True Quality Cleaning: Riffs, Rants and Ruminations on the Shocking State of Garment Care

What's in it for you?

This ebook is an insider's guide to the shocking state of garment care today. Specifically, this ebook will:

• Challenge you to think about garment care in a different light.

• Answer many of the questions that run through your mind every time you walk out the door of a dry cleaner or shirt laundry.

• Provide you with the ammunition you might need to talk to your cleaner about any issue related to the care of your fine garments.

• Tip the “balance of power” in your favor relative to your dry cleaner and/or shirt laundry.

Warning: If, after reading this ebook, you know more about garment care than your dry cleaner or shirt laundry, please don't blame us. Talk to your dry cleaner or shirt laundry instead.

What's inside?

• Author’s Preface
• Introduction
• General

1. 4 types of dry cleaners – which profile fits your local dry cleaner?
2. Does your dry cleaner pay for their “endorsements” and buy their “awards”?
3. The shocking world of ordinary dry cleaning and shirt laundry.
4. If true quality was all about speed, we'd all be dining at Denny's.
5. The 10 deadly sins of ordinary dry cleaners.
6. The myth of three levels of dry cleaning and shirt laundry quality.
7. Glitz and the illusion of true quality cleaning.
8. Understanding the difference between a dry cleaner and a fabricare specialist.
9. Before you choose a true quality cleaner.....
10. Pieces Per Hour: the curse of true quality cleaning.
11. The unvarnished truth behind bar coding your fine garments.
12. Why understanding the difference between quality of product and quality of service and conveniences is important.
13. Misrepresentations, distortions and outright lies. Are you getting what you pay for?
14. It's not what ordinary cleaners say they do. It's what they actually do.
15. Why ordinary cleaners are quite happy to settle for “good enough
16. The case against quick turnaround.
17. Dry cleaner gobbledygook. How to separate the wheat from the chaff.
18. What does your dry cleaner stand for? Something? Or nothing at all?
19. We are not responsible.
20. Shirts and blouses: dry clean or launder?
21. Spot cleaning: The myths debunked.
22. Stain mishaps: The do's. And, especially, the don'ts.
23. Those stains weren't on my garments before dry cleaning.
24. If you wanted to ride a roller coaster, you'd visit an amusement park. Not the cleaners.
25. Protecting your fine wools against the female moth and her larvae.
26. Protecting your fine clothes with cedar: the double-edged sword.
27. The top 22 reasons not to choose a true quality cleaner (short version).
28. The top 22 reasons not to choose a true quality cleaner (extended version).

• Dry cleaning

1. Your dry cleaning bill of rights. Exercise those rights!
2. Why would you pay $40 to $55 for a $10 to $15 ladies or men's suit?
3. Does your dry cleaner no-spot, pre-spot or post-spot?
4. A brief guide to dry cleaning solvents and fluids.
5. Are your fine garments being cleaned in toxic solvents derived from chlorine, petroleum or formaldehyde? Pick your poison.
6.  Organic dry cleaning is a hoax and a fraud.                                                                             
7.  Garment care, green care or both?                                                                                            
8. Why your garments smell of “dry cleaning solvent” when returned by your dry cleaner.                     
9. Why your whites, creams and pastels look dingy and gray when returned by your dry cleaner.
10. Why your dry cleaned garments still smell of perspiration when returned by your dry cleaner.
11. Why your cottons and linens feel stiff and crusty when returned by your dry cleaner.
12. Why the cotton and linen garments you wanted dry cleaned look, feel and smell washed when returned by your dry cleaner.
13. Why your wools, silks, cottons and linens feel stiff and crusty when returned  by your dry cleaner.
14. Why your dark colored garments look dull and faded when returned by your dry cleaner.
15. Steam is evil.
16. Meet the press.
17. Researchers discover cause of and cure for SSS (aka Shiny Suit Syndrome).
18.  Does your dry cleaner play Russian Roulette with your corozo nut buttons.
19. The importance of hangers. 
20.  Tips on caring for St John Knits. 
21. Get $200 in free dry cleaning. 30 minute service. 
22. Thinking about dyeing a garment? Don't waste your time or your money.                                

• Shirt Laundry

1. Tour shirt laundry bill of rights. Exercise those rights!
2. Why would you pay $8 to $10 for a $2 to $3 laundered shirt?
3. 10 reasons why cleaners can't produce a shirt with extraordinarily clean collars and cuffs.
4. Why your lightly starched shirts feel stiff. 
5. Who gave you permission to crease the sleeves of my laundered shirts?
6. Ever wondered why your folded shirts look like a rumpled mess?  
7. Are you re-ironing your “professionally laundered and pressed” shirts at home?                       

• Final Thoughts
• What Do You Do Next?
• About Stu Bloom and RAVE FabriCARE
• Disclaimers
• Photo Credits