Laundry Starch-A Quick History.

People have been using starch for laundry purposes since at least the European Middle Ages. In those days, starchy materials (like bran) would be boiled in water, which would then be used to wash clothing. After the clothes dried, they would be polished with a tool called a “slickstone”, which was often made of rock but could be glass as well. Of course, this was a rather elaborate process, and actually having one’s garments starched was something of a luxury.

Nowadays, laundry starch is generally made from a mixture of vegetables, such as corn, potatoes, wheat, and/or tapioca. Some types can be added directly to washing machines along with the standard load of clothing, but dry cleaners will typically apply starch when pressing garments. All in all, starching has become far more simple and affordable, and nearly anyone can take advantage if they so desire.

For answers to more frequently asked dry cleaning questions, visit us at https://www.olddominioncleaners.com

Can I dry clean my drapes?

A beautiful collection of drapes can place the perfect accent on any room. But when covered with grease and grime, any drapes will detract immensely from your carefully chosen aesthetic. How can you keep yours looking fresh?

Dry cleaning offers the perfect solution. Don’t risk damage to your delicate fixtures – leave them in the hands of a qualified professional. Here’s what you need to know about dry cleaning drapes.

The Dry Cleaning Process

Unlike traditional machine cleaning, which uses hot water and detergents before tumble-drying, dry cleaning is a water-free process. Drapes, garments, and other items are soaked in a specialized cleaning fluid called “perc”, which simply dissolves oils and other blemishes. This process is extremely delicate on even the daintiest trimmings, and won’t cause color bleeding. Dry cleaning is also far less likely to cause shrinkage, due to impressing items with a significantly lower amount of agitation and heat (compared to regular machine washing).

Not All Drapes Are Equal!

While all fabrics are able to be dry cleaned, there are a few in particular that don’t generally do well in a standard wash – and would be much better off with a dry cleaner’s attention. These include:

• Wool – as a natural fiber, wool is highly susceptible to shrinking from the considerable heat and agitation of washing machines and dryers.
• Silk – water can actually stain silk quite easily, creating unsightly blemishes. And if that wasn’t enough, the fact that silk is another natural fiber means that (much like wool) it may shrink somewhat in a standard washer/dryer.
• Velvet – crushed velvet is the only machine-safe form of this fabric. Throw any other type of velvet in a washing machine, or try to iron out creases, and you’ll wind up with unfixable damage to the thread piles.
• Linen – although plain linen without any adornments won’t necessarily be damaged in a standard wash, it can come out with some color bleeding or unsightly wrinkles. Embellishments like lace will demand the gentle touch of a dry cleaner.

For answers to more frequently asked questions, visit: www.olddominioncleaners.com

How do you remove grease stains in laundry?

Most dry cleaners are familiar with the OTPR (oily type paint remover) Pyratex®, manufactured by Streets®, an outstanding stain remover and an industry staple for many years.  Pyratex® has the ability to quickly cut through exceptionally heavy stains such as grease, shoe polish, lipstick, paints and oils, just to name a few.  Today I have the opportunity to tell you about a new type of Pyratex® - Pyratex LV®, a virtually odorless, color friendly, leave on, no flush, OTPR, that will not affect the flash point in solvents. Now, I know what you are thinking, "Mike, it is your job to sell Pyratex LV®, so you may be a bit biased" and I am, but those customers of mine who have already purchased the new Pyratex LV® are seeing that this new product is finding a very useful place on their spotting board, right along side the Pyratex® they have been using for years and is making their jobs much easier. 

Just like the Pyratex® that dry cleaners have been using for generations, Pyratex LV® is formulated to take on the heavy-duty stains.  It can handle paint, oil and grease stains, as well as lipstick and cosmetics. It lubricates, lifts and suspends soils to prevent it from redepositing on fabrics.  It is virtually odorless.  Another nice aspect of the Pyratex LV® is the fact that it does not need to be flushed from fabrics when cleaning in perc, HFHC and LFHC.  It can be used effectively in D5 solvent, but will require flushing with steam, water or other flushing agents.  Even better, it does not need to be flushed in wetcleaning orlaundry.  Yes, that is right you can use Pyratex LV® in your wetcleaning and laundry. In fact for those of you using the "old" Pyratex, I would think of the new Pyratex LV as "Pyratex for laundry".

Dry cleaners know that one of the biggest challenges in laundry is the removal of food greases, oil stains, cosmetics, waxes and so on.  Washing and wetcleaning does an excellent job at removing water soluble soils, but the real challenge comes when faced with the solvent soluble soils in wash/wetcleaning.  Quite often a dry cleaner will take valuable time and added expense by first cleaning a garment in their dry cleaning machine to remove these oily type stains and then laundering them, that is if they can be dry cleaned.  However, by using Pyratex LV® as a pre-spotter, you can eliminate having to go to the dry cleaning machine to first remove grease stains before laundry. 

Pyratex LV® is sold by Streets®authorized distributors.  All ingredients are biodegradable.  It contains no Proposition 65 listed ingredients or halogenated compounds and is designed to comply with California 2015 VOC regulations. 

This leads me to the question, how do you remove grease stains in laundry and the answer is simple - you use Pyratex LV®!

For answers to more frequently asked dry cleaning question, visit us at www.olddominioncleaners.com

Old Dominion Cleaners makes contribution to Walk MS 2015

In full support of one of our loyal customers’ fundraising team, ODC made a contribution toward the Walk MS 2015.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. The cause of MS is still unknown – scientists believe the disease is triggered by as-yet-unidentified environmental factor(s) in a person who is genetically predisposed to respond. Learn more about MS and options for managing symptoms, treatments, coordination of healthcare, and living well with MS. Visit this link to contribute to the fight against MS and to learn more. http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/VARWalkEvents?team_id=415312&pg=team&fr_id=25822

ODC makes contribution of Bob Books to early readers.

On December 3, Old Dominion Cleaners staff had the luxury of working hand in hand with a local baker and the Lakeside Elementary School staff to bring a fun afternoon of reading to Lakeside’s preschool students.  Staff from both the baker and Old Dominion Cleaners read books to the 18 children and staff. After reading the books, the children decorated gingerbread men provided by the baker and Old Dominion Cleaners provided all the children with a set of Bob Books.  Bob Books are defined as being  a series of children’s books designed to teach reading skills acquisition . With a foundation in phonics methods, each level addresses a single stage in a child’s reading development.  Michael DeVeaux from Old Dominion Cleaners believes that the earlier these foundation are built in the children, the easier it will be in regards to development in the area of reading.

Coat Swap Flyer We just finished our 2nd Annual Coat Swap with Lakeside Elementary School. Coat Swap is an opportunity for children to trade in a lightly worn coat for a voucher. This voucher can then be used to obtain a professionally dry cleaned coat on the redemption date.
If you or anyone has the opportunity to give to anyone and uplift their current situation, do it. Don’t wait until you reach a certain plateau of success. Any minute, hour or day is fit for giving and sharing with those who have a particular need.

How do we track your clothes through the dry cleaning process?

Have you ever wondered how we keep track of your garments after we’ve received them from you? Although we don’t expect you to be as obsessed as we are with dry cleaning, we thought you might be interested in a little behind-the-scenes peek at our process. Before your garments are dry cleaned, we tag each piece of clothing so it can be easily identified. The tags we use are specially made to ensure that the ink and dye don’t wash out of them during dry cleaning. Next, we group all garments that require the same cleaning process together. This ensures we’re cleaning your clothes safely, and to your specifications. Once we’ve separated clothing into similar groups, we weigh the garments to make sure we place the right amount into our dry cleaning machines. At the end of the cleaning cycle, clothes are taken to the finishing department to be pressed on machines specifically designed to handle a great variety of fabric types and garment designs. After pressing, clothes go to an assembly area where our coworkers collect all of the items in your order and place them together for packaging. When the number of items we’ve placed together match the number of items on your invoice, the order is complete and ready to be packaged. Garments are placed in polyethylene bags, or in your EarthSmart Bag if you have one, before we attach the invoice to your order. Your clean, packaged dry cleaning is then placed on our conveyor system to await pickup. Thanks for taking a moment to better understand our dry cleaning process! If you have any questions, feel free to contact Old Dominion Cleaners. We’re always happy to help! Visit us at www.olddominioncleaners.com