Nick’s Dry Cleaners & Tailors provides complete dry cleaning services. For all of your “hard to care for items”, from draperies to favorite suits, to even your washable laundries and alterations, Nick’s Dry Cleaners & Tailors handles every item with extreme care and consideration.
We conduct a pre-cleaning check to ensure that you’re garmet is cared for in the most appropriate way. We also stay alert to new products and lines on the market that are experiencing manufacturer’s defects so as to avoid customer disappointment.
- Laundry
- Leather and Suede Cleaning
- Formal Wear
- Wedding Gowns
- Duvets
- Comforters
- Sheets
- Blankets
- Sleeping Bags
About Dry Cleaning
The term “dry cleaning” is a misnomer. The clothes are put into a cleaning machine dry and come out dry, hence the term dry cleaning, but we do not use water. Most dry cleaners use a solvent called perchlorethylene, commonly referred to as “perc.” This cleaning agent, developed over 70 years ago is still the best way to clean most fabrics.
Because perc contains no moisture the amount of shrinkage and dye loss is greatly reduced as compared to washing or cleaning with other solvents. As well, perc is one of the best known products available for removing stains.
Although dry cleaning is an excellent cleaning process, some items are better cleaned by washing i.e. laundered rather than dry cleaned. Most shirts should be laundered.
The “finishing” is what really determines the quality of a dry cleaner. After the garments are cleaned your clothes must be pressed to make them look new again. Pressing is a skill that can be learned quickly, but takes many years of experience to master.
Contrary to popular belief most damage to items of clothing is not usually the fault of the dry cleaner. Some common causes can easily be traced back to the manufacturer such as:
a) incorrect cleaning instructions on the label
b) faulty or defective fabric
c) dyes that run into each other and should not
d) certain trims, beads or decorations are not dry cleanable
Other facts regarding dry cleaning:
a) not all stains will come out
b) colours will fade over time and after repeated cleanings
c) some spots are not stains but are actually colour loss due to alcohol, perfume, household cleaning products and normal wear
d) dry cleaners do not put spots on clothing our job is to remove stains
e) as much as we do not want to believe it, holes are quite often caused by moths
Accidents do happen and dry cleaners do make mistakes but the sign of a good dry cleaner is how they treat their customer when a problem does arise. A professional cleaner will negotiate a settlement based on the age and condition of the article.
Lastly, pricing is based on the amount of time it takes to process an item not on gender. A lady’s shirt is usually more expensive than a man’s shirt because it does not fit on the mechanical press and must be finished by hand. A ladies two piece suit might cost more because a skirt is more difficult to properly finish than a pair of pants. However, two identical items should be the same price regardless of gender. Talk to your cleaner if this is not their practice.