Behind the Scenes of Dry Cleaning
With the advancement of technology, difficult organization-based tasks have become much easier to oversee and control. Before computerized systems, the dry cleaning staff had to organize clothes by hand and keep track of various customers’ needs and desires. Much has changed and now, automated assembly lines are available for ease of access to clothing throughout the entire process; but what does that process look like? Here’s a small peek into the dry cleaning procedure.
Tagging and inspection
Dry cleaning inventory management begins during the very first step. When an item is dropped off for cleaning, it must be identified through a garment tag. Often, these are paper, but regular customers will sometimes have a permanent barcode ironed onto their clothing. This step is especially helpful when one customer brings in multiple clothing articles to be cleaned. Through tagging, customers can rest assured that their garments will remain together and be returned together. Once the clothes are tagged, all pockets must be checked for forgotten items which are then returned to the customer.
Stain pretreatment
The clothes are then inspected for stains and the proper steps are carried out to ensure stain removal. This step is also when cleaners will cover or remove delicate parts of the clothing so that nothing gets damaged.
Machine Cleaning
The fully inspected clothes are then moved into large drums which act as the containers for dry cleaning. A water-free chemical solvent is used to loosen and remove debris. The dirty solution is drained and fresh solution is applied for a final cleanse.
Post-spotting and finishing
Any remaining stains or issues are taken care of during the post-spotting process. Once the clothes are deemed clean, they are checked for any other fixable issues. This includes reattaching buttons, smoothing out wrinkles, and, in some cases, making repairs to the clothing.
Dry cleaning is truly a process and one that requires time and attention to detail. Next time you take your clothes to be dry cleaned, you’ll know what happens to them behind the scenes.
