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Clothes Care Gazette

May, 2006                                                                                                                    Volume 2,    Number 9

In This Issue
 

·   Coat and Jacket Sale

·    Feature – Focus on
The American Flag

·    Ask the Experts

·    Next Month Preview

·    And before I close...

Happy
Mother's Day

Links for Mother's Day:

Gale's Garden Center  - Westlake

Dean's Greenhouse - Westlake

Zergott's - North Olmsted

Cahoon Nursery - Bay Village

Just a few of the area greenhouses/plant nurseries

Malley's Chocolates

"Pronk" Bar

Cleveland Zoo

Moms get in free on Mother's Day

Reehorst Cleaners

Corporate Office

27303 Center Ridge Rd

Westlake,  OH  44145

Phone:

(440) 871-6444

Fax:

(440) 871-5129

Contact Us
  E-mail: editor@Reehorstcleaners.com

We’re on the Web!

http://www.reehorstcleaners.com

We have four convenient locations:

     19441 Detroit Rd
     Rocky River
     440-331-2000

     27105 Knickerbocker
     Bay Village               (Drive Thru)
     440-871-7770

     23459 Lorain Rd
     North Olmsted          (Drive Thru)
    440-777-1400

    27303 Center Ridge Rd
     Westlake                  (Drive Thru)
     440-871-6444

Hours: Monday Thru Friday
          7a.m. to 7p.m.

          Saturday
          7a.m. to 5p.m.

We accept cash, check, MasterCard and Visa

We will never share, sell or rent your personal information.

If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please send an email to: unsubscribe@reehorstcleaners.com

We respect your privacy. To view our privacy statement, please click here

Coat and Jacket Sale
 

Now that winter is finally over, it’s time to get all the fall and winter coats and jackets cleaned.  You don’t want those dirty, salt-stained articles hanging around ‘till the snow flies again.  Bring them in now, before stains have a chance to bake in the summer heat.  That way, next fall when you need them, all your jackets and coats will be cleaned, pressed and ready to go.  Bring in 3 jackets and/or coats, and we’ll clean the least expensive one of the three for FREE!  Storage service, furs, leathers and suedes not included in this special.  Offer valid for the month of May.

No coupon required!

   We have been cleaning American flags for free for many years, but do not advertise the service.

       If you have an American flag that could use a little bit of brightening up, bring it in and we'll take a look at it.  Chances are we'll clean it for you for free. (Due to their construction, age, or size, some flags may not be cleanable.) We do not recommend that you clean it yourself at home, since the flag often requires extra care.

        Please visit one of our 4 convenient locations today so you can Fly Your True Colors for all the summer holidays!

Q. I use Reehorst for dry cleaning.  However, over the past several months some, not all, of my shirts have come back repeatedly with a grey ring around the collar.  Darker colored shirts appear with a darker-colored ring as well.  Once there, it never is removed.  I have asked that they be treated specifically, but I am not sure it is being addressed.  I cannot wear shirts with that appearance. 

A. It is rewarding to know that people take the time to read the articles we put into our newsletter.  Our mission, in addition to quality dry cleaning and laundering, is to educate our customers about clothing care.

 Your e-mail addressed “ring around the collar,” an issue that has plagued humanity since men, (and women), began wearing shirts.  One detergent company marketed its whole product around getting this out. Remember the old Wisk commercials that had its spokes-people proclaiming, “No more ring around the collar!” after using the laundry detergent? One of the reasons you don’t hear it any more is that the issue isn’t that simple, and the detergent was very harsh on clothes and colors.

 Ring around the collar is, in fact, a common shirt malady.  As a shirt is worn, the neckband and collar fold are exposed to ground-in soils from perspiration, body oils, colognes, hair tonics, medicines and other types of skin preparations. This area is not a single layer of fabric that easily releases soil.  This type of oily stain is not readily soluble in water. For effective removal, hot water and high alkalinity are required.  Our laundering consists of three baths, ranging in temperature from 140° to 160°F, much hotter than a home washer can achieve. The pH of the load during the sudsing baths is around 11.0.  This process usually eliminates all but the most stubborn soil in white and pastel colored shirts. 

 Dark colored shirts, however, cannot be laundered in water this hot or they will fade significantly.  So we use a different detergent for cold-water loads. This is an enzyme-based detergent, which is usually effective in removing most of this type of stain, without changing the color of the shirt. However, it is not as effective as hot water and high alkalinity in removing the heaviest soil.

 Having said all of this, there remain those collars that still will not totally release the soil. Pre-spotting may help and, if requested, the laundry staff will pre-treat your collars.  A very dark colored shirt may never be totally free of the collar ring because some dark blue and green dyes chemically change with the oil and soils that comprises ring around the collar and no amount of scrubbing will reverse that color change. 

 The vast majority of the thousands of shirts we process every week come out sparkling clean, with no collar ring.  But we do have customers who secrete heavy body oil, use a hair gel, work in dirtier than average conditions, or use a medication that affects the body oil and makes the ring next to impossible to remove.  So we take extra steps for these customers to get their collars as clean as we can.

 I know you are a route customer, so put a note in the bag with your shirts asking to pay special attention to collar soil.  Also ask your route rep to mark it on his/her notes for your account.  That way all persons who handle your shirts will do their part to make sure your collars are as clean as possible.

 If you have any other questions, please talk with your service rep or write back. We love the interaction with our customers.

 Becky

   (If you have a question for our experts, just email us at editor@reehorstcleaners.com)

June - It's SUMMERTIME!! 

Speaking of  American Flags and Moms, here's a recipe for:

Apple Danish Bar Recipe

Thanks for reading.

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