Sizing is to dry cleaning what starch is to shirt laundry.
Ordinary cleaners love sizing.
So they add or inject sizing into their dry cleaning machines during the wash cycle. In much the same way that you add detergent or softener to your home wash.
Their stated reason?
According to two local dry cleaning websites, to “keep each garment feeling new and crisp” and to “retain your garment’s original shape, weight and feel” (and, no, we didn’t make up this last quote).
And the true reason?
The more sizing they add, the quicker and easier it is for their employees to bang out your garments on a press.
What gets sized?
Everything in the load. Cottons. Linens. Silks. Rayons. Wools such as alpaca, angora, camelhair, cashmere, escorial, marino, mohair and vicuna. Super 100s, 120s, 150s and 160s.
Is it any wonder your fine wools and silks feel and drape like cardboard when you get them back from an ordinary cleaner?
At RAVE FabriCARE, we believe that sizing should never be applied to an entire load of dry cleaning.
Instead, sizing should be applied – by a skilled finisher – during the hand finishing stage – to cottons and linens only. And only according to your stated personal preference.
Like your cottons and linens smooth with no crispness? Smooth with light crispness? Like your heavier fabric linens smooth with no crispness, and your lighter fabric linens smooth with light crispness?
That’s what we mean by personal preference.
Sizing all garments in a load of dry cleaning is equivalent to drenching your food in a fine restaurant with ketchup.