What do those funny symbols mean on my clothes labels? I think they have something to do with care for the garment.
Symbols like the triangle speak to bleach. Squares have to do with drying instructions. Circles are for dry cleaning instructions, etc. Our professionals are trained on these symbols to provide the best care for your wardrobe. These symbols are required by the Federal Trade Commission and can be very confusing. Want a cheat sheet? We have attached a link to a handy chart that you can print for your laundry room at home. See
Care Label Chart to download a copy.
Is there a rule of thumb about when I should have my clothes cleaned?
There is an old cleaners saying "Wear it twice, it will clean up nice." This is a nice slogan, but you need to put more thought into your decision. For garments you wear next to your skin, like blouses, pants, shirts etc. you should follow the same logic you would use if it were machine washable. If you would wash it after one wearing, then you should dry clean it after one wearing. For suits, sport coats, overcoats, and sweaters worn over a shirt or blouse you may get two or more wearings between cleanings.
Dry cleaning is especially useful to remove food stains, dust, soils, makeup, cologne, and perspiration.
Over 95% of bacteria will be removed with proper cleaning and steam finishing. It is this bacteria that will produce an offensive odor if the garment is worn too long. Always clean garments before storage for any length of time. This will help prevent moth damage. Some antiperspirants and deodorants can attack colors and fibers if not removed soon after wearing.
Will frequent dry cleaning wear out my clothes?
Quite the contrary, it is the soil between the fibers that abrades the fabric. A well designed study conducted in the late 1980's at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro found that men's suit fabrics dry cleaned over and over exhibited no adverse effects to the color, dimensions, or feel of the fabric. You can read a summary of this article at
Dry Cleaning Keeps It Like New
Is the dry cleaning solvent you use safe?
The solution we use is
perchloroethylene, commonly called perc, and it is from the same family of cleaning agents used in household cleaners and swimming pools. Perc has gone through several years of comprehensive testing by a number of well-known universities, so we’re certain that it is completely safe. But just to be on the safe side, we developed higher standards to follow at A Cleaner World to ensure we keep our customers and employees safe and our environment clean.
For example, we continuously purify and recycle our solvent to ensure that no perc is released into the environment. We also maintain our equipment to the highest standards so that we can promise our customers fresh, odor-free garments. At A Cleaner World, we take our environmental responsibility seriously. After all, we have a big name to live up to.