National Clothesline

When it comes to drycleaning, less is often more, especially when you consider dirt and stains are not something customers like to see when their garments come back to them.

This March, the Michigan Institute of Laundering and Drycleaning will be working with A.L. Wilson to present two drycleaning seminars in the state of Michigan.

The first session is planned for Wednesday, March 13 at Maurer’s Sanitary Cleaners, located at 2815 E. Saginaw in Lansing. The second seminar is slated for Thursday, March 14 at Eagle Star Equipment at 2239 Alger Dr. in Troy. Both will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run for about an hour.

The programs will be presented by Chris Patten of A.L. Wilson who has over 22 years of cleaning experience.

The cost to attend is $5 per person for MILD members and $20 for non-members.

To register or find out more information, contact the association by calling (877) 390-6453.

Later this year, MILD will also be hosting its 100th anniversary convention.

The event will be held on the weekend of July 26 to 28. This year’s venue will be the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

Mackinac Island is only accessible by plane and boat and making it more noteworthy is the fact that automobiles are not allowed. Visitors must travel by foot, bicycle or horse-drawn carriage.

For more information on the upcoming convention, contact the MILD office directly or look for additional updates online at www.mildmi.org.

Over 30 years ago, Swan Cleaners was the first tenant to sign a lease when Worthington Square Shopping Center opened its doors in Ohio.

The shopping center’s modest beginnings in 1982 also included Kroger and Cochran’s Drug Store.

Over the years, the center saw some ownership and management changes, but Swan continued to operate there until the shopping center fell out of favor with the local community.

With less customer traffic, Swan closed the store and moved it to its Worthington Hills location. However, when Worthington Place came under new ownership in 2010 and underwent $10 million in renovations, new tenants lined up for the opportunity to do business there.

Among them was Swan Cleaners, owned by the Gelpi family since they started the business in 1935. The company came full circle and opened its doors there in December, just around the corner from its original spot.

The new store is one of Swan’s new generation proto-type locations, featuring state-of-the-art drycleaning technology and a side service door that allows for “In-Car-Service” and a full range of garment care services.

The Worthington store was the second such new generation store that the company opened in the Fall of 2012. The other store was launched in Upper Arlington on Henderson Road on Nov. 1.

Swan Cleaners was the first cleaner in the world to receive the Green Cleaner Certification from the Green Cleaners Council and was the first cleaner in Ohio to be named a Certified Environmental Dry Cleaner by the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute.