Yelp comment: Your questions answered.

We recently had a Yelp review that brought up several common dry cleaning questions consumers still have.  One addressed for our New Albany, IN store came from Tayiti C. of Buford, GA posted on 8/31.

In her review she believes all dry cleaning is done with toxic chemicals and your dry cleaning needs to be aired out after pick up.

Answer:  Over 80% of cleaners still use a chemical called PERC that is carcinogenic and slowly being banned by EPA.  If your dry cleaning comes back with a "perfumy" odor, then your dry cleaner is not filtering their solvent properly and cleaning your garments in dirty solvent.  Think of taking a bath in water used by the previous person.  Yuck!

Even some of the alternative dry cleaning processes cleaners switching from PERC have used, such as Hydrocarbon (petroleum based solvent) and GreenEarth, still make sacrifices in cleaning quality and hydrocarbon is not environmentally friendly.

First, we are the only cleaners in Kentuckiana to use a truly Green dry cleaning process our, Glacier Dry Cleaning.  Our process uses an environmentally friendly biodegradable cleaning solvent that is safe for you and the environment.  Our process uses no heat, leaves no odor in clothes, and has been proven to clean better than any current dry cleaning process on the market, (even PERC!).


Her second question is regarding practice of upcharges by dry cleaners.

Answer:  Almost all dry cleaners upcharge for material and designer brands.  This extra cost is for the extra labor, skill, and complexity in processing the garment.  For instance, her garment was made of silk.  Silk is a very delicate garment that requires extra labor and skill in cleaning and pressing the garment.  Dye's in silk can be very unstable and can also make any spot stain removal a challenge.


Hope this is informative.
Nu-Yale Cleaners

Ugg Boot Cleaning? Yes, we do that!

It's been a while and we are a little behind on keeping up on this whole blogging thing.  Probably because we are much better garment care professionals than writers. :)

This is the time of year we receive more Ugg boots to clean the water and salt stains from the harsh winter weather season.  Let Nu-Yale Cleaners give your Ugg’s the care they deserve and keep them looking like new.  Our in house shoe and Ugg cleaning specialist can professionally clean, condition, and restore them to like new.  As a family owned business since 1956, we have years of experience in a full range of garment care needs. 

The Uggs we receive are cleaned in house by hand inside and out.  We even have the ability to restore color via restoration and dying.  Want to protect them of water stains? We apply a water proofing and stain repellent solution to all our Uggs to help keep them looking good and long lasting.  So why replace when you can clean and restore your Uggs to like new condition before and after the winter season.  Come to your nearest Nu-Yale Cleaners today!

Dry Cleaners Claims and some myths part 1.

Truth is, all dry cleaners have claims at some point.  On average dry cleaners pay out about .3-1% of sales a year on claims.  Claims fall into two categories, loss and damaged.  Loss items are usually the fault of the dry cleaners but damaged items are where the dispute often arise between the consumer and their dry cleaner or garment manufacture.

Myth:  The Dry Cleaner will cut me a check almost immediately for a claim.

Many consumers who have not had a claim before think they are going to be paid for the garment at cost to buy new almost immediately.  Dry Cleaners claims are much more expensive to pay out than say an order messed up at your local quick service restaurant.  Therefore, claims are processed more like an insurance claim. 

For instance, if the item is lost, a dry cleaner might take two to four weeks to locate the item or see if the item was misplaced in another order and returned.  Only after that will they start to identify the value and process a payment.  On a damaged item, there could be a number of reasons from manufacturing defect to dry cleaners error.  Dry cleaners go by a Fair Claims Guide as an adjustment formula for settlement of damage claim for textile products.  This often uses the depreciated value of the garment based on how old it is and how many times it has been cleaned.   Some dry cleaners may have a policy to pay damaged items at full cost to buy new, while other dry cleaners may be very reluctant to pay anything at all.  You are generally likely to find a dry cleaners with a favorable claims policy from a cleaners with a long standing reputation and is not a low price/discount cleaners.  It’s best to know how your dry cleaners handle claims in advance and thoroughly inspect your items before leaving the store.

New Madison, IN Store!

It's been awhile since I've had the chance to update our Blog.  I'm not a full time blogger or even social media person and like many small business managers, have "many hats to wear".  I thought it would be a good time to update everyone on our new Madison, IN store opened in January 2012.  As rumors spread in late 2011 that Madison, IN only Dry Cleaners was closing up, the mayor contacted us about opening in town.  We had to act fast but in just two months, we were open for business!

We purchased the house and retail unit located on "the hilltop" at 1605 Clifty Drive.  We made minor repairs/renovations to the brick house and moved into that unit because it was in better shape.  Our plans were to fully renovate the retail building and move into the retail building once complete.  The renovation would include convenient features such as a drive thru, and 24 hr locker pick up access.  Below are a few pictures of the construction progress and our new sign at the property.  The town has responded well to us being there and we are also a member of the Madison Chamber of Commerce to help further support the local community.

This year, we plan to continue to finish work on the retail unit and eventually move.  We have also started a Wednesday and Saturday Free Pick Up & Delivery route service for Madison residents.  This route will be service by Madison, IN resident and one of route drivers, Matt Johnson.  You can call Matt anytime to start your route service at 812-599-0930 or sign up at www.nuyale.com

Color loss on shirt collars.

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

The problem arises with the sudden appearance of local

color loss areas on or near the neck edge of blouses and shirts.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

In most cases, the color loss appears along the neck fold of

the collar. The discoloration can be all around the collar or

just in localized areas, such as in only the right and left side

front areas. Depending on the color of the fabric, the color

change usually shows up as orange, pink, yellow or cream.

Some fabric colors, however, may change to other shades.

WHAT CAUSED IT?

Chemical testing and colorfastness tests on these shirts

indicate that the dyes are affected from the prolonged effects

of solutions containing either alcohol or mild oxidizing

agents (bleaches) or both. Some common solutions containing

alcohol include perfume, cologne, after-shave lotions,

skin fresheners, hair tonics or plain rubbing alcohol.

Oxidizing bleaches can be found in many skin preparations

and medicines, such as medicinal lotions, acne creams,

depilatories (agents for removing body hair), and other skin

treatments.

CAN IT BE PREVENTED?

Sometimes, the dye damage is not immediately visible

because of perspiration and body oils, which produces a stain.

Furthermore, the damaging solution itself may contain some

color or oil of its own that masks the damage. Therefore, the

dye disturbance may not actually appear until after the stain

is removed in subsequent drycleaning or washing processes.

Only in some cases, if the damaging solution is removed from

the shirt by cleaning it immediately after wear, can subsequent

dye damage be prevented.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

Only the consumer can be held responsible, since the solution

that causes the dye disturbance originally made contact

with the garment during wear.

IS THERE A REMEDY?

There is no method to reverse this type of color loss.

Sources:  International Fabricare Institute

http://dev9.cantongroup.net/pdf/SLP/SLP52.PDF

http://dev9.cantongroup.net/pdf/SLP/SLP52.PDF

Can Dry Cleaning be Green and Clean?

Since it's Earth month, I thought I write a short piece on the environmental issues with dry cleaning.

Did you know that organic dry cleaning is hardly “organic”? Any chemist knows anything with a carbon atom in it is organic, like gasoline.  Some dry cleaners have exploited this term, and many unsuspecting people think “organic dry cleaning” is chemical free. Most dry cleaners nationwide are still using traditional dry cleaning methods involving hazardous chemicals called PERC or Hydrocarbon (a "natural" petroleum solvent).

There is an entirely new process developed by Solvair we installed in 2008 called our Glacier Dry Cleaning.
The advantages of our Glacier Dry Cleaning vs.traditional dry cleaning are:

• A truly “green” way of dry cleaning; every step considers the environment.

• Cleans better than traditional dry cleaning.

• Keeps white garments, bright.  No yellowing or graying.

• A truly gentle and cold process; heat is not used so stains never set.

• NO ODOR.

In the past 50 years, dry cleaning has not changed much until now. As a family owned dry cleaner for over 50 years this is the first innovation that we have seen which is truly amazing.  It not only solves all the environmental issue but it cleans better too.  A win-win for us and the consumer.

The case for the missing garment?

Situation:  You believe you did not receive one of your garments back from the cleaners so you ask them to look for it.  Your cleaners search for the garment but cannot seem to locate it anywhere so they suggest you (the customer) misplaced the item.  You (the customer), double checks at home and still cannot locate the garment so now you are for sure it’s the cleaners who misplaced the item.   

Has this scenario happened to you?

If so, perhaps your cleaners still tracks garment items manually and has not invested in advance software systems and heat seal barcode technology.  The advantages of using a cleaners that utilizes heat sealed barcode technology are: 

Tracking garment history- Dates and # times cleaned, service performed (cleaning, alteration, etc.)

Track garment details- brand, color, item type.

Track garment processing stage- when it’s detailed, cleaned, finished, delivered/sold. 

At Nu Yale Cleaners, we are committed to tracking your garments with the highest level of accuracy.  That’s why years ago we invested in advance software systems and heat sealed barcode technology to provide you (the customer) with the best garment tracking/details possible.  So don’t wait for another garment to go missing at your cleaners.  Come see the Nu Yale difference today!