Sweat, sweets (mmm, pie), soil, and sticky substances: The enemies of your clean clothes are many. Consider the drycleaner your ally in the war against grime—someone who can often make wrinkles disappear and sew on buttons, too.
Our ratings reveal many area drycleaners can be trusted with your favorite threads. At these shops, you get back clothes you feel good putting on, with no hassle and no delay. But problems do happen, and some shops often aren’t up to the task. We also tell you which shops charge low prices.
Of the area drycleaning shops we evaluate on our ratings tables, many were rated “superior” overall by at least 90 percent of their surveyed customers, but some others were rated “superior” by fewer than half of their surveyed customers.
We also found big shop-to-shop price differences. Several area shops charge prices more than double those charged by their nearby competitors. But using a shop with low prices doesn’t mean you’ll settle for low-quality work. Among the shops that got our top rating for quality, about half had below-average prices.
Our ratings tables will help you select a good shop. But keep your own eyes on quality: Clerks should ask about any stains when you drop off garments; the shop should have a good system to track your clothes; and, of course, the clothes should be ready on time, look great, and smell good when you pick them up.
To get the best results, give the clerk all the information you can about stains and spills. When you pick up your clothes, take a few minutes to make sure they are fully cleaned, undamaged, and properly pressed.
