Drop The Dry Cleaner, Here’s Why
Hint: Use the cash you save for microbrews
I’ve recently been reminded that no matter how reputable a dry cleaner may be, the people to whom you drop off your shirts simply don’t love your clothes as much as you do. Men, that’s why I’ve decided to fire my dry-cleaners.
Let’s face it, dry cleaners rarely do a great job, and there’s usually something with every shirt that you wish you could fix as soon as you tear the sheet of plastic and the clips off.
Over the last two months or so, I’ve actually been laundering and pressing all of my shirts and I can honestly say that the shirts look every bit as good as the job the cleaners did. Being the frugal-minded person that I am, I immediately started to calculate how much money I’ve saved by doing them myself. I would say, on average, a man spends around $2 per shirt and takes 5 shirts a week to the cleaners. Well, quick math tells me that I’m saving $10 a week or $40 a month… that’s about $500 a year(!)
quick math tells me that I’m saving $10 a week or $40 a month… that’s about $500 a year(!)
Some of you may be saying, “Dude, it’s worth 10+ bucks a week to have someone else to do my shirts for me.” Well, I used to say that too, until my frustration with the annoying expense forced me to try it on my own. Actually, I used to think I would never do my own shirts; ”I don’t have the time to do that,” I would say to myself. Here’s the thing I’ve found: if there is one night of the week when you watch a couple hours of TV (CBS Monday, ABC Wednesday, FOX/NBC Thursday), you can actually pay yourself $10 while watching. One hour to wash and partially dry your shirts and another hour to press them. After two months of doing this, I’ve been able to press my shirts with the right amount of starch, no broken buttons, no erroneous creases, and it only takes around 5 minutes a shirt.
Give it a try. It’s not nearly as difficult or as daunting of a task as you might think. You’ve got full control of how your shirts look, it’s much healthier for your favorite shirts (avoiding the chemicals that tremendously reduce your shirts lifespan), and – best of all – that extra $10 can buy two more pints of your favorite micro-brew or go towards a subscription to the beer of the month club.
Just as a note, if you are getting your shirts “dry cleaned” at the cleaners, you are REALLY doing your shirts a disservice. Plus, any cleaner that dry cleans them is an idiot not worth giving your business to. Dress shirts should be laundered and pressed. Mr. McMurray, you may be confused, but you do state that, “it’s much healthier for your favorite shirts (avoiding the chemicals that tremendously reduce your shirts lifespan)”. I seriously doubt that are dry cleaning your shirts.
However, I ABSOLUTELY agree that you should be doing your shirts yourself. Also, according to Esquire, for one, the “wrinkled look” is in. Hang dry your shirts for an environmentally friendly, and trendy look. Some shirts don’t even need to be ironed after drying on the hanger. Or you can wash them one day and iron them the next.
Jason,
Thanks for chiming in. Just to clarify the clarification, the use of the term “dry cleaners” in this article really refers to a service or place of business. Of course, folks get a variety of services there such as true dry cleaning (of the chemical variety that we all agree is cruddy to your clothes and to the environment), laundering, pressing, etc. The idea here is that whatever services you use from a “dry cleaner” can be easily and cost effectively performed on your own. Unless you are like me, by which I mean lazy. I don’t even know how an iron works. Do you plug it in or just heat it over an open flame?
Dusty
I absolutely hate going to the cleaners, but the thought of ironing shirts doesn’t sound fun. I read the Esquire article about wrinkled shirt, but I’m quite sure that’s for casual wear and not standard office attire. But then again, what the hell do I know? (Answer: not much)
What laundering/pressing/steaming products are you using?
As far as what products I’ve been using, you might not believe it, but I’ve just used my trusty Rowenta Powerglide Iron that was given to my wife and me for our wedding - 7 years ago. Other than an ironing board and some Faultless brand ‘regular’ startch (sparingly, and only to the collar and cuffs) that’s it. Pretty simple.
Hey Torrey,
I just looked in that room in my house (whatever you call the one that houses the washer and dryer) and I have a Rowenta Powerglide, too. Does that mean I have the potential to become a champion ironer, as well. I guess I could go into training like the little kid in The Wizard. Will you be my Fred Savage?
Yes, avoid starch, especially on white shirts - it makes them go yellow after a while. Get yourself some “sizing” spray. I never did find out exactly what the name means, but that’s what my mom and grandma use, so therefore I do as well. Seems to make the iron just glide across the clothes.
Will it make it glide with power, like the name of my iron implies?
I too have been ironing my own shirts for a few months now. I have found it best actually, being the married man and father and all, that its best to do them on a weekend night at home and then you can drink and watch TV while ironing.
PS…skip the starch, its bad for your shirts, and wash them in Woolite on cold cycle.
One thing I would add to this is buying wrinkle free shirts (which I’m totally writing on now)can save you tons of time and money. I’m a huge fan of brooks brother’s non iron shirts. They look great,you can buy 3 for $135, and all that’s required is a washing and drying. Literally they’re all I wear to the office. More on that later though.
I personally shy away from the wrinkle free like Eric. One, because they have to put chemicals in those shirts to make them that way and I’m not real big on having that on my body 8-10hrs a day. Plus my style is pseudo Trad when it comes to business casual attire and I too like the slightly rumpled appearance of an oxford shirt at the end of the day. Torrey you’re right on target about doing this stuff on your own, I went to private high school so I’ve been ironing this stuff forever like Cecil. I’ve never paid to have have some one press my clothes (except a suit) and I won’t till it’s a necesssity. Part of my stubborn nature that if I can do it myself why should I let or pay someone else, kind of how I refuse to let Bell Hops carry my luggage. Mr. Adam Smith if he were still alive would call me an idiot though since my time is best spent in specializtion in what I excel and paying others to do what I do not excel at.
I know wrinkle-free shirts having come a long way and you can call me old-fashioned, but I’m still not totally convinced they’re for me. As a matter of fact, part of the wrinkles towards the end of the day are something I like. Not sure why. Prove me wrong Bowers… prove me wrong.
Laundering and pressing is always the way I go with my shirts, but I pay upwards of $70 a month on the service and I don’t even wear dress shirts every day. Granted that’s for NY dry cleaners. Kind of an annoying expense when you think it’s what a gym membership costs.
As a Catholic school boy, I’ve been doing this for years. I’m also cheap and agree that you can do just as good a job as the cleaners, if not better. I also dig the wrinkle free shirt that are out now. While they may not be 100% wrinkle free, they are easier to press at home and not mess up the shirts lines. Also, a good iron goes a long way.
This is a very interesting discussion I have with a few friends on a regular basis. It’s something I’ve done for so long, I just can’t imagine paying to have all my shirts done week-in and week-out. I see it as money I could use to buy other things (or heaven forbid, save). And as OCD as I can be sometimes, even my wrinkle-free shirts are pressed everytime.
“And as OCD as I can be sometimes, even my wrinkle-free shirts are pressed everytime.”
Amen.
A good dry cleaner will do the right thing and make sure to take care of your shirts which include laundering and pressing. Look for a dry cleaner that has newer machines as they are much better for your clothing items. For example, the new shirt pressing machines are much more effective and put less tension on your shirts.
The real issue is that shirts made these days are very low quality and made of thin materials for various reasons: style, cost, etc, etc. Also, since all the shirts are wash together, find days where there are less people dropping off their clothes. For example Thursday night, Friday mornings is a great time as most people pick up their items instead of dropping it off. In turn, there is a lighter load in each wash which put less strain on your items.
Hope that helps guys.
Sung, these are good points. Thanks for the tips.
you guys are buggin
dry cleaners = life savers
go to the gym or iron my shirts? bunk that man…maybe i can given em to one of you guys to take care of for me? $70-80 a month ok?
Id have read a lot of stupid thing but nothing like this; I'm a professional presser and non of you know nothing about dry cleaning. you are chip, really cheap and you don't care how do you look
Maybe he was rude to his the person who owned the dry cleaner. I know for a fact that dry cleaners go the extra mile for regular customers and be people who (excuse my lang) dont act like assholes and acts like they owned the world and never make a mistake in anything they do. If people gave other services half of the crap that they give to drycleaners NOONE will have a business ever. Clearly the author this article is an asshole. STFU.