Everyday activities can add marks, stains, and spots to your clothing that should be treated by a trained dry cleaning professional with the right tools; this is especially true for garments that say “dry clean only”. TLC Dry Cleaners in Lincoln, NE, knows that your clothes are important and treats them with the care they deserve. We have some helpful tips to speed up the cleaning process and ensure that we have the best chance to remove every stain.

First, before you drop that garment into your washer, check the care label. Clothing labeled “dry clean only” is best cleaned by a professional dry cleaner.  The care label attached by the manufacturer indicates the best way to maintain the “handle” (how a garment feels to touch), color, sheen, and, in some cases, size (especially woolens).  If you do accidentally wash a “dry clean only” garment, though, and find that it has shrunk just a bit, depending upon the fabric content, we might be able to steam and stretch it back to its original size successfully.

Know that we do launder and press clothing as well, especially khaki’s, shorts, polos, blouses, sweaters, and any other launder-able garment.  This can save you time to do the things you enjoy instead of laundry and ironing!

Check your pockets!!  While we double-check pockets before cleaning, it sure helps us if you remove coins, pens, lipsticks, and any other items before dropping off your clothes. We have found all kinds of things in pockets, and our policy is to return anything of value or significance to our customer in a “Safe and Secure Bag” which is attached to your finished order.

Unbutton shirt buttons.  It really helps us to process your clothing more quickly and efficiently if we do not have to unbutton every button on a shirt.  If you do not have time, of course we’ll be glad to do it, but we wonder sometimes how anyone can take off a shirt with all the buttons buttoned!  :-)

Note any stains and be sure to point them out to our customer service personnel.  Knowing what a stain is helps us to tackle it using the right spotting chemical and process.   For example, a splash of wine will need different treatment from a spot of salad dressing.  Bring your stained clothing to us as soon as possible; the sooner stains are treated, the easier they are to remove. We do check all garments for stains as they are processed, but it does help if you can point out anything specific of which you are aware.

Pet owners, please do not let your beloved 4-leggeds lie or sleep on your clothing.  Keeping a lint roller at home to remove light pet hair before bringing your clothing in for cleaning can save you an extra labor charge for that service.  We occasionally see garments covered in pet hair and it can take us as long as 30-45 minutes to delint them.

TLC Dry Cleaners in Lincoln knows that looking clean and sharp is important to our clients. In addition to your everyday clothes, we offer wedding dress, leather, and comforter cleaning, alterations and repairs. Call us at (402) 423-5580, and visit our website to learn more about our services.