrees of soiling. Once an item has been cleaned, service conscious dry-cleaners replace missing buttons and perform minor repairs, whenever possible. Your clothes are inspected again, one last time. Every effort should be made to ensure your clothes look the very best. But remember, even the best dry-cleaners cannot remove some stains, prevent colors from bleeding or fading, prevent excessive shrinkage in dry-cleaning, reverse worn or torn areas, prevent or correct holes, eliminate excessive shine, or correct poor home spot-removal. Though dry-cleaners generally take care to remove most stains, you can help by pointing out when you drop your clothes off, any areas where stains are. You can save some money and grief by practicing simple clothes protection measures, beginning in stores and subsequently at home: • Take care in fabric selection. Natural fibers such as wool and silks can shrink, distort, and lose color when washed in water, but will dry-clean beautifully. Synthetic fibers such as polyesters also respond well to dry-cleaning. Soft, fluid rayon is a favorite of fashion designers. Rayon gives the look of silk at a fraction of the cost. Silk itself implies softness, elegance and luxury. Fortunately, both silk and rayon fibers dry-clean well. Washable silks have become increasingly popular, but care is still important. • Check labels. If they say dry-clean, this usually means that all clothing elements, (including the outer shell, lining, buttons, interfacing, fusing material, and trim) will be colorfast and safe with cleaning. • Allow your perfume, deodorant, and hair spray to dry before you dress. • Remove heavy perspiration as soon as possible to avoid permanent staining. Sweat contains salts that can change colors and damage fabrics, especially silk. If you perspire heavily, wear underarm shields. • Never put a garment away with spills or stains on it - blot stains and don't rub, especially on silk. • Remove stains from alcohol and sugar-based beverages fast. Some silk dyes bleed or change color when exposed to them. • Don’t attempt spot-removal without first testing for color fastness. Wet an unexposed area such as an inside seam with water or solvent to make sure the color won't run. • Test multi-colored articles for color-fastness before washing; pastels have a greater degree of color retention. • Never soak garments for extended periods of time. Be careful with alkalis such as soap, shampoo, and detergent, even toothpaste. They can cause color loss on certain items, especially those with blue or green dyes.
 
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