Frequently Asked Questions

Chris Edwards, president
of A Cleaner World,
answers your questions
about clothing care.

Q. "Is there a rule of thumb about when I should have my clothes cleaned?"
A. 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.

Q. "Will frequent dry cleaning wear out my clothes?"
A. 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

Q. "Is the dry cleaning solvent you use safe?"
A. 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.

Q. "What does your organization do to help with environmental issues?"
A. We believe that everyone has a responsibility to help preserve our environment; therefore, in 1990 we developed a comprehensive recycling program that included the recycling of clothes hangers and the use of an innovative cardboard hanger caddy. For each hanger that customers returned to A Cleaner World, we donated one penny toward the purchase of trees to be planted in the Triad. In 1995 we formed a partnership with Triad Park, a 414 acre park being developed on the border of Forsyth and Guilford Counties. We pledged the proceeds from our hanger recycling program over a five year period in the amount of $25,000, and in 2000, with your help, we fulfilled our commitment to Triad Park by donating over $26,000. By recycling hangers, we prevent millions from being deposited in our landfills, and in the process, we are planting trees and improving the beauty of our community. In addition to our hanger recycling program, we also insist that our plastic bags be made of 50% recycled material, which is broken down into 15% post consumer and 35% post industrial content. We encourage our customers to place their A Cleaner World plastic bags in their express bag along with their dirty clothes when they drop off their next order. One of our suppliers then picks up our used plastic bags and delivers it to Recycle America where they sort, bail, and ship it to other recycling businesses.