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who-does-best-job-cleaning-your-jeans-dry-cleaner-vs-laundromat

Who does the best job cleaning your jeans? A Dry Cleaner vs. the laundromat?

By Rinse Team In Care

Maintaining your denim is entirely dependent on the skill of the person cleaning the garment. With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of the benefits of bringing your jeans to a cleaner vs. caring for them yourself:

Professional cleaners

The pros:
Professional cleaners have - as expected - a lot of experience cleaning jeans. They follow the individual garment care label instructions. The care labels usually have water temperature and drying heating settings, which pro cleaners should follow on an individual garment basis.

While you can follow the care label carefully yourself, the big difference is that a high-quality cleaner like Rinse is trained to recognize how to recognize and treat stains of all types.

Before washing your jeans, most dry cleaners will go through a step called “pre-spotting,” where they give attention and treatment to individual stains. For best results, it’s helpful to tell the cleaner what type of stain is on your jeans. The cleaners will use specific solvents and cleaning techniques to get rid of those stains,  which is a step that isn't done when you are relying on a washing machine to remove stains.

The cons:
The only downside of professional cleaning is the price, which is not to be overlooked since costs can accumulate if you're cleaning multiple pieces. 

Our recommendation is to bring your jeans to a professional cleaner when you have a stain that needs treatment. If your denim is stain free, it makes more sense to wash your denim yourself via the laundry and hang dry route.  

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Hand washing

The pros:
Using a bucket and some mild detergent is the most gentle way to care for your jeans. If you’re willing to go the extra mile, you can more closely control the outcome of each wash. Hand washing will also reduce the amount of friction applied to your jeans which will help them last longer.

The cons:
The downside to hand washing is that it takes a lot of time and generates mixed results. Typically hand washing is only as good as how much you are willing to scrub the garment. Each type of stain may require a different cleaning treatment and that makes it difficult to remove every type of stain by using soap and water alone. 

Washing machine

The pros:
Using a residential washing machine is the easiest way to clean denim and washing machines do a thorough job so you can be confident that your clothes are clean

The cons:
Washing machines are also the option that is most likely to cause your jeans to deteriorate. The spinning mechanism in a washing machine tends to generate a high amount of friction during the cleaning process which causes both dye loss and fabric deterioration over time.

We suggest the following steps to preserve the life of your denim garments:

  1. Use the delicate setting, which is easier on the garment. Reducing the amount of friction the denim is exposed to will help preserve the life of your jeans.
  2. Turn your denim inside out.
  3. Hang to dry to avoid excess exposure to heat

All of these steps will help preserve the life of your clothes.

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Know the Difference: A guide to understanding clothing labels
Rinse Team

Preserving your clothing tags may be one of the most important things you can do when it comes to caring for your garments. It's not always as simple as distinguishing between dry or wet wash. Nuances in clothing care such as wash cycle, water temperature, iron or non-iron can be hard to keep track of without the trusty label for recommended care.

Different colors, different care

The first rule of laundry is to check the care label, and the second rule is to always separate your darks and lights.

While most clothing can tolerate warm water, dark or bright fabrics work best with cold water to prevent color transference. The label will state "Do Not Bleach" if the garment can't withstand bleach products or "Non-Chlorine Bleach When Needed" if only certain types of bleach can be used.

At Rinse, we follow these rules for each and every order. Your clothes are properly sorted and expertly cleaned when in our care. If you don’t want to deal with rules one and two yourself, the third rule of laundry is to have someone else take care of your laundry for you. That’s where Rinse comes in! We’ll pick up, expertly clean, and hand-deliver your laundry straight to your door, 7 days a week.

Wet wash or dry clean only

Unless a clothing label reads "Dry Clean Only," the item can most likely be hand washed with an ultra-gentle detergent designed for delicate fabrics.

Special care items such as outerwear, certain textiles such as merino wool, and delicate embellishments or silk fabrics are better left to a trusted dry cleaning service (especially if the label recommends "Professional Dry Clean Only").

Caring for upscale fabrics

More delicate pieces will often have the following instructions: "Machine Wash, Gentle or Delicate" and "Tumble Dry, Low Heat." This means setting your machine to the lowest setting for gentle care at a maximum of 86 degrees Fahrenheit (compared with a fabric like cotton that can withstand 200 degrees). Alternatively, if your dryer does not have a low heat setting, opt to hang dry your item instead. For more refined fabrics such as pure silk, consider using professional laundry services.

For best results: Treat your clothes to a gentle cycle, or hand wash, and always use cold water (below 85 degrees Fahrenheit). To hand wash, simply fill a basin with cold water and add a gentle detergent. Besides investing in a gentle laundry soap for your most treasured pieces, laundry nets are also a fuss-free way to provide an extra layer of protection for washable items.

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After-care: to tumble dry or not to tumble dry?

Have you ever shrunk your favorite sweater? Most likely you've forgotten to read the fine print: "Do Not Tumble Dry." Be sure to check the label for instructions on how to dry or press your garments. Basic items such as cotton should be safe in the dryer on a medium setting ("Tumble Dry, Normal"). Clothing with sensitive fabrics might have a "Do Not Iron" warning.

For best results: Even though the label might read "Tumble Dry, Gentle,"—remember, the less heat you apply, the better—it doesn't hurt to hang dry your favorite item to avoid potential changes in fit or texture. A trick for maintaining a sweater's shape is to flat dry on a solid surface. In some cases, the label may state "Drip Dry" instead of "Tumble Dry" or "Dry in Shade" if wet clothing should avoid direct sunlight.

Have laundry or dry cleaning to do?

Rinse picks up, cleans and delivers 7 days a week. Amazingly awesome. Ridiculously simple.

Try Rinse

Clothing label cheat sheet

Sometimes decoding clothing label instructions can be difficult, but there are a few tricks to understanding common symbols. Bleaching is denoted with a triangle, dry cleaning with a circle, drying with a square (or circle inside a square for tumble dry), washing with a trapezoid bisected by a wavy line, and ironing with a trapezoid bisected by a curved line.

As a general rule for heat instructions, the more dots on the label, the higher the temperature. But consult the breakdown below for specific temperature limits:

Machine Wash

  • Normal: Water temperature does not have any heat restrictions
  • Cold: Water temperature should not exceed 85 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Warm: Water temperature should not exceed 105 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Hot: Water temperature should not exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit

Ironing

  • Low: Temperature should not exceed 230 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Medium: Temperature should not exceed 300 degrees Fahrenheit
  • High: Temperature should not exceed 390 degrees Fahrenheit

When it comes to clothing maintenance, the fine print matters. If you're pressed for time or unsure of specific treatment requirements, consider the array of services offered at a dry cleaner—from Dry Clean, Launder & Press to Hand Wash—to ensure your top pieces are well taken care of.

Photos: Francis Duval, Jeff Sheldon, Clark Street Mercantile, Clark Street Mercantile

Laundry Symbol Chart
Launder & Press vs. Dry Cleaning
Rinse Team

dry-cleaning-vs-launder-press

Extend the life of your clothes: know the difference between laundering and dry cleaning

When you have clothing that needs to look sharp, like a suit, dress, sweater, or dress shirt, chances are you take it to the dry cleaners. But many nice articles of clothing don’t actually need to be dry cleaned—often, having your clothing laundered and pressed is a better choice.

 

So, what is the difference?

The short answer - water.

Dry Cleaning: When your clothes are dry cleaned, non-water based solvents are used to remove stains, before they are crisply pressed. 

Launder & Press:  With laundered items, water and detergent are used. Your clothes are washed in a commercial-grade washing machine, emerge slightly damp, and then are individually pressed.

 

Why Launder & Press?

launder-press

So what's the benefit of using Launder & Press?

• It's gentle on fabric: The chemicals used to dry clean your clothes can cause fabrics to deteriorate over time. Laundering, on the other hand, removes stains and everyday grime using water and gentler detergents.

• It's ideal for removing sweat, oils and dirt: Laundering is actually more effective than dry cleaning at removing sweat and oil from fabrics, so it is typically the best choice for dress shirts and cotton blouses. After clothes are laundered, they are pressed and hung for that crisp, fresh-from-the-cleaner look.

High-quality laundry services like Rinse read the care label on your clothing and make the call between chemical dry cleaning and laundering to maximize the life of your clothes. When you’re the one making the call, read the label: if it doesn’t say “Dry Clean Only,” ask for Launder & Press. Your clothes will thank you!

 

Why Dry Clean?

dry-cleaning-with-solvents

You may be thinking - Why on earth would anyone choose to dry clean when Launder & Press is just as effective (if not more in some cases) and gentler on fabrics? Well, the truth is, it really depends on the fabric and the piece. 

• It's ideal for clothing made of natural fibers, like silk or wool because water can have an adverse effect on the fabric. Water can cause the fibers in the fabric to become rigid and even cause the garment to shrink, fade, or lose its shape.

• It's often the only way to get out certain stains: When an item is dry cleaned, it also goes through the “pre-spotting” process where an experienced cleaner will examine each garment to locate stains and determine the source so that they can treat the stain with the appropriate non-aqueous solvent. It’s not uncommon for a pre-spotter to have decades of experience!

A helpful tip to extend the life of your clothes: If you know the source of any stain on your garment, let your dry cleaner know. Be it ketchup, wine, or a splash from a puddle, your dry cleaner will use that information to choose the right solvent and minimize the risk of damage.

There’s a reason both dry cleaning and launder & press are offered today—each serves a different, valuable purpose. Both are aptly named and both keep you looking sharp!

———————

Learn more about How Dry Cleaning Works from our COO James. He grew up in dry cleaning! 

Or, read Our Guide For Which Clothes You Should And Shouldn't Dry Clean.

Green Dry Cleaning

At Rinse, we only use safe cleaning solvents. Learn more about green dry cleaning and why it is important to not use perc. 

Rinse

dryclean-blogsize.jpg

At Rinse, we feel strongly about the care we provide for your clothing. It’s our job! We thoroughly vet all of our cleaning partners to ensure you are receiving the highest-quality care possible.

We feel just as strongly about the environment and the health implications involved with some of the cleaning services we provide. We have a strict policy that all of our cleaning partners use environmentally friendly cleaning processes. The green revolution is the best solution!

What is perc and how am I exposed to it?

Historically, the dry cleaning industry has been known for using the solvent perchloroethylene (“perc”), which is a known carcinogen and potentially hazardous. While we do not partner with any cleaners that use perc we believe it is important for us to provide you with further insight on perc and green dry cleaning.

If your clothes are being cleaned at a dry cleaner that uses perc you most likely are exposed to it through inhalation or skin exposure. Common side effects include dizziness, headaches, drowsiness, nausea, and skin and respiratory irritation.

Yikes! Needless to say, it is important to find out if your dry cleaner is using perc or not.

Going green!

The majority of our cleaners offer a hydrocarbon-based solvent, which is one of the preferred alternatives to perc. This type of solvent is non-toxic, has no documented risk of causing cancer, and is environmentally safe.

Many cleaners outside California still use perc and our decision to work with non-perc cleaners everywhere is accelerating much-needed change in the industry.

If all of this talk about toxic solvents has you a bit worried about dry cleaning your clothes there may be an alternative for you. Wet cleaning!

What is wet cleaning?

Wet cleaning is a water-based alternative to dry cleaning that is safe for use on dry-clean-only items. It uses special machinery to maintain the size of the garment and feel of the fabric while cleaning the garment with water and detergents. We only work with cleaning partners who have demonstrated a great quality and consistency in the wet cleaning process.

It is recommended for water-soluble stains on dry-clean only materials since it will have greater cleaning efficacy while maintaining the look and feel of the fabric. However, we do not recommend wet cleaning for all your dry-clean-only clothes. In summary, it is both safer for you (our customers) and the environment to go green and avoid perc.

We strongly suggest that you find out if your current dry cleaner is using perc or not. Or just schedule a pickup with us and we’ll make sure your items are cleaned using environmentally friendly cleaning processes. We guarantee it!

If you are still hesitant don’t just take it from us. Here is a “Smart Science” segment on green dry cleaning from who else? That’s right! The Weather Channel.

Leave the cleaning to Rinse experts

Use Rinse's award-winning services for high-quality cleaning and delivery straight to your door.

Expert cleaning

Leave your clothes to the people who know best. You’ll receive your clothes pressed on hangers, or neatly folded (depending on the service).

Convenience

Schedule via SMS, web, or app. We pick up and deliver everyday, even if you are not home.

Fast turnaround

Our standard turnaround time is 3–4 days
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