Bringing out the best in the best
just completed a series of spotting and
wetcleaning seminars involving the most elite and best cleaners
in America. I taught 40 members of America’s Best
Cleaners, including traveling to La Nouvelle in Denver, CO.
Most recently I went to New Orleans to instruct the staff at
One Cleaners.
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Preparation
The first thing that I do is to make sure
that the cleaners have the proper chemicals for stain removal
and wetcleaning. The list includes basic spotting chemicals
such as protein formulas and tannin formulas.
Further spotting success involves having
such chemicals such as acetic acid, oxalic acid, hydrofluoric
acid, sodium percarbonate, sodium hydrosulphate, hydrogen
peroxide, potassium permanganate, sodium bisulphate, sodium
hypochlorite, and hypo crystals.
The wetcleaning chemicals involved are
anionic, cationic and nonionic detergents.
I want to thank the following chemical
companies for providing many of these chemicals, literature and
cooperation in aiding the drycleaner: A.L. Wilson, Kreussler,
U.S.A, and Laidlaw.
The basic idea in high-end cleaning is to
handle all garment problems and difficult staining efficiently
and safely. It is also important to find solutions to problems
without sacrificing the integrity of the fabric.
The following problems were received at
One Cleaners in New Orleans.
Problem: White wedding gown with wine
staining. The gown could not
be agitated in the machine due to the fragile nature of the
beading.
Solution: We
checked out the fabric and its safety to wetcleaning. We tested
out the spotting formulation that would remove the staining. We
placed the garment in a net bag and immersed the garment in the
wetcleaning solution. We agitated the garment by hand, rinsed
and hung to dry.
Result: Removal
of all stains safely.
Problem: Gold gown with heavy tannin
stains. Wetcleaning or
drycleaning would have been hazardous to this fabric.
Solution: The
gown was spotted locally using the tannin method of stain
removal. Proper feathering was also required to prevent rings
from the extensive spotting used. Soil was removed locally. The
entire hand cleaning process took approximately 10 minutes with
100 percent success.
Problem: Off-white discolored draperies. The draperies were brought in for
restoration.
Solution: We
tested a small area to find out what would remove the
discoloration. We tested the drapery using hydrogen peroxide
and ammonia which showed good results. This meant that a sodium
perborate bath would be effective.
We added the proper lubrication to the
wetcleaning bath to inhibit shrinkage.
Result: Complete
restoration.
Problem: Black leather slacks. It was brought in with staining and color
loss. The customer needed it the next day.
Solution: The
staining was removed locally as well as the soil. The color
loss was replaced successfully.
Problem: One Cleaner handles about 40
percent of its garments in wetcleaning. To remove the dryside staining, they were
drycleaning the garments first before wetcleaning. This was
both time consuming and costly.
Solution: We
met with the wetcleaning supplier and worked out a wetcleaning
formulation to solve the problem. Greasy residue can be best
treated by using a non-ionic detergent additive. The
formulation can be further activated by using alkali.
Problem: Silk and wools were too harsh
after wetcleaning. They
required drycleaning after processing to soften the fabric.
Solution: Different
wetcleaning formulation was needed. We showed how wetcleaning
using cationic detergents and softening agents created a softer
feeling fabric.
Problem: Felted and shrunken wool
sweater.
Solution: We
softened the fabric using very high concentrations of cationic
detergents and softening agents. The sweater became pliable and
could be stretched to a large extent.
The new spotting procedure that was
taught at One Cleaners produced better stain removal. Claude
Foreman, the owner, especially liked the use of oxalic acid
incorporated in the spotting procedure. The proper use of
digesters also provided a safer way to approach some staining
on the vivid colors of silk and wool.
Tannin procedure
• Flush
• Neutral lubricant
• Mechanical action
• Flush
• Tannin formula
• Mechanical action
• Flush
• Acetic and lubricant
• Mechanical action
• Flush
• Oxalic acid
• Heat
• Flush
• Rust remover
• Heat
• Flush
• Neutralizer
• Flush
• Bleach
Protein procedure
• Flush
• Digest
• Flush
• Neutral lubricant
• Mechanical action
• Flush
• Protein formula
• Mechanical action
• Flush
• Ammonia and neutral lubricant
• Mechanical action
• Flush
• Bleach
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