Robyn Lehr
The International Fabricare Institute offers the following
tips for finding a
good dry cleaner.
Ask the owner if someone on staff is a certified professional dry cleaner, a certified environmental dry cleaner, or a certified professional wet cleaner. Such certifications can point you toward pros who take their cleaning seriously.Find out if the shop
is affiliated with the Better Business Bureau or the International Fabricare Institute. These groups protect good reputations
and customers’ rights. (Enter your city in
the “Find a Cleaner Near You” window at www.ifi.org/consumer.) Judge the cleaner
by its counter clerk. If your conversation begins and ends with “When do you want these back?” keep looking. Good cleaners inspect clothes carefully and ask about stains and special care.Heed word of mouth. Advice about which cleaners to avoid can save you from a bad
experience. If people you know have left a cleaner feeling they received unsatisfactory service, they’re probably not alone.
