Q: Sometimes my customers return white garments and say they are now yellow or not as white as they were before cleaning. I do not believe it is redeposition, since I maintain my solvent carefully. So, what else could be dulling the brightness of these white fabrics?
Q: A customer brought in jeans with crayon all over them. The jeans had been dried while the crayon was still in the pocket. Can these stains be removed?
A: According to DLI experts, crayon stains are similar to candle wax stains and appear as built-up, shiny, and stiff stains.
Normally, drying, not washing, will cause these type of stains. The heat from drying melts the crayon material, resulting in stains on the garment.
Have you ever drycleaned an item in a normal process only to notice localized areas of color loss on a certain item? What went wrong? In many cases the color loss was caused by contact with an oxidizing agent - such as a bleach - prior to the cleaning process.
Oxidizing agents are found in hair care products, acne preparations, medicines for the skin, home bleaches, disinfectants, scouring products, and other cleaning agents. The discoloration may not show up until the item is exposed to the heat in the drying cycle or the heat of steam finishing.
Q: While pressing a dress I noticed staining around the buttons. What caused this?
Q: Over the past year, I have had trouble with zippers that won’t go up. While a few of them are made of metal, most of them are constructed of nylon. I have replaced several zippers but feel there can’t be that many defective zippers. Can you please help me find a solution as I cannot continue to replace these zippers?
A: Most zipper problems can be traced back to solvent charge and crushed slides approximately 95 percent of the time.
Q: Lately, during final inspection after laundering, I have seen several white shirts with random damaged areas, but only some yarns are gone in the “holes” while other yarns remain undamaged. What in the world could cause this type of damage?
