Like most people, I tend to always look for a deal. I want the best price possible. And many times, I will look long and hard to be sure I am getting a bargain. However, I have learned through my many years as a bargain hunter that I need to look for quality products first and price second. For example, here in the Treasure Valley, not all dry cleaners are created equal. And, quite frankly, clothes are expensive. You want them done well. After researching the industry, here is what we have found..

We have found that there are cleaners who provide a rock bottom price but the quality of the cleaning and pressing is poor. A bargain on dry cleaning is not a bargain if you have to bring it home and re-press your pants or shirts or if pieces are missing or delayed. You want the job done right the first time. We have had some requests from our customers who wanted to find out why some cleaners are priced so low and why there is such a variance in prices from store to store.

We have done the research for you and here is what we have found: The “low priced cleaners /one priced cleaners” tend to cut corners. They can price their services much lower than the competition because they put less work into the process. Some will let an automatic shirt pressing machine press your shirt, but not touch up areas that the machine missed. Some will ignore broken shirt buttons. And we have also found that customer service is lacking in these types of stores. If a garment is ruined by one of these cleaners; they can not afford to replace it because they do not make enough profit to justify the expense. As a rule, we would recommend avoiding any dry cleaner who advertised itself as a “low priced cleaners /one priced cleaners.”

At Home Dry Cleaning Kits

In this economy, many people are looking for ways to save money. A newer product on store shelves promises to do just that. The “at home dry cleaning” kits that you will find in the laundry section of your local grocers will range in price from $9.99 to $49.99. They promise to save you time and money by allowing the dry cleaning process to take place at your home, in your dryer. The question is, do they really save you time and money?

How Does It Work?

The “at home dry cleaning kits” vary widely but most come with dryer sheets and some include a bottle of stain solution. They advise that you use the stain solution (if it is included) to “remove the stain completely” before placing the garment into the dryer with their special dryer sheets. Here is the problem. If your garment is a dry clean only garment, how do you remove the stain completely by simply applying their stain solution, but without ever washing the garment? The answer is that you can’t. An independent analysis by the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute International (DLI) found that “In some cases, these products caused the stain to spread, which created a bigger stain. None of the products removed ground-in soils, which consumers typically see as “ring around the collar” or dirty cuffs.”  DLI also concluded that “When using a home dry cleaning kit, consumers should beware of the following types of damage they could induce when using the stain removal solutions: rings, chafing, broken fibers on a loose weave, local shrinkage on crepe or water-sensitive fabrics.”

Once you have used the included bottle of stain solution, you are instructed to place your garment into the dryer with the included dry cleaning dryer sheets. The trouble with these dryer sheets is that they do nothing to clean your garment. The dryer sheets serve the same purpose that a typical dryer sheet would – to remove wrinkles and give the garments a fresh smell.

Is It A Money Saver?

The answer is.. No. Because these products do not effectively clean your garments, they are a waste of money. When your garments are sent to a professional dry cleaner, they are cleaned, spots and stains will be removed (if possible) and the garment is returned to you pressed and ready to wear. If you considered using an “at home dry cleaning kit” for a men’s dress shirt, for example; when the garment was removed from the dryer it would smell fresh but not be clean and would still need to be pressed. All in all, the concept is a good one, however it has proven NOT to save consumers time or money.