Why did you shrink my leather?
To the customer who owns a suede or
leather garment that fits fine before cleaning but is too small
to wear after cleaning, it is plain, ordinary shrinkage and you
did it — and you are going to replace it or they will see
you in court!
How could this happen? What did I do
wrong, you may ask. How can the condition be corrected? How can
I
keep from having this problem again? Who
is responsible? It’s costing me customers!
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First of all, you did not clean the item
improperly.
Second, the garment may be so badly
shrunken that it cannot be stretched back to its original size.
Third, the problem can be avoided at the
counter when the article is first brought into your
establishment.
And finally, the tannery is almost always
responsible when excessive shrinkage occurs and renders the
garment unwearable.
Let’s first examine how you can
avoid the shrinkage problem at the counter.
So many potential problems can be avoided
if the counter person is alert and knowledgeable about
shrinkage in the skins from which garment and accessory items
are made.
We will then come back and examine the
underlying causes of the shrinkage.
Suede and leather garments should be
examined just like cloth garments at the time you accept them.
One of the things you must inspect
for on incoming suedes and leathers is shrinkage. How do you do
that? The same way you do on cloth garments! How is that?
Shrinkage can be readily identified by
looking for the following:
1. The lining is hanging below the skin at
the bottom of the garment.
2. The lining is hanging below the skin at
the bottom of the sleeve.
3. There is a lot more lining than outer
skin, that is, the lining is much fuller than the outer leather
or suede shell.
4. The customer may tell you that the
garment now fits tighter than it did when first purchased and
there has been no increase in body weight.
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This shrinkage condition is called
“relaxation shrinkage” and it should be brought to
the customer’s attention at the time the garment is
accepted for cleaning. Further, the customer should be told at
the same time that the shrinkage condition is likely to become
more pronounced rather than improved during cleaning by proper
leather cleaning methods. The customer should also be told that
the reason for this shrinkage condition
goes back to the tanning process where the
skin was improperly over stretched and that it is now relaxing
back to its original size. Finally, the shrinkage condition
should be noted on the invoice ticket as well as the fact that
the customer was advised that the shrinkage would not improve
but would become more pronounced and that the customer releases
the cleaner of responsibility for the shrinkage that is already
evident as well as any further shrinkage that might occur in
the cleaning.
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The customer should then be asked to sign
the ticket and release the cleaner from responsibility for
shrinkage before the garment is cleaned.
We have now determined that:
1. You are not responsible for relaxation
shrinkage in suedes and leathers.
2. The
shrinkage may not be correctable.
3. The
shrinkage problem is detectable before cleaning.
4. Claims
related to shrinkage can be avoided by proper acceptance and
handling techniques at the counter.
5. The tannery
is responsible for excessive shrinkage that occurs in skins
that make up a suede or leather garment.
Let’s examine the underlying causes
of relaxation shrinkage and why the tannery is responsible for
it.
The problem of relaxation shrinkage is
created or avoided at the step in the tanning process known as
drying. While there are several methods that may be used by
tanneries, the method known as “toggling” is most
likely to lend itself to the creation of conditions in the skin
that will later result in relaxation shrinkage of a suede or
leather garment.
The purpose of drying skins after they
have been cleaned, unhaired, tanned, split, shaved, dyed and
oiled is, as its name implies, to remove excess moisture left
in the skins during the preceding steps of the tanning process.
Drying is accomplished by passing the skins through a carefully
controlled drying oven.
Before the skins can be passed through the
drying oven, they must first be clamped to a metal mesh screen
that is fastened to a rectangular frame. With the mesh in the
horizontal position, two men lay the skin over the mesh and
smooth it out until it lays flat. Then toggle clamps are
clamped all around the outer edge of the skin.
These toggle clamps have spring loaded
clamping jaws like a vice grip on one end. These jaws grip the
periphery of the skin.
On the other end of the clamps is a hook
that can be inserted into one of the spaces in the mesh screen
after the skin is gently pulled taut. If properly done, the
skin will be pulled from both sides, by both men, to the
natural size of the skin, and the skin will then dry to its
natural size as it passes through the drying oven.
However, if the two men pull the skin from
opposite sides and stretch it beyond its natural size it
becomes over-toggled or stretched. If the stretched skin is
then passed through the drying oven, it will dry and it will
remain stretched, giving the impression that it is larger in
area than it really is.
Stretching skins, drying skins
Why would anyone want to over-stretch
these skins? The answer is simple: skins are sold by the square
foot or square meter. The more the skin can be stretched, the
more money it will bring. Generally, the crooks who do this are
living overseas where many skins are now tanned.
To avoid potential claims of “you
shrunk my suede or leather,” use the techniques described
above to detect and then explain the indications of shrinkage
to the customer at the counter when you accept garments showing
signs of relaxation shrinkage.
In such cases, be sure to get a customer
release signature before cleaning or refer the customer to the
place of purchase for an adjustment from the manufacturer.
Frank Lucenta is president of Royaltone
Co., Inc., a firm that manufacturers the products he developed
to make it possible for any cleaner to safely AND profitably
dryclean, wetclean and finish any suede, leather, fur and
trimmed cloth garment. He also wrote related instruction books
that document the process, entitled “Handling Leather and
Suede” and “Cleaning and Finishing Leather and
Suede.” He also teaches small groups of plant owners and
managers how to identify, accept, spot, dryclean and wetclean,
press and recolor suedes, leathers, and furs using his
Royaltone procedures and products. The next Royaltone Leather
training sessions are scheduled for April 11-12, June 6-7, and
Sept. 12-13 at the Royaltone Suedemate Leather Cleaning Center
in Tulsa, OK. For more information on training sessions or on
spotting charts in either English or Korean, call (800)
331-5506, (918) 622-6677, fax (918) 665-6017, or e-mail frank@royaltone.com
Infofmation is also availbale
on the Royaltone web site, www.royaltone.com.
