American Drycleaner - March 2020

drycleaner

March 2020

FEATURES

Vol. 86, No. 11

DEPARTMENTS

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®

Team Wet Clean

Do you have a wet clean team at your operation? They do! The They are four garment care operators from all around the U.S. These owners from Michigan, Washington, Connecticut and Arizona weigh in on the way they use water to get textiles clean. One operator says that some days they don’t even turn on their drycleaning machine! Another says their washers go all day nonstop. Read all about this Team Wet Clean mindset that is getting the job done all around the U.S. Tim Burke, Editor

18 Let The Sun Shine

Accurate ways to value your business are many. According to these two drycleaning owners from California and Texas they include, besides the obvious bottom line, the opinions of your clients, colleagues, vendors, and partners. In all those ways combined you get the true sense of your garment care business. The result is a comfortable and real perspective of your operation’s worth, and also one more important thing.... peace of mind for you and your family, which is a real good thing. Tim Burke, Editor

Pre-Inspection 4 All Wet

Management Strategies 28 Glow Your Biz, Diana Vollmer

Special Feature 34 FireWaterWet, Jeff Quail

Owner’s Office 38 Beauty In Budgeting, Dan Miller Spotting Tips 40 Wet-Side Story, Martin Young

Special Feature 42 American Drycleaner Marks Two Years Podcasting

Around the Industry 44

Classified Ads / Ad Index 46-47

Wrinkle in Time 48 Magic in the Glue Pot

NEED HELP FINDING THE HIDDEN HANGER?

All Wet

Is it gettin’ wet in here? Answer — Yes! (Page two proves it.)

Wet as in the ‘wet’ issue of American Drycleaner, or can we say American Wetcleaner.... at least in fun, and just for the month of March.

Don’t be too shocked by that notion. It’s been floated before (pun-tended). Even if only with a wink and laugh. Try saying it aloud: “American Wetcleaner magazine.”

Wet cleaning is finding an audience more and more in our garment care world. We found four owners from all over the United States who were delighted to dive in and share their stories of “all that is wet” in their garment cleaning world.

You’re about to be immersed into the wet world in several ways in this March issue….

Publisher

Charles Thompson 312-361-1680 cthompson@ATMags.com

Associate Publisher/ National Sales Director

Donald Feinstein 312-361-1682 dfeinstein@ATMags.com

Editorial Director

Bruce Beggs 312-361-1683 bbeggs@ATMags.com

Burke

Team Wet Clean is the feature story. That’s the wet team at Curtis Cleaners operation from Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the front cover. The co-owners, Andy and Chris Curtis, tell us they wet clean so much that some days they don’t even turn on the drycleaning machine!! (Wow -- That rates two exclamation points from me.)

Then we further ‘part the waters’ with Martin Young’s column, Wet-Side Story about taking advantage of water immersion with wet-side supplemental stain removal.

Also, there’s a special feature by Jeff Quail, FireWaterWet, where we dive into the topic of fire restoration services with, what else, the wet cleaning of textiles.

In this issue we also bring you a feature, Let The Sun Shine about valuing your business and the peace of mind it can bring to you and your family. Columnist Diana Vollmer writes on creatively self-promoting your operation in Glow Your Biz; and a column by Dan Miller discusses finding the Beauty In Budgeting. Other ‘four-leaf clover’ types of finds in this March issue include a new Wrinkle In Time and much more.

Seeing the name American Wetclaner on page two hopefully brought you a smile and a giggle. (And maybe a brief pause for thought.) We certainly enjoyed a little wry amusement floating the idea! Have a Happy St. Paddy’s Day!

ADC

American Drycleaner (ISSN 0002-8258) is published monthly except Nov/Dec combined. Subscription prices, payment in advance: U.S., 1 year $46.00; 2 years $92.00. Foreign, 1 year $109.00; 2 years $218.00. Single copies $9.00 for U.S., $18.00 for all other countries. Published by American Trade Magazines LLC, 650 West Lake Street, Suite 320, Chicago, IL 60661. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER, Send changes of address and form 3579 to American Drycleaner, Subscription Dept., 440 Quadrangle Drive, Suite E, Bolingbrook, IL 60440. Volume 86, number 11. Editorial, executive and advertising offices are at 650 West Lake Street, Suite 320, Chicago, IL 60661. Charles Thompson, President and Publisher. American Drycleaner is distributed selectively to: qualified dry cleaning plants and distributors in the United States. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising for any reason.

© Copyright AMERICAN TRADE MAGAZINES LLC, 2020. Printed in U.S.A. No part of this publication may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher or his representative. American Drycleaner does not endorse, recommend or guarantee any article, product, service or information found within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of American Drycleaner or its staff. While precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the magazine’s contents at time of publication, neither the editors, publishers nor its agents can accept responsibility for damages or injury which may arise therefrom.

American Drycleaner, March 2020

Editor Tim Burke 312-361-1684 tburke@ATMags.com

Digital Media Director

Nathan Frerichs 312-361-1681 nfrerichs@ATMags.com

Production Manager

Roger Napiwocki

Advisory Board

Jan Barlow Mike Bleier John-Claude Hallak Wesley Nelson Kyle Nesbit Mike Nesbit Fred Schwarzmann Beth Shader Contributing Editors Dan Miller Diana Vollmer Martin Young Office Information Main: 312-361-1700 Subscriptions 630-739-0900 x100 www.american drycleaner.com

Tim

By Tim Burke, Editor

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

There was a Dry Clean Only coat that had been refused by several cleaners. It was a custommade $8,000 cashmere coat and everyone was afraid of ruining it. Andy took one look at it, tossed it into one of our wetcleaning machines, set it to a hand-wash program, and walked away. It came out absolutely perfect, free of all stains, even the salt stains we commonly have to deal with every winter in Michigan. They were shocked when we told them we did it in water.”

That’s Chris Curtis, third generation co-owner, along

with his brother Andy, of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Curtis Cleaners. The business was founded by their grandfather Richard Curtis in 1957, and was taken over in the early 1980s by their father John Curtis and his brother-in-law Kevin Smith.

Chris Curtis notes that besides their 50-pound drycleaning machine, they also have five wetcleaning washers, all, he relates, “dual purpose for both wet cleaning and laundry,” along with six wetcleaning dryers, all with residual moisture controls.

The biggest benefit from wet cleaning, (continued)

Jump into the wet with garment care owners from all around the U.S. — hear them talk about wet cleaning today

(Photo by Jody of SnapSisters Photography)

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he says, is superior garment cleaning capabilities.

“The ability to remove wet-side stains from ‘dry clean only’ garments gives us a nice advantage over the competition,” Chris states.

“We’ve managed to survive our growth with one 50-pound drycleaning machine because of wet cleaning. Our late uncle, Kevin Smith, who had a passion for wet cleaning, used to explain to me: ‘We wet clean 70% of the garments that normal dry cleaners have to put in the drycleaning machines.’”

Andy adds that today, “We wet clean close to 90% or better and some days we don’t even turn the drycleaning machine on.”

Chris adds: “Wet cleaning uses two machines, a washer and a dryer; this allows a wet cleaner to process more garments in the same amount of time.”

They first started wet cleaning almost three decades ago in the 1990s as Chris relates: “Our sister company Curtis Equipment hosted an open house with Wascomat for its new wetcleaning system.”

Curtis says their business purchased the equipment used at that open house and they became the second Wascomat wetcleaning operator in the U.S. He adds: “We have always tried to be a user of the equipment we sell and be at the forefront of new or improved technologies.”

Today, the brothers operate two retail stores with laundromats, six delivery routes, and have about 35 employees, and the operation covers an area known locally as West Michigan, which they explain is essentially the Grand

Rapids area westward to the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Not many of their customers know what wet cleaning is, Chris says, and explains how they try to promote it on their website and with flyers at the door. “We love to offer tours and explain the process when we have a customer that wants to know the details.”

Curtis offers some tips for owners who might be thinking of adding wet cleaning to their operations, along with what they can expect if they start wet cleaning:

“Purchase the proper equipment. You can’t professionally wet clean with regular commercial laundry equipment and traditional finishing equipment,” he notes.

“Chemistry is critical. You don’t just need a supplier with the proper detergents, you need a rep with wet cleaning knowledge and experience — that’s a must to ensure success.” He gives a for instance: “We use Pariser Industries and rep Tim Hush has been phenomenal.”

Curtis adds that, “Tensioning finishing equipment is required to finish wet-cleaned garments effectively and efficiently. We have removed all of our traditional finishing equipment, such as the legger and hot heads, in favor of tensioning equipment and up-air vacuum boards, like the European Style.”

He says, “We also just removed our traditional doublebuck shirt presses and installed tensioning shirt units, all blown, no hot heads.”

Curtis shares this parting thought: “The upfront equipment costs are less for wetcleaning machines compared to drycleaning machines. It’s a bit of a learning curve, but once you get it, you’ll never look back!” (continued)

Andy Curtis, back row middle, co-owner with brother Chris of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Curtis Cleaners, stands with their team. Front row from left: Missy, Ashley, Sam, Amanda; back row from left: Arika, Andy, Tori. “The ability to remove wet-side stains from ‘dry clean only’ garments gives us a nice advantage,” Chris says. Andy says they, “Wet clean close to 90% or better and some days we don’t even turn the drycleaning machine on.” (Photo by Curtis Cleaners)

WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT

The benefits of wet cleaning are being able to clean and restore items which were otherwise impossible to restore in dry cleaning. Wet cleaning can help save spotting labor since the majority of stains are on the wet side. Remember if it goes in wet, it needs water to come out. Wet cleaning leaves more garments whiter and brighter than dry cleaning. One of the greatest benefits of all is the way the garments smell. No solvent odors or residual smells that solvents can leave behind.”

That’s Phil Cote, president and owner of West Hartford, Conn.based French Cleaners, which specializes in couture cleaning, bridal care, and restoration, as well as regular dry cleaning, laundry and alterations. Cote is fourth generation with more than 30 years of experience. His son-in-law Mark Hatch, general manager, has three years experience, and represents their fifth generation.

Cote points out his operation has, “One Miele wetcleaning system, made up of one machine and two dryers. We also have two drycleaning machines. About 30-40% of our garments are wet-cleaned.”

The cleaners was founded in 1911 and has been in the same location since 1925. Two families started the business, and Phil purchased it from his father-in-law in 2000, continuing the family operation. French Cleaners operates multiple routes and does production at its one facility in West Hartford.

Describing his operation as a progressive dry cleaner, he says, “We have always been open to the latest technologies and have always been receptive to new ideas. In 1999 when wet cleaning was in its first stage in the U.S. we were the first in our area to offer this service.

“Working closely with Rich Fitzpatrick of Miele

Products from Germany, who is currently the head of Kreussler Chemical Co. in the U.S., we were introduced to this wonderful process.”

He notes that wet cleaning gave his operation, “Another incredible tool to use to turn out superior cleaning. In addition to being able to clean an Armani Wool suit with vomit all over it — returning it to the customer in perfect condition — we were finding that many items we previously drycleaned came out much better in wet cleaning.”

He points out that, “White silk blouses with perspiration stains or whites that had been turning dingy from many years of dry cleaning were quickly cleaned and restored to a beautiful bright white! Antique wedding gown restoration also became much easier.

“Cashmere sweaters with wine spills were dealt with so easily compared to the previous spotting and drycleaning method. We clearly had an edge on our competition when nobody else was doing it. As time went on we have moved even common items to wet cleaning to clean better and cut labor costs.”

Some of Cote’s clients are really tuned-in to the wet method he explains: “Very recently I had a ten minute conversation with a customer regarding wet cleaning and how we utilize that system with our standard drycleaning services. This customer became an extremely highvolume customer that day and he had four huge bags picked-up for delivery service.

“He was looking for an expert to handle his garments and I think he was impressed that we had all the answers regarding how his items would be handled.”

Is the day coming when wet cleaning will be the dominant cleaning method in our fabricare world?

Cote thinks it’s a matter of ecology vs. economy. There are many factors to consider.

Phil Cote, president and owner of West Hartford, Conn.-based French Cleaners. (Photo by French Cleaners)

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“With the current availability of non-toxic drycleaning solvents, I believe many garments can be cleaned quicker and need less finishing than items processed in wet cleaning,” he relates.

He goes on to explain that with labor costs as the largest expense to dry cleaners and minimum wages set to go up significantly across the country, he feels this is the largest deciding factor as to how much wet cleaning will grow or not. Water is another factor.

“With energy costs becoming stable and price of water going up, I feel that this will be an obstacle for wetcleaning growth,” he says. “On the other hand, labor is reduced in the wetcleaning process for items with water soluble stains letting the machine do the work versus an employee on a spotting board.”

Cote adds one last consideration for anyone thinking of going to a mostly wetcleaning operation: “The space factor. True wet cleaning requires hanging space for items to dry. It is important to plan enough space to hang-dry wetcleaned items while they are drying.”

He’s got a tip for other owners thinking of adding wetcleaning services:

“Make sure you have the appropriate drying technology and leverage your chemical distributor and supplier to ensure you have the right products being added along with the right programs on your machine.”

He says to keep, “Pushing your equipment and chemical vendors to ensure the chemistry is correct and the equipment is functioning as designed.”

French Cleaners recently made a lot of process modifications to tweak their system and now the garments are coming out of the dry wheel with a very soft finish, similar to the drycleaning side.

Cote concludes: “The benefit is they are now stain-free and have a great smell which is extremely important with our market.”

We’ve heard from garment care owners in the midwest and the east coast about wet cleaning, but now let’s hear from operators on the west coast and the southwestern U.S. all about wet cleaning.

BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON

Wet cleaning was the only option for me.”

That’s Colleen Unema, owner of Brio Cleaners, in Bellingham, Wash. She’s a former teacher of high school and college biology, environmental science and chemistry for over 20 years. She started Brio Laundry in 2013 and then opened Brio Cleaners just last year with this goal: “We aim to take our place as a neighborhood cleaners with a large reach.”

She says she created Brio Cleaners to be, “unlike any other in my market area. This is on purpose. It’s an old adage from my teaching days: If you do the same thing over and over, you should expect the same results. Those ‘same results,’ were not an option.”

In deciding to open her wetcleaning-only operation, she explains: “I simply could not find a toxin-free dry cleaner near me; I mean a truly petrol chemical-free cleaners. My customers are savvy and

The wetcleaning team at Brio Cleaners. Front row, from left: Terron, Matt, Hana, manager, Owner Colleen Unema, Kyle and Christian. Back row, from left: Rita, Joely and Denise.

(Photo by Jody of SnapSisters Photography)

know they want all-natural next to their skin. So do I.”

Unema tells her story: “The decline of the neighborhood dry cleaner is well known. I would not build a new enterprise on an old model that is not meeting customer needs now or in the future. I met dry cleaners from around the nation at laundry conventions and workshops who were ‘shaking it up,’ and experiencing success and growth. I listened to them and am following their lead.”

She relates that for her new business, she opted for the latest technology, and for her that was wet cleaning; and while she can’t compare wet to dry, Unema speaks to the benefits of wet:

“I have only ever offered wet cleaning. What is very satisfying is that we can offer a truly fine result and my solvent is just water. No air monitoring or specialized spill kits.

“Of course it is the whole shebang: textile sorting and pretreatment is critical no matter what form of cleaning you use, the process of wet cleaning itself requires specialized machines and formulations of soap. Then we are just like any other dry cleaner in the finishing,” she says.

“I do think there are traditional drycleaning operators who think it is just putting washing machines in the back, throwing in some comforters and calling it wet cleaning. We do everything from sweaters and beaded dresses to suits and ties,” Unema explains.

She offers this wetcleaning tip: “I would say, if an operator is ‘adding’ wet cleaning as an alternative to their solvent-based cleaning, they need to give it an equal playing field in their marketing; plenty of employee training; and plenty of time to really develop the loyal customer. It could turn out to be that edge to get a regular customer to come in more often with items that, ‘can now be wet cleaned.’”

Unema shares this thought for owners reading right now: “It’s like a breath of fresh air to step out of the norm and tackle an age-old problem of ‘dry clean only’ with a brand new solution that doesn’t have any negative environmental or health effects. People love to be loyal. I think wet cleaning is a great way to create a loyal repeat customer base,” she says.

And last she shares an amusing notion:

“The truisms of drycleaning customers apply just as much to a wet cleaner, such as: ‘My dog or cat slept on my suit coat!’ or ‘I have only worn this once and it has all these spots, can you help?’ Or even, ‘My son needs this suit for an interview — in three hours!’ ….Okay, there is a lot wrong with that last one…. c’mon mom, he’s a big boy, he can take his own suit to the cleaners!

Of course, we at Brio Cleaners are trying to ‘re-train’ the 20-somethings to the idea that using a cleaners is part of the new ‘adulting’ movement!”

Colleen Unema, at her front counter, owner of Brio Cleaners in Bellingham, Wash. Last year she opened her wetcleaning-only operation explaining: “My customers are savvy and know they want all natural next to their skin. So do I.” (Photo by Levi Unema)

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PHOENIX, ARIZONA

Our washers go all day long nonstop. We are fabricare specialists not dry cleaners.”

That’s David Meyer, president and owner of Phoenix-based Elite Cleaners, a store with 24 employees specializing in processing name brand clothing at moderate prices.

Opened in 2008, he says, “We started wet cleaning immediately. We try to avoid using the word washing and promote using the term wet cleaning. Customers can wash clothing at home but they can’t wet clean.”

He describes his equipment: “We have two 55-pound Unimac washers, two home washers and dryers, one front loader and one top loader, and a 65-pound Wascomat relative humidity dryer. Also a 25-pound Wascomat wetcleaning machine mated with a 35-pound Wascomat relative humidity dryer.”

Meyer points out that his operation has, “Educated our customers that wet cleaning uses high grade detergents. Wet cleaning uses water. It uses lower agitation and lower temperatures than washing.”

He notes that they have grown their poundage because customers, “Bring us their ‘Do Not Dry Clean’ garments.

“Customers trust us to process their clothing in the best way possible. We use three Hi-Steam tensioning units to help finish wet-cleaned garments. A Sam, Pam and a tensioning suzy.”

Starting his career in 1981 in New York City, Meyer owned a cleaners in Queens, and then branched out to owning stores in Ardsley, N.Y. and Stamford, Conn. He later was a Caled Chemical salesman before buying Elite Cleaners in Phoenix.

“We have had many customers allow us to wet-clean

high-end formal dresses and they were totally surprised that we were able to restore garments that they thought were ruined,” he relates.

Meyer notes that they wet clean baseball hats that customers loved and were afraid to have them cleaned. “They are always amazed.”

He indicates that his fabricare operation currently wet cleans about 40% of their work. “If you add in the shirt laundry, it is about 60%,” he adds. “I think wet cleaning will go up another 10 to 20%.”

Meyer has a few tips for those first starting in wet cleaning: “I suggest starting out with home washers and find the best wetcleaning detergents. As you progress, you should buy dedicated wetcleaning machines. Don’t forget bleaching. We soak garments with amazing success. Again, start off slow and gradually learn by trying.”

He says they use two vendors: “Pariser for most of our work. Kreussler is used primarily to wet clean ‘dry clean only’ garments.”

For beginners, he caution that you will damage a few items but it is part of the learning curve.

Most importantly, he relates, is to ask for help.

“Find another cleaner that can help you in a jam. Call before starting on a risky garment. Contact your soap salesman regularly. I also call A.L. Wilson reps for help before starting a difficult project,” and he reminds, “contact DLI or NCA for help when necessary.”

To summarize, Meyer says, “Trial and error will help you to become a full-fledged garment care specialist!”

There we have the opinions of four owners from all parts of the U.S. sharing their thoughts and experiences with wet cleaning!

David Meyer, on right, president and owner of Phoenix-Ariz.-based Elite Cleaners standing by his wetcleaning washer and dryer, with team member Jorge Rios on the other side. “Our washers go all day long nonstop,” Meyer says. “We are fabricare specialists not dry cleaners.” (Photo by Elite Cleaners)

To thine own self be true. ….Good words.

Also good: Know the true worth of your business.

Recognize the achievements you have made and the reputation you worked so hard for. Be thankful, in general, for the great things in your life, and specifically for your drycleaning business.

Do you know where your operation stands in the mar-

ketplace? It is to your strong benefit to know the real worth of your operation. There are many ways to accurately value your position.

One drycleaning owner who shares ways of valuating the worth of his business is Saro Semercian, owner of Harbour Cleaners in Huntington Beach, Calif., which specializes in wedding dress cleaning and restoration, and everyday garments such as dresses,

American Drycleaner, March 2020

Owner of Harbour Cleaners Saro Semercian with his wife and son last fall. Semercian relates: “The advice I would give to my fellow dry cleaners would be to run your business and take pride in it on a daily basis.” (Photos by Saro Semercian)

By Tim Burke, Editor

By knowing the value of your garment care business, you’ll gain comfort, perspective, and peace of mind for your family, and that’s a real good thing

slacks and shirts. Harbour also does rugs and outdoor patio furniture for its clients.

“My customers see value in my business by our attention to detail we provide on a daily basis,” he points out. This includes doing, as he says, whatever it takes to help clients.

“They know we will stay open an extra 10 minutes if they are stuck in traffic. They know if they have an emergency and can’t leave home, we can accommodate them by an emergency delivery service.”

About worth, he relates how in a financial sense, he’s had friendly conversations with his customers.

“When they see a customer pick up a large order or two before I help them, and let’s say the grand total of both came out to be $160, they do a magical calculation in their minds and presume I average about $9 thousand a day! LOL!” He adds that: “They don’t get to see the slow gaps we also have during the day.”

We are in an industry that isn’t simple, Semercian notes. “We have a lot of moving parts, such as steam lines, traps, and more, that can have a hiccup at any moment.” He feels that is the hardest part of the drycleaning business, and says that’s the part customers don’t see.

There are other ways besides a client’s comments to honestly and accurately value your operation. Use all different ways to put together a complete picture of your dry cleaners worth.

“Most of my suppliers and friends in the industry have had kind words on how my business is run,” Semercian relates. “We are definitely not the

biggest, we don’t have 10+ employees.”

But his peers, he notes, have been in the industry long enough to know that net income is what really counts, especially, he says, with wages and taxes going up every year in his state.

He explains that, “Here in California most of the agents go by the 10-12x monthly gross of your business. I for one don’t always agree with this assessment, I think location, rent, age of machines and quality, make a huge difference.”

Semercian says his location helps his business. “When I bought this store in 2004 in a one-mile radius we had 12 dry cleaners including me and today we are nine, with most of those being sold to new ownership more than once. So if or when I would sell, it would have to be well worth it.”

He thinks most drycleaning owners do know the approximate value of their businesses, but it’s all in how they perceive that worth, he thinks.

His father turned 78 recently, he shares, and says, “If he was the owner of Harbour Cleaners maybe he would be willing to negotiate the price if he was ready to get out of the business. I believe this is a tough subject that has a specific answer to it.”

Owners value their drycleaning operations’ worth by the bottom line, of course, but they also get a true sense of its place in the market by what the clients are saying and also simply by the enjoyment they get out of running their own business and doing a great job cleaning garments for their clients.

Semercian relates: “The advice I would give to my fellow dry cleaners would be to run your business and take pride in it on a daily basis.”

He notes that, “I’ve met owners that are all show and no go. They have a Ferrari store with a (continued )

Saro Semercian, owner of Harbour Cleaners, enjoying some peace of mind and fun time with his family. His business recently installed a brand new sign.

4-cylinder Honda engine staff, in other words, great advertising, great store front, but quality in work and detail are missing.” And he’s met vice-versa, he also adds.

“All of us, as owners, should give our very best and that will always keep us growing and becoming prosperous. The ones that don’t, won’t last another 5-10 years,” this owner says.

“Give the absolute best quality for your price range, because there is a customer base for all of us,” Semercian concludes. “I’m a BMW trying to move into the Porsche

sector. Can you tell that I love cars!”

He closes with this sentiment: “We will try to maintain ourselves as a lean, mean, cleaning machine.”

VALUE IS COMFORT

Another drycleaning owner, and CEO, John Palms of Bibbentuckers in Dallas, Texas, also emphasizes all the various ways to determine an accurate valuation of your garment care operations.

Palms points out several

American Drycleaner, March

Owner of Bibbentuckers John Palms, on far left, stands with his team. (Photo by Bibbentuckers)

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mechanical ways to value your business. “Your CPA or tax accountant should be able to give you a solid number based on 3-5x trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA.” (Means: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.)

If they cannot, then something is wrong, he says. “Local brokers that focus on buying and selling dry cleaners can also analyze your financials and market comps to derive your valuation. Market comps tell what other dry cleaners recently bought and sold.”

Palms notes that, “Your CPA and tax accountant can also tell you how to prepare for a sale in terms of financials, tax returns, sales and tax reports, and other documents that are part of due diligence, which include: general liability insurance, workers comp, bailee for restoration business, D&O, and healthcare insurance.”

The value of the business also helps lenders and investors to get comfortable with the amount of debt and equity in the business. If you pay your bills on time, he relates, it also helps with your credit ratings and purchasing power.

Not all drycleaning owners may know the current worth of their business, so it may be time to evaluate.

It is good discipline to evaluate or appraise your business every year or two, Palms advises. It also sets the stage for what you are going to do next.

Suppliers, partners, and equipment vendors like to, as he puts it, “Do business with winners that also treat them with respect and value the relationship. If your company is growing and increasing in value, suppliers want to hitch-on as they say and partner in any way possible.”

He points out that suppliers want to know if you are going to be around for years to come: Will you continue to order the same amount or more if you are growing? And if you buy other cleaners will you continue to stay with current suppliers.

Ultimately, your client’s satisfaction and expressed opinions matter very greatly.

“It’s important that your customers value you as a service and quality provider,” Palms says. “The more they

do so, the more business that mindset should bring to you as an operator.”

He describes how the affluent want to spend more money on their clothes — and the way they clean their clothes. They want consistent execution, he notes.

“Most of them are in upper management or own their own businesses,” he relates, “so they are fanatics. If you damage or destroy their garment, they want to know you can repair or refund its market value. Could be thousands of dollars!”

In addition Palms says, any owner contemplating selling his or her business should also invest $399 with OnlineBusinessAppraisal.com and get a fairly thorough appraisal or valuation of their business. “I have used the service a couple of times and been pleased.”

If understanding your true worth leads to potentially selling, then keep in mind what Palms notes, “Buyers will be attracted to cleaners that have unique niches in their market place. It could be unique route capabilities; fur, shoe and leather cleaning, household/linens cleaning,” he lists.

“Some cleaners are diversifying their services and starting in home window treatment and upholstery cleaning as well. Other cleaners may have stronger management, leadership, and financial or accounting prowess,” he adds.

“The trending of the business is also a key attraction,” Palms says. “If your sales and piece count are both up the past several years, that bodes very well for a business in a consolidating industry that has a lot of unknowns in the next decade.”

Know the accurate and updated valuation of your garment care business, whether for a possible future sale, or if you are planning to purchase a business and expansion. Also know the value of your business for yourself, as the owner, to keep track of how you are doing in your marketplace today.

Knowledge is power. Realizing your worth to clients, the market, and on the bottom-line, gives you and your family peace of mind. That becomes your truth. So be true, and let the sun shine on you. ADC

Knowledge is power. Realizing your worth to clients, the market, and on the bottom-line, gives you and your family peace of mind. That becomes your truth.

So be true, and let the sun shine on you.

(Image licensed by ING Images)

Glow Your Biz

Are you doing the self-promotion needed to educate and convert your prospects and current customers to become users of all your services?

Do your prospects and current customers know how many of their needs you can meet?

Do they know the facts about the environmental advantages of your family laundry service versus the huge detrimental environmental impact of the home washer and dryer?

Do they know how many stores, routes and drop locations you have? And are they receiving new relevant lifestyle information in a concise manner?

When asked about self-promotion efforts, a common response from drycleaning owners is a variation of, “We’ve been around forever, so everybody knows us.”

Even if that was factual, which it is not, the consumer probably thinks of you as a “dry cleaner” period — con-

juring up the image of suits and formal clothing that they seldom wear.

They need a broader updated understanding of your offerings. There are plenty of drycleaning industry examples.

Broadcasting an ever-evolving expertise is a challenge for all cleaners, including even an established brand like Anton’s Cleaners. With 106 years in business, 28 processing plants, 14 dry stores, and 13 delivery routes, Anton’s Cleaners is a well known dry cleaner in New England.

A third-generation family owned and operated business, brothers Charles Anton and Arthur Anton, Jr. are always looking for new ways to better serve their customers and their business as well as ways to broadcast their expertise with a multi-pronged effort including all types of media and specifically new locations and community involvement.

Anton’s continues to grow, acquiring two high-volume processing plants and stores in 2019 alone:

(continued)

Diana Vollmer

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

former Champion Cleaners of Woburn, Mass., and Sturgis Cleaners of Boston, Mass.

Per Charles Anton: “We are fortunate enough to be in a situation where we can strategically evaluate our position in the community and acquire new locations that complement our existing portfolio.”

They also strongly believe in leveraging the business to help neighbors in need, which is why they formed two annual community service programs and a supporting non-profit foundation that encourages community involvement through donations and volunteers.

Since the Coats for Kids and Belle of the Ball programs began, Anton’s has donated over $18.5 million in cleaning costs directly benefiting the communities they serve.

To date, Anton’s has been leading the effort in collecting, cleaning, and distributing 1,073,306 warm winter coats to children and adults as well as 76,469 prom dresses to students in need since the programs began in 1995 and 2005 respectively.

Although similar success takes years of dedication, it is time to review your current program to market yourself and determine how to make an ever-growing impact in your market.

Package your know-how for prospects, existing customers and for sharing your expertise with the industry. In this competitive market, you have probably already widened your business scope, but have you broadcast that fact to the audience that needs to know about your ever-improving business model?

Many of your peers are actively and successfully marketing themselves. If you attended the Clean Show last year, you probably heard Bobby Patel of Kona Cleaners in California talk about all the many ways he disseminates information to his target audience, including consumers, businesses, and the fabricare industry itself for his marketing business BeCreative360.

Dave Coyle of In The Bag Cleaners in Wichita,

American Drycleaner, March 2020

Kansas, runs ads in trade media to share his expertise with other owners who want to shadow him during his business management activities.

Several cleaners around North America cater to remote regions to provide their expertise to other owners or direct to the consumer, who may not believe they can get the desired quality results in their own plant or market.

Since you are reading this article you probably have attended educational sessions in person, or via webinar, to discuss the many ways to use social media for the benefit of your business. If you have not implemented a coordinated targeted media plan, do it now or risk joining the growing ranks of cleaners who have closed their doors.

Social media is a powerful component of a multifaceted promotional plan that also includes print, both public and customer targeted, branding of all types and locations, whether stationary or mobile, sales through internal and external efforts and partners, and information and events that appeal to your target audience.

NEW INITIATI V ES

Today’s customers don’t fall from the sky. They are the result of well planned, well executed and well managed sales and marketing plans, with the various parts being well coordinated and integrated for maximum effectiveness.

Accomplishing great things with which to promote and share, takes discipline and underlying structure.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Oceanside Cleaners agreed to share the bedrock vision upon which they built their business and base their management decisions when creating new initiatives, as follows:

Mission Statement

To extend the life of fabrics and respect our environment while providing an exceptional culture for customers and employees.

As you refine your self-promotional plans, rationally think through all the opportunities to publicize your greatness throughout your operations.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Oceanside CARE

To accomplish our mission, we live by the CARE philosophy. When Oceanside CAREs, it makes us stronger, not only as a team, but as a business. CARE means:

Customer Centric

• Listen to understand;

• Anticipate customers needs;

• Consider the customer in every decision and action;

• Create positive experiences while providing lasting outcomes.

Attention to Details

• Delight customers with the unexpected;

• Show care of the little things;

• Demonstrate thoroughness and accuracy.

Respect Our Community

• Be kind;

• Speak and act with integrity;

• Express care and empathy for our team, customers, community and environment.

Empower One Another

• Crave growth;

• Pursue lifelong learning;

• Have courage to do what is right;

• Inspire and mentor others.

Each initiative follows with a specific and documented plan for accomplishment.

The following summary example, focuses on attracting, training and retaining team talent that can take the Oceanside message to their audience and deliver on their promises. This summary is courtesy of Mike Harris,

Kerri Todd, and Francis Flair:

• To create an initiative program to mentor qualified employees (college students preferred), develop lifelong skills in leadership, management, and to become role models of society.

• The program is expected to help acquire and retain quality employees with long term promise in the company.

• Kerri to mentor young girls in the program.

• Attend company-sponsored events to help in the development process.

• Sell the ideology of the program’s potential for employees.

• Document progress in the program from the beginning to the end.

• Include a tuition reimbursement.

• A three-year structured program.

• Read and discuss assigned books; present at the daily and monthly meetings.

• Reach out to past students of the program to provide feedback and the impact in their current field or industry (video clip preferred).

• There is an interview process approved by all managers.

• Gain strong connections through recommendations by the CEO.

Another successful branding story is Bowen Cleaners in Greenville, N.C. It shows business acumen to the community by acquiring the competitor’s locations, thereby expanding the Bowen brand impact. Owner Rich Volk says, “Over the years, the competitor had approached me about a potential acquisition, but it wasn’t until this year that the conversation became serious.”

Rich began strategizing how to leverage the competitor’s business within the current scope of work, determining that acquiring two of the three locations and eliminating the plant was the most efficient effective approach. The third storefront location had an extended lease that was not aligned with the Bowen vision due to proximity to the current plant and store.

The seller will operate that location and Bowen will do the work for a percentage of sales until the lease expires and the store is closed. All details were included in the purchase agreement for mutual understanding of terms.

Now, there are six Bowen physical locations in the market. The volume, both dollars and pieces, has significantly increased with no additional plant and equipment investment.

Another goal of the acquisition was to eliminate the opportunity for a new competitor to come into the Bowen market and to purchase an established brand that already had brand recognition.

As you refine your self-promotional plans, rationally think through all the opportunities to publicize your great ness throughout your operations and then be creative and proactive about broadcasting your unique advantages.

Special thanks from the author to the generous contributors to this column!

Diana Vollmer is a managing director for Methods for Management, which has served dry cleaners and launder ers with affordable management expertise and improved profitability since 1953. For assistance planning for your selfpromotional plan, contact her at dvollmer@mfmi.com or call 415-577-6544.

By Jeff Quail

Seeking new ways to bolster revenue, fabricare professionals are entering the textile restoration market in droves.

In doing so, they work with homeowners and insurance companies to clean and restore household soft goods such as clothing, window coverings, bedding and towels following a flood or fire.

The goal?

To restore items to pre-incident condition at a fraction of the cost of replacement, and to do it in the most efficient, productive and profitable way possible. That’s just good business. And thanks to recent advancements in chemicals and dryer programmability, more than 90 percent of contaminated textiles can be restored to pre-loss condition using water.

All durable goods, bedding, towels, typical wash-andwear items, as well as traditionally dry cleaned items, including wool suits, designer silk dresses and wedding gowns, can now be safely wet cleaned. The good news? Using water — not solvent — is not only less costly and more environmentally friendly, it’s also more productive and efficient.

Both are effective restoration methods, but at the end of the day, a textile restoration cleaner will gener-

textiles

ate more profit using wet cleaning over dry cleaning. Wet cleaning can boost production 50 percent over alternative-solvent dry cleaning. Moreover, wet cleaning outperforms dry cleaning without the negative environmental impact.

The steps involved with dry cleaning, although effective, are more involved and take more time. In order to restore post-fire textiles using dry cleaning, textiles must be pre-treated overnight in an ozone chamber.

The ozone works to remove the odors — something dry cleaning alone can’t accomplish — but adds hours to the textile restoration process. The ozone step is a must for post-fire textiles, but not always a must for post-flood textiles.

After treatment inside the ozone chamber, items are sorted and loaded into a drycleaning machine that uses solvent, not water, to clean. After another 60-75 minutes inside the drycleaning machine, the load is removed, finished and packaged.

Using a 60-pound capacity drycleaning machine, it takes 75 minutes to clean, finish and package 60 pounds of textiles. The total time to completion, including the ozone step, is anywhere from 8 to 12 hours.

When wet cleaning is used, there is no (continued)

(Images licensed by Ingram Publishing)

How wet cleaning can achieve restoration of fi re, smoke or fl ood damaged

need to pre-treat with ozone because wet cleaning alone effectively removes the worst odors, including smoke.

Instead, textiles are sorted and loaded into a highly programmable wetcleaning machine, which is programmed to automatically combine the right water levels, water temperatures, rotation action, extract speed, number of baths and rinses, and cleaning chemicals. Once the load is complete, after 30-40 minutes, the textiles are loaded into a highly programmable dryer.

In the past, it was difficult to dry delicate items, such as silks, wools and linens, without damaging them. But, thanks to new dryer advancements, this isn’t the case anymore. New technology offers phased control over the drying process.

Each phase allows programmability of drum rotation speed, drum rotation interval, moisture level, timed reversing, input air temperature, drying temperature, heating temperature, drying time and time limit. In around 20 minutes, drying is complete and textiles are unloaded, finished and packaged.

Using a 60-pound capacity wetcleaning machine and a 60-pound capacity dryer, it takes just 75 minutes to process and finish 90 pounds of textiles.

Comparing the two methods side by side, even without the ozone step that’s often required when using dry cleaning, wetcleaning processes are 50 percent more productive than dry cleaning.

Now, let’s determine whether wet cleaning is an effective method for restoring heavily contaminated textiles.

Flood, fire and smoke contaminants pose an immediate danger to human health because they can leave microbes, mold and cancer-causing contaminants behind.

Floodwaters often mix with contaminants on the ground, including pesticides, sewage and trash. Even after the floodwaters recede, the microbes and mold that are left behind on clothing and textiles can spur allergic reactions, irritation, gastrointestinal disease, as well as respiratory and soft-tissue infections.

Fires, on the other hand, often leave textiles stinking of smoke and infiltrated with an array of carcinogens, particulates and toxic chemicals.

Let’s tackle biohazards, like bacteria and viruses, first.

R.R. Street & Co. Inc., known as Street, a provider of textile care cleaning chemicals, provides chemical treatments and additives specifically designed to kill micro-organisms. “These EPA-registered bactericidal chemicals demonstrate a microorganismal kill rate of

99.9 percent,” says James Schulte, Street’s lead chemist.

In wet cleaning and dry cleaning, these chemicals work in concert with water or solvent, water or solvent temperature, mechanical action, and cycle time, to significantly reduce or eliminate bacteria, viruses and mold in affected clothing.

Thus, both wet cleaning and dry cleaning are highly effective for removing biohazards. But what about the chemicals, particulates and carcinogens often left behind after a fire?

After conducting numerous scientific studies over the years, the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) determined that the most effective method for cleaning firefighter protective gear, was by using a highly programmable washer-extractor.

The NFPA subsequently published a set of guidelines (NFPA 1851) which detail specifics for cleaning such gear. The synopsis? The NFPA recommends fire departments wash protective gear immediately after exposure to fire. Dry cleaning is not a method recommended by NFPA.

Once gear is wet cleaned, the NFPA recommends that it is air dried, or dried using ambient air in a cabinet. It can also be dried in a programmable dryer using a no-heat setting and limited rotation. Drying is critical because it provides garments the chance to off-gas and decontaminate further, according to the NFPA.

In a nutshell, the NFPA recommends that firefighter protective gear be wet cleaned. Their goal? To keep firefighters safe from fire contaminants.

It seems to me that textile restoration practices should follow the same guidelines — based on scientific research — to keep people safe.

Let’s review. Today, new technologies make it safe to wet clean even the most delicate fabrics. We also know that wet cleaning is as effective as dry cleaning for removing biohazards, and more effective than dry cleaning for removing post-fire contaminants and odor.

Moreover, wet cleaning is more productive, which allows textile restoration operations to complete orders more quickly, generate more revenue and provide improved customer service.

At the end of the day, wet cleaning should be used to restore the vast majority of household textiles. ADC

Jeff Quail, co-owner of Poseidon Textile Care Systems®, has more than 30 years of hands-on industry operations experience in dry cleaning and wet cleaning. E-mail: jquail@ poseidonwetcleaning.com.

Beauty In Budgeting

Mention the word budgeting and most business owners’ eyes glaze over.

The thought of Excel spreadsheets and long meetings in windowless conference rooms is enough to make anyone search for the nearest exit. This is particularly true for entrepreneurs and business owners who get excited about growing a business and solving day-to-day challenges, not diving into the minutiae of supply costs.

However, I find that when properly done, budgeting can be a truly therapeutic exercise that gives us as business owners a comprehensive understanding of our business, and reduces the uncertainty and stress associated with running a business.

certainty and stress. Not a very good trade-off. Modern budgeting is a much more dynamic and useful exercise. Rather than creating a budget for the start of the year and looking at it at the end of the year, modern budgeting involves creating pro forma budgets that are dynamic and can be reviewed (and adjusted) in the context of your organization’s ever-changing needs.

WHY BUDGET?

In talking with many business owners, one of the biggest stresses they face is uncertainty, particularly related to money. They often feel like they don’t have a good handle on their future sales and cash flow picture, or they may be unsure of how they will handle big future capital expenditures.

Most of this uncertainty comes from the fact that business owners don’t take the time to sit down and map out a budget in realistic detail.

I often hear resistance to the exercise of budgeting.

Business owners say they don’t have the time to create a budget, or wonder what the point is when things change so fast that your budget often becomes obsolete after the first month of the year.

Much of this stems from the traditional notion of a budget as a static document that is created once, right before the start of the fiscal year, and then only revisited at the end of the year to see how the company did against that budget.

I will submit that a budget in that context is not a very useful document. But by not doing the days of hard work in budgeting, business owners are choosing a year of un-

In addition, these budgets can be built into the day-today operation of your business so that you are constantly measuring how you’re doing against your budget goals. Having this consistent meter of your financial performance takes away much of the unknowns in running your business.

BUILD YOUR OWN

A modern budget is less of a budget and more of a ground-up financial model that enables you to identify opportunities for cost saving as well as the causes of cost overruns. To build a modern budget, it’s critical to follow three key steps:

1. Start at the bottom

In order to deeply understand both your business and your budget you must build your budget from the ground up. This means breaking your business down into the most discrete categories. It’s not good enough to have broad categories like “labor” or “supplies.” To develop a meaningful, dynamic, living budget you need to get to the level of how the business actually operates, such as driver-labor, hangers, detergents.

Not only that, it’s also vital to break these costs down

Dan Miller

(Image licensed by Ingram Publishing)

on a monthly, not annual basis. I will go into this more later. By performing this exercise you will inevitably discover unnecessary costs that you may have otherwise overlooked.

I personally recommend creating an Excel spreadsheet with tabs for each major category, so that at any point you can deep dive or update any specific category with ease.

2. Roll it up

Once you’ve budgeted your monthly spending for each category for the coming year, the next step is to roll these estimates up into a full monthly budget for the full year. This monthly budget should be nothing more than a roll up of all the estimates from more specific budget catego ries. However, once again it’s critical that this roll up still has specificity based on how you actually run the business.

For example, in my business we have labor broken down by production, route, and stores; the same with supplies. This enables the managers of those particular areas to be held accountable for meeting their budget targets.

After creating your rolled-up budget it’s important to do one last review and pressure test to make sure that you have made the proper assumptions and haven’t omitted anything. I also like to create a couple different budgets with poor, good, and excellent scenarios to see how we will do under different conditions.

3. Monthly side-by-side review

As we discussed earlier, completing the budget is only the first step. The most important step is what happens after the budget is complete, the monthly side-by-side review.

A budget document is only good if it is operationalized. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon you as a business owner to review your company’s performance against budget on a monthly basis to identify any areas where you’re go ing astray. In my company we create side-by-side reports showing what we budgeted and what we actually spent each month, and then track where we’re at against our budget YTD. This is an incredibly powerful tool because it enables you to identify issues before they spiral out of control, and keeps your business always humming on the right track.

Building a budget is a lot of work up front. However, you will find that once it’s done and you operationalize it in your business, it will reduce your stress immeasurably.

Having full transparency in the financial performance of your business is a blessing to every business owner. There’s certainly beauty in that! ADC

Dan Miller is the chief executive officer of Mulberrys Garment Care, a premium drycleaning and laundry business with 17 locations in Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Dallas. You may contact him at dmiller@mulberryscleaners.com or 866473-0798.

LAUNDRY

CITRAZYME One-shot, powdered laundry detergent containing enzymes, oxygen bleach, and citrus degreaser.

NAPTHOL-T Powdered laundry detergent formulated to clean dark-colored shirts in cold water temperatures.

MEGA BRYTE One-shot, powdered laundry detergent that contains non-phosphate water conditioners.

CITRASOL Concentrated citrus-based liquid degreaser additive for oil and grease stain removal.

STAND UP Advanced synthetic liquid starch for shirts and denim designed to provide significant body and rigidity.

WET-CLEANING

AQUA VELVET Eco-friendly one-shot wet-cleaning detergent with stain removers and conditioners. This product is EPA Safer Choice certified.

SHOT-SPOT Versatile, all-purpose stain remover.

ACTIVATE Color-safe oxygen bleaching agent blend containing a lowtemperature catalyst.

HYDROCON Eco-friendly fabric conditioner and retexturizing agent with optical brightener. This product is  EPA Safer Choice certified.

LS-100 Synthetic liquid sizing and natural corn starch blend.

American Drycleaner, March

SPOTTING TIPS

Wet-Side Story

Even Wet Cleaning Needs Help On Some Stains

Having the chance to virtually grow up in a drycleaning plant, I have seen ideas come and go in garment care. For many years, things were stable, with perchloroethylene being the favored immersion solution, with petroleum coming in a distant second place.

If you attended the Clean Show last year, or if you have read about the show, you know that there are a multitude of choices when it comes to cleaning and restoring textiles. A decision to purchase a cleaning machine, made today, can have a ripple effect on operations over the next seven to ten years.

The drycleaning machine may well dictate the immersion solution used. Or, the immersion solution chosen may well dictate the configuration and capacity of the drycleaning machine compatible with that immersion solution. This then has an impact on the detergent and additives used to stabilize and enhance the cleaning process.

Dry-side stain removal of those stains that are chemically soluble, has progressed to a point of being solvent-sensitive. A chemical that is

acceptable in one solvent, may do fine, but be totally ineffective in another solvent.

Even when the chemical tool is effective, there is a concern for the level of impact it may have on the plant’s waste stream and contact water. Fortunately, most wet-side stain removal tools are compatible with the immersion solutions available in today’s marketplace.

Once the area that was spotted wetside has dried, an applicable general pre-spotter/leveling agent should be used to treat the area. Now the item can be cleaned in a normal sequence by normal plant operational methods.

Wet cleaning has now claimed a place of respect in the garment care industry. It has matured from using shampoo with conditioner bought at the drug store, to microprocessorcontrolled cleaning machines with companion dryers that can sense the moisture in the load and can adjust the mechanical action to suit the fiber, fabric and trim.

To be without the ability to take advantage of water immersion, is to operate at a disadvantage. Start monitoring care labels. Any of these care labels that mention a water method can be classified as “fine washable.”

Water immersion is an acceptable way to handle the garment, based on the care label. You just have to pick

a cleaning cycle that takes into consideration any limitations spelled out on the care label: Things like “cold water, no bleach.”

Protecting delicate trim can be accomplished by turning the item inside-out and running it in a net bag. Just call it wholesale wet-side stain removal.

When a dry clean only item comes in with a large wet-side stain, you have the option, based on your knowledge and experience, to assume the level of risk that comes with deviating from the care label.

Even wet cleaning needs help when it comes to some stains.

Supplemental stain removal can effectively remove the last traces of tannin and protein stains left behind after water immersion. There are also some pretty good oil and grease removers for water immersion. All will flush out at the board or when recleaned with water immersion.

Take chocolate ice cream in a golf shirt or a pair of khaki trousers. This is a protein stain. These protein stains will usually require water plus a chemical tool to be completely removed.

Standard protocol is to flush the area with steam over the vacuum nose of the spotting board. Then you move the item over the solid portion of the board, apply Neutral Synthetic

Martin Young

(Image licensed by Ingram Publishing)

Detergent and light mechanical action. Move the item over the vacuum nose of the board and flush the area with steam. This will usually remove at least a third of the stain.

Move the stain over the solid portion of the board and apply your protein stain removal agent followed by light mechanical action. When the last traces of the stain are gone, you should dry the area with air.

If you are going to use water immersion to finish the job, the item is ready to be processed. If you are going to dry-clean the item, you should cover the area with a few drops of the general pre-spotter recommended for your particular immersion solution.

Protein stains that have been ignored by the customer for a period of time, can be softened by using an enzyme digester. Remember to keep the area warm and moist after setting the item aside, giving the digester time to work.

Red wine is a tannin stain. Tannin stains are water soluble. However, most tannin stains will require some additional help to be completely removed.

The protocol to remove a tannin stain on the wet-side is almost identical to the protocol to remove the protein stain just mentioned, with the difference being the use of a tannin formula (acid) as opposed to the protein formula (alkali).

Following these steps: Flushing with steam, applying Neutral Synthetic Detergent, then flushing with steam, will give you a head start in removing one of the more difficult stains. It is best to assume supplemental stain removal will be necessary for wine and pre-spot accordingly.

Don’t be fooled, every now and then the stars line up just right, the fabric is the perfect mix of fibers, the stain is relatively fresh, the relative humidity of the immersion solution is favorable, and the stain comes out in

the drycleaning machine.

But even more often the pH of the stain is altered and/or the heat of drying “cures” the stain slightly, making post spotting more difficult. Then you have a choice: Put in the effort to remove the stain, or hang a sorry tag.

Life and love require effort for success, so does garment care. A little knowledge and effort at the start can save you a lot of time and effort later.

There is somebody hoping you

will drop the ball so they can take your customer. It is cheaper to hold on to a current customer than it is to win a new customer. You decide if it is worth it. ADC

Martin L. Young Jr. has been an industry consultant and trainer for 20 years, and a member of various stakeholder groups on environmental issues. He grew up in his parents’ plant in Concord, N.C., Young Cleaners, which he operates today. Phone: 704786-3011, e-mail: mayoung@ctc.net.

American Drycleaner celebrates two years of podcasting on topics for the garment care industry, including a recent podcast titled, Find Great Help: Hiring Tips for the Drycleaning Owner, it notes.

In each month’s podcast, invited guests from the fabricare industry share their knowledge of subjects related to the industry with podcast

host Tim Burke, editor of American Drycleaner.

The recent podcast about hiring tips for drycleaning owners featured Sasha Ablitt, owner of Santa Barbara, California-based Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners, sharing her 20 plus years of knowledge about what it’s like to hire in today’s world.

“I believe it is very difficult to find people,” Ablitt notes in the opening of the recent podcast chat.

“People today are changing jobs more often. I expect that most of your listeners have experienced the millennial problem, and the upcoming Gen-Xers who just don’t seem to be as prepared for the work industry as people may have been in the past.”

The monthly podcasts provide an insider point-of view on a wide range of topics that interest garment care owners.

Popular guests chat on everything from finishing and boilers to hiring and spotting

The first podcast, in January 2018, covered how one dry cleaner suf fered a terrible fire at his operation and then had the will and the help to rebuild. Called Forged By Fire, it featured Bob Hilker, co-owner of Brothers Cleaners in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In that first podcast, he shared the emotions of what it was like to find out his operation was gone, but his people were all safe, and then took listeners through the process of rebuilding. His operation was named the winner of the American Drycleaner Plant Design Award for that year.

Podcasts during the past two years have hosted other wellknown people from garment care sharing their knowledge on topics in their specialties.

Podcast guests have included: Mike Tungesvick, national sales manager of Sankosha USA talking

Sasha Ablitt, owner of Santa Barbara, California-based Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners, is a recent featured guest heard on the January 2020 American Drycleaner podcast titled, Find Great Help: Hiring Tips for the Drycleaning Owner. The program is hosted by American Drycleaner, which is celebrating two years of podcasting. (Photo by Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners)

about Finishing in Drycleaning Operations; Mike Leeming, who oversees sales and marketing at Los Angeles-based Parker Boiler, chatting about Boiler Sizing and Selection for Dry Cleaners; and the Stain Wizard himself, Jeff Schwarz, regional vice president for A.L. Wilson Chemical Com pany, located in Kearney, N.J., on Spotting: The How and Why, just to name a few.

American Drycleaner hosts these podcasts to provide a fresh source of fabricare indus try topics for the busy garment care owner who can tune in and listen from work, home or while traveling.

Podcasts can be heard each month on cellphone, tablet or computer, through the website at American Drycleaner or through its weekly e-newsblast called The Wire ADC

MILD to hold convention at Crystal Mountain

The Michigan Institute of Laundering & Dry Cleaning (MILD) reports it will hold its Summer 2020 Convention on July 24-26, at Crystal Mountain resort in Thompson ville, Mich.

“Please plan to join MILD at Crystal Mountain for a weekend that will be full of education, networking and a lot of fun with family and friends,” it notes.

“This is your opportunity to learn from industry experts on how to position your business to succeed in a changing world,” MILD relates.

The Institute also announces that speaker Charles Mar shall will give the keynote address for its 2020 Summer Convention.

“Charles is a nationally known, humorous, motiva

tional speaker and the author of several books including The Seven Powers of Success and Shattering the Glass Slipper.”

Crystal Mountain resort in Thompsonville, Mich., is the site of the Michigan Institute of Laundering & Dry Cleaning (MILD) Summer 2020 Convention, July 24-26. (Photo: Michigan Institute of Laundering & Dry Cleaning)

American Drycleaner,

Lights! Camera! Cleaning!

Former news anchor and Yuma native, Melody Dunn, is the owner of a new Lapels Dry Cleaning located at 2595 S. 4th Avenue in Yuma, Ariz., the company reports.

“Our sustainable, non-toxic way of dry cleaning clothes has been very popular with customers in the greater Phoenix area,” says Dunn. “We anticipate a similar reaction from the people and businesses of Yuma.”

Dunn was a news anchor in Yuma and also enjoyed a successful run as a country singer, performing across the country and as far away as Australia, the firm writes.

In recent years, she’s worked as an IT professional in the healthcare industry. “Tired of the travel involved in that profession and her previous work in the music industry,” Lapels says, “she strategized a way to return to her native Yuma. Business ownership seemed a logical choice.”

Tina BagaporO’Harrow is Zips new marketing VP

ZIPS Dry Cleaners has recently appointed Tina Bagapor-O’Harrow as its vice president of marketing, the firm notes.

“I look forward to bringing my experience in driving foot traffic

to ZIPS. As the branding and marketing leader for a client roster that spanned more than two decades, I understand expiring capacity and how to get people through the door,” says Bagapor-O’Harrow.

“A versatile and talented marketing executive,” the company says, “Bagapor-O’Harrow brings more than 25 years of traditional and digital marketing experience to

spent as the executive director of The Ad Store’s Washington, DC office.”

“We are excited to bring someone with so much experience,”

Melody Dunn

Tina BagaporO’Harrow

2020 RATES: One- to five-time rate: $2.20 per word, boldface $2.30 per word. Minimum charge: $25.00 per ad. Call

write for

three- and 12-time rates. If box number is used,

cost of 5 words. Display classified rates are available on request. All major credit cards are accepted. DEADLINE: Ads must be received by the 1st of the preceding month.

For example, for a June ad, the closing date is May 1st.

$442K Sales w/Good Rents

$353,000 Sales - Growing

Magic in the Glue Pot

10 YEARS AGO. Manufacturing orders increased a full percentage point at year’s end, as demand for machinery, metals, petroleum products and military aircraft grew beyond an expected 0.6% gain. Durable and non durable goods orders rose 1.0% each; shipments of core capital equipment surged 2.1%; and shipments of factory goods increased 1.9%.

35 YEARS AGO. Shirt Videotape

Available. A new videotape on shirt laundering operations has been completed by the IFI education department and is now available to members. Designed for the dry cleaner who is considering adding shirt laundry, the tape discusses the equipment required and demonstrates the basics of the laundering and finishing processes. This tape is not designed for the experienced shirt launderer or

finisher. Instead it offers an overview of the considerations in doing shirt laundry.

50 YEARS AGO. Gone — But Not Forgotten. We read recently in the news about the guy who tried — in vain — to cancel a magazine subscription. First, he tried to allow his subscription to expire through the obvious method of not replying to renewal notices. But copies of the magazine kept on coming to him, month after month, along with bills. Finally, in desperation, the man sent back a copy of the magazine with DECEASED written across the cover. But even that didn’t work. Next month, he got another copy — and he found his name in the obituaries!

75 YEARS AGO. Magic in the Glue Pot! You might think there weren’t any dry cleaners in America, if you

saw all the clippings from columnists offering household hints. These syndicated females have to make a living somehow, we suppose, and some of them do it by telling housewives how they can clean garments at home — simply by using Junior’s art-gum eraser or dipping their dresses in pickle brine. Every so often we see a red-hot tip on using glue. Here’s one title Magic in the Glue Pot, Clean Woolens With It. The writer, quoting a “clothing specialist,” starts out: “It isn’t generally known, but glue can be used for cleaning soiled woolen garments. You can use any good liquid glue.” Then comes detailed instructions on how to do it. Actually, it would be easier to raise the sheep and make a new dress(!) ADC

— Compiled by Tim Burke, Editor

The front cover of the March 1945 issue of American Drycleaner. The feature in this issue was called On The Way To A Better Plant and was all about a progress report on an engineering job in a medium sized plant. Two engineers are shown in the photo discussing plans for the redesign. One idea they were working on, the feature noted, was to install chutes in the ceiling above a sorting area to save all the walking currently done between check-in and pre-washing.

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