National Clothesline

Only the industry’s top shelf elite will earn the title of “Certified Garment Care Professional,” a new distinction bestowed on cleaners who have successfully completed the three certification programs offered by the International Fabricare Institute.

IFI’s certified garment care professionals

These 25 cleaners have earned the new Certified Garment Care Professional Certificate free for having successfully completed all three of IFI’s certification exams.

• James Acker, Athens Cleaner & Laundry, Athens, TX

• Jan Barlow, Jan’s Professional Cleaners & Laundromat, Clio, MI

• Christopher Birk, One Hour Cleaners, Peru, IN

• Edward Boorstein, Prestige, Exceptional Fabricare, Silver Spring, MD

• Aaron Bray, Chesley the Cleaner, Nashville, TN

• Sheldon Bray, Chesley the Cleaner, Nashville, TN

• Timothy David, Bumpas Shaw’s Laundry & Dry Cleaning, Brownwood, TX

• Wan Choe, Official Osborne Inc., Upper Marlboro, MD

• Richard Days, Days’ Dry Cleaner, Hollywood, FL

• Steven Depper, Dutch Girl Dry Cleaners, Walnut Creek, CA

• William Dickerson, Nu Yale Laundry & Cleaners, Jefferson, IN

• John Fehlner, The Cleaners, Clinton, NY

• Robert Guilott, AAA Drive In Cleaners, Lake Charles, LA

• Kenneth Holder, Holder’s Dry Cleaners, Lutz, FL

• Garry Jackson, Textile Diversified Resources, Corpus Christi, TX

• Charles Jones, Comet Cleaners, Allen, TX

• Richard Long, Cleaning by Rick, Rock Hill, SC

• Loyce Luedtke, Kringle’s Kleaners, Santa Claus, IN

• Laurie McReynolds, Comet Cleaners, Waco, TX

• Eric Pooler, Gold Star Cleaners, Brewer, ME

• Louis Schickel, Schickel’s Cleaners, Little Rock, AR

• Robert Tober, Princess Cleaners, Charlotte, NC

• Andrew Waddell, Dell’s Supply Co. Inc., St. Louis, MO

• Joseph Waite, Platinum Dry Cleaners, Naples, FL

• Robert Whitmire, Big Ridge Cleaners, Chattanooga, TN

• Richard Whitten, Comet Dry Cleaners, Punta Gorda, FL

To date, only 25 fabric care specialists have completed all three IFI certifications: Certified Professional Dry Cleaner, Certified Environmental Dry Cleaner; and Certified Professional Wet Cleaner. To commemorate and celebrate the accomplishment, IFI has rewarded each Certified Garment Care Professional with a large, college-sized diploma.

“It says you’re a professional,” Jane Rising, IFI’s manager of education and training, said. “It’s even better when your employees attain certification. Then your customers know that their garments are being well cared for by people with experience.”

Believing cleaners who were thrice certified deserved a higher level of recognition, IFI CEO Bill Fisher decided to implement the program.

“Chris Birk (One Hour Cleaners in Peru, Indiana) inspired this idea by suggesting that cleaners holding all three certifications should be more recognizable,” Fisher said. “Shortly after that, we went with the diploma approach. It’s big because having all three certifications is a big deal — it shows everyone that you value your customers so much that you go through the trouble of continuing education. These are the kinds of cleaners we need more of in the industry. They make everybody look good, so we want to make them look better.”

The certification process begins when applicants request an exam through IFI. The institute sends study materials that cleaners must know well in order to attain a passing grade on the exam. Once they pass the test, a regular 8.5- by 11-inch certificate and a congratulatory letter is awarded to them.

When all three certified programs are completed, the cleaner receives the new Certified Garment Care Professional distinction and diploma, in addition to the three smaller certificates already earned by passing each exam.

Those who have yet to obtain certification will have an opportunity this spring. The next exam date is April 3. The registration deadline is February 15. Another chance will come October 2. The deadline for signing up to take the test on that date is Aug. 15.

The exams take place at test sites located all over the U.S. and they are administered by the Professional Testing Corporation, an independent testing organization.

The cost to take the exams is $295 for IFI members for the CPD and CPW certification; the cost is $175 for members for the CED exam.

Non-IFI members pay $395 for the CED and CPW exams, and $275 for the CED exam. Self-study guides are included in the exam fees.

The CED exam is also available in Korean.

To register or for more information, contact IFI’s Susan Bale at (800) 638-2627, ext. 144.