By Woman’s Day | Work + Money – Apr 20, 2010
1. Stop trying to spot-treat your dry-clean-only clothes. Regardless of what you’ve spilled, commercial treatments, water, hairspray or soap will not help get the stain out-in fact, they’ll may do more harm than good. If you wash a garment in hot water or put it in a hot dryer or iron it and the stain doesn’t come out, it probably will never come out! Get the garment to a professional as soon as possible!

​2. Be accurate about stains. Your dry cleaner will treat a spot with any number of solutions depending on what was spilled. He’ll have a better chance of removing a stain if you tell him what caused it.

​3. Your beauty products are ruining your clothes. DON’T GET DRESSED UNTIL YOU’RE READY TO WALK OUT THE DOOR !. Antiperspirants, deodorants, hair products, lotions, perfume and teeth whiteners are “disastrous” on fabric.

​4. Always clean both pieces of a suit at the same time.

​5. Don’t treat us like your second closet.

​FORGET ABOUT THIS ONE. We will let you take out anything that you want. However, after 90 days, we may call you about the clothes left here. We will call 3 times. If you don’t reply to us, we will dispose of the clothes.

​6. Never store your clothes in the dry cleaner’s bags. Dry cleaners send your clothes home in plastic to ensure everything stays clean and dry in transit. Get rid of the bags before you hang your clothes. If you don’t, moisture from the air can get trapped inside and cause considerable damage. MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE GARMENTS ARE YOURS. If a garment was switched for 1 that belongs to you, we can find them if we know about it soon enough.

7. Check your pockets before you drop off your clothes.

​8. Don’t blame us for every misplaced item of clothing. (See # 6) Yes, dry cleaners occasionally lose clothes.. “Check all of your closets-including your husband’s and kids’-before you call us to look for your missing garment.”

​9. Store garments clean. Perspiration and body oil can attract moths and other insects, Plus, over time, stains that are invisible to the naked eye (usually from a spilled drink or a splatter of sauce) can oxidize and turn brown These stains can’t be gotten out !

​10. Some spots are permanent. If you’ve ironed over a deodorant streak, you may have permanently damaged the fabric, There’s also little hope if the spot hasn’t come out and you wash a garment in hot water or dry it in a hot dryer .