I wrote about detergents/soaps last issue and would like to expand on it a bit more this month as well as tackle the art of cleaning households for profit – the professional way. This is a great line of work and it continues to amaze me how many drycleaners do not take advantage of this very profitable item of easy cleaning and easy profit. It has been said that few products for sale are as heavily marketed as laundry detergents. “New and improved” can mean very little if you don’t pay attention. All of these marketing terms really don’t mean anything in the way of getting clothes cleaner. I find that without sudsing, today’s detergents don’t look like they are doing the job. But as stated before, sudsing is just a visual thing.
None Of The Home Products Work That Well Anymore
But in fact I am, finding that many of the home laundry detergents, sudsing or not, just don’t clean as well as they once had. That goes for hand soaps, dish detergents and laundry soaps. As I said last month, Tide has been the leading household detergent since 1949 and continues to be today. That is not an endorsement for Tide. It has fallen off the top of my list of favorites some time ago but along with Cheer and Oxydol, it is still better than most. Proctor & Gamble is the mother company of the detergent leaders. As in our industry and countless others, the standards have simply plummeted to the point that any sign of goodness is interpreted as great. Nothing works great today; it is only by a standard of measurement that it seems so.
Here again is the argument for commercial businesses like ours to not use home products. Our customers can duplicate that at home. Never before could it ever be as important to buy commercial products from your local jobbers. They will sell you the stuff that really works. It is as strong and effective as the government will allow it to be, but that’s a whole other story! What took the punch out of cleaning products among other things was the government intervention into disallowing phosphates to be used in detergents. Many attempts since that banning have been efforts to duplicate the old power of the past, in cleaning effectiveness of detergents.
Not to suggest all products are ineffective, I have to admit there have been strides made in improving the products. Enzymes do most of the work now, synthetic ones. This is not front-page news as the old animal enzymes have been around forever. But today’s synthetic enzymes do a pretty good job.
Subject two: household items for cleaning. Sometimes one must disregard the label if you are a veteran and realize there are many ways to clean many things. Everything, I repeat everything is cleanable one way or another. The only real difference is if it can be done with mechanical action in a machine or by hand. Mechanical action can work in both cases but clearly the machine mechanized way will do the best job. Common sense will dictate though that a delicate or precious item cannot be thrown in a machine. Sometimes the same is true of expensive down blankets or any furniture or window type of fabric. Thought must be given to fading, wear from mechanical action and wrinkling.
It takes a lot of judgment to decide if you can take on an expensive down comforter for instance, which is covered in blood. It will not come clean in the machine alone (even if it can be put in a machine). Many manufacturers still put in labels that suggest you should dryclean their goods. This is to protect them in the event washing ruins it. But a good drycleaner knows it can be put in water 90% of the time, if it is done properly. Today’s care labels have changed considerably but not always for the best. Best for the consumers – but not for the professional drycleaner. There are still so many old labels out there that one must use their own professional and common sense judgment on how to clean households. But make no mistake, it can be cleaned.
Top Loading Agitators Are A No-No
Fabric compartments, fillers and stitching make for a nightmare with some downs. Poly fillers can be a nightmare when drying too hot. All thought must be given to managing the integrity of the item, especially if it is an heirloom. Top loading agitators are a no – no. Huge front loaders or a big sink is in order some times. Long soaking and multiple rinsing (sometimes by hand) is the order of the day. You may or may not be able to extract. Careful handling and lying out in a warm room or in the sun will work. Often times I would hydrogen peroxide (10%) treat a stain on a comforter or blanket and let the sun do its work. There are many ways to clean this stuff.
The best rule of thumb for cleaning anything is to take into consideration what the liquid, chemicals and movement might do to the item. Matching remaining pieces in a house are paramount to customer satisfaction. If they are not made aware of the possible change in shade of color, you must reject it due to your own liabilities. Bottom line though is that virtually everything can be cleaned in some sort of fashion provided everyone is happy with the process, risks and results. Now go out there and make your fortune!
I’m headin to the wagon now, these boots are killin me!
