National Clothesline

The latest equipment addition to the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute facility is a Union Nova 350 35-pound Slim Space hydrocarbon cleaning machine. The machine joins a larger GreenEarth Union machine and Firbrimatic perc machine. R.R. Street & Co. Inc. is donating the solvent and detergent to run the new machine.

The equipment is used as part of DLI’s School of Drycleaning Technology where students’ education includes on hands-on learning.

The second 2010 session of DLI’s basic and advanced drycleaning courses will be held next month. The five-day “Introduction to Drycleaning” course, which begins April 19, is geared toward students who are new to the industry or with less than one year of experience.

The course covers sorting loads for drycleaning; cleaning silk, satin and other fabrics; operating a drycleaning machine; removing coffee, ink, grease and other stains; pressing pants, coats and skirts; and using tensioning equipment to improve finishing.

Immediately following the introductory course, a two-week session of the advanced drycleaning course will begin April 26.

Topics covered in the advanced course include using bleaches; wetcleaning wool, silk; maintaining and changing filters; current regulations; customer service techniques; and cleaning and preserving wedding gowns.

Students also learn about different solvents, including perc, GreenEarth and hydrocarbon.

Tuition for the introductory course is $795 for DLI members and $1,149 for non-members. The advanced course costs $1,249 for DLI members and $1,749 for everybody else. Tuition for both courses if taken consecutively is $1,595 for DLI members and $2,495 for others.

Coming up next month is DLI’s five-day intensive “Cleaning and Stain Removal” session. The course will be March 15 to 19. The cost is $795 for DLI members and $1,149 for others.

For more information on DLI’s educational offerings, call the association (800) 638-2627, ext. 1603 or visit www. ifi.org.