Are We TOO Casual About Casual Wear?

(written by the late Carl Gardner, Laidlaw Consultant in Pennsylvania)

This week as I was at a stock club meeting sitting beside the president, he asked me an interesting question. He exclaimed, "Why can't you (referring to the company I work for) come up with something to keep my golf shirts looking new for at least the first time I send them to the cleaner?" He went on to complain that his vivid-colored shirts look old after just one service. I explained that we do have the solutions to control dye loss as well as conditioners to keep the fabric feeling "like new". He then asked, "Why don't they use them?" The truth is that they may or may not use our chemistry in that plant, but the real issue goes beyond the chemistry used.  There are issues of mechanical action, water temperature, the proper detergents and conditioners including softeners and sizing as well as heavy duty spot removers and surfactants that all play a part in the wet cleaning process.

Wetcleaning is more than just putting the casual wear in a commercial washer and substituting cold water for hot while running a pre-programmed formula. This situation is made worse when way-too-cold water is used with the standard alkaline wash followed by numerous rinses with sours or acid balancing chemicals. Colors respond much more favorably to neutral or slightly acid conditions throughout the entire process.

Our industry has experienced a decrease in work during the past decade, and we need to pay attention to the details of what our customers really want today more than ever. The president of my stock club is a real estate agent and this was his remark to me, "I really do not want to wash my casual wear at home but I 'm being forced to by the destruction of my wardrobe."  I think it is time for all cleaners to take a close look at their operating procedures and consider alternative methods.

As the industry looks at alternative solvents and processes to change the way we clean our customers' garments, I feel it is necessary to also follow the trends of manufacturers. There are more washable clothes than ever, so now your competition isn't the cleaner down the street; it is the washer and dryer in your customer's house. It is time to acknowledge that your customer can do a very respectable job in their home. But you can compete and maybe even win back some of that lost business. There are systems available to professional cleaners today to handle machine wash, hand wash, fragile and extremely fragile garments in water. These systems do require an investment, a change in attitude, some training and a desire to maintain as well as to grab new business now and into the future. The technology is here. The systems are here. All you need to do is take advantage of them.

Laidlaw Corporation leads the nation in wetcleaning products and systems. Our highly trained consultants are ready, willing, and able to address all your wetcleaning questions.

We are available online at www.laidlawcorp.com and on the web page you can access THE ABC's of Wetcleaning which contains many more wetcleaning tips.

You can also call us at 800-528-8295. We look forward to serving you very soon.

P.S. Don't forget to order your samples on-line while you are here, and visit the wetcleaning product pages.

copyright 2007 Laidlaw Company LLC.n.