The effort to close perc-using drycleaning stores in residential buildings claimed its first business in November when a Manhattan store was closed by the New York City Department of Health. The action involving White Glove Cleaners followed months of pressure from residents of the building, UNITE and Greenpeace.
The closure coincided with a television program run on Nov. 20 by the local NBC-TV affiliate. The story addressed problems experienced by Dani Cleaners on the Upper Westside and White Glove Cleaners in Tribeca.
The next morning a press conference in front of White Glove Cleaners was called by UNITE and attended by city public advocate Mark Green, a city councilwoman, Greenpeace, and the tenants and their attorney. Local media was represented by cable channel NY1, WOR-TV, WCBS-AM and several community newspapers.
Neighborhood Cleaners Association International was told of the press conference and Bill Seitz, Peter Atha and Mel Bond along with Tanya Klaserner of Stuart Pearlman & Co., the NCAI public relations firm, attended. Bill Seitz offered his view of the situation, interrupted by the heckling of several of the tenants.
Shortly after the conference ended, the city health department moved in on White Glove Cleaners in Tribecca and closed the store.
According to NCAI, the health department decision was "based on perc level readings in tenant apartments exceeding their 'guideline' of 15 ppb (parts per billion)."
"The issue is perc, but not just in New York City apartments," NCAI said. "It also includes stores in shopping centers, free standing plants and garments that come back from drycleaners. The goal of Greenpeace, UNITE, Mark Green, the New York State Department of Health and all of the other environmental hard liners is pure and simple -- ban perc."
The next day, NCAI associate director Jerry Levine appeared live on the local Fox Network program "Good Day, New York," a news show. He was seen live in front of White Glove Cleaners, along with Eric Frumin of UNITE and one of the tenants.
"Needless to say, we got the industry position across. But did our comments fall on deaf ears?" Levine wondered.
In addition, NCAI said two other cleaners in New York have been shut down. One used third-generation equipment while the other had fourth-generation equipment. The Department of Health claimed perc levels in apartments above them exceeded the DOH 'guideline' of 15 ppb.
"The measurements, taken by passive air measuring devices, we believe, are flawed and suspect since they were unsupervised and would probably not stand up in a court of law," NCAI charged.
Dani Cleaners was first investigated earlier this year after complaints from tenants living above the cleaner. The Department of Health took measurements in those apartments in April and June and recorded perc levels of 2 ppm. Although it spent $20,000 to correct the problem, Dani Cleaners was shut down in September. It now operates as a drop store.
The equipment is still on premises, but NCAI said Dani may have to remove it since it is no longer being used.
In the case of White Glove Cleaners, former lofts are being converted into upscale condominiums.
The retrofitted site includes vapor barriers on the ceiling. The first-floor drycleaning plant had fourth-generation equipment installed. On April 1, it opened for business, but only after prevailing in court against a suit brought by tenants in the building.
While granting White Glove the right to open, the New York State Supreme Court advised the New York City Council and the state Division of Community and Housing Renewal to determine if the state code is more stringent than the city code regarding the mixing of residential units and drycleaning businesses in the same building.
Of note, NCAI said White Glove Cleaners did not use its drycleaning machinery for several months after it opened, but "immediately heard complaints about perc odors."
In October and November, 1996, the city department of health took measurements in the apartments above White Glove with the results showing perc readings ranging from 65 ppb to 240 ppb.
NCAI charged the "readings are flawed and inaccurate," for the same reasons it cited in the Dani Cleaners situation.
At the same time, New York City Council has the co-location issue on its agenda for consideration and hearings beginning in January. Already, one of the Manhattan Community Boards passed and sent a resolution to the New York City Council recommending that new drycleaners be forbidden to use perc if situated in a residential building.
While all this has been going on, the completion of the New York state negotiated rule making process on drycleaning rules is near. With the new regulations close to adoption, NCAI complained "we continue to be stymied in our attempts to secure comments from the peer reviewers on information regarding the 15 ppb levels. In fact, the DOH apparently directed each of the six reviewers not to release their comments."
It is Levine's belief that state DOH personnel are suppressing the information in the hope that local governments will take more restrictive action on perc use.
NCAI plans for confronting the growing problem were studied at a strategy meeting held Nov. 27 at NCAI headquarters with Stuart Pearlman & Co., association lobbyist Don Halperin, allied trade representatives, attorneys for NCAI and other industry groups and an attorney representing White Glove.
No matter what course the group decides to take, NCAI warned that "it will take money, and lots of it," to pursue a lobbying campaign.
"We know you've heard this many times before but now that the first shots have actually been fired, the war is on," NCAI special projects manager Peter Atha said. "If you think this is a New York City or New York State problem, think again."
He warned that the campaign to limit perc use "is an industry problem that not only can but will spread... perhaps slowly but certainly surely throughout the United States if it is not stopped here and now."
Thanksgiving Eve brought an unwelcome turkey into the homes of drycleaners in the form of an ABC-TV PrimeTime Live segment that left a poor impression of some cleaners' abilities to clean clothes and deal with customers.
Industry reaction to PrimeTime's "On the Spot" segment ranged from anger at the network for what seemed to be yet another media attack on the industry to dismay at cleaners whose work failed to measure up to professional standards.
Both the Neighborhood Cleaners Association International and the International Fabricare Institute said the show highlighted the need for more education and training in the industry.
The segment led off by noting that drycleaners are "one of 10 most complained about businesses nationwide," according to Better Business Bureau statistics. In an interview with James Schmidt, president of the St. Louis Better Business Bureau, PrimeTime was told that there's more to the problem than inadequate cleaning. Customers said they were angry about the way they are treated, too, Schmidt said.
"The thing that boggles my mind is that 50 percent of the customers expected an apology and only two percent got it," he said. "Now, how much does an apology cost?"
To illustrate the problem, PrimeTime correspondent Sylvia Chase set up a blind test of 15 St. Louis area drycleaners with the help of Dr. Charles Riggs at the Texas Research Center for Laundry and Drycleaning at Texas Woman's University in Denton, TX.
For the test, 15 silk blouses and 15 rayon skirts, all brand new, were stained with spaghetti sauce, Coca-Cola and ink, then dropped off at the selected cleaners.
In Dr. Riggs' post-cleaning evaluation, 10 of the 15 cleaners failed to remove the stains. In nine instances, he said, the cleaners hadn't even tried. And some of the cleaning attempts resulted in making permanent spots out of stains that were removable when the clothes were brought in.
Another set of garments with the same type of stains were also cleaned at TWU's cleaning plant. The result, according to Chase, was garments that were "immaculate. Just like new!"
Of the St. Louis cleaners "spot tested" by PrimeTime, five cleaned the blouses to the satisfaction of Dr. Riggs' inspection. Only two of the rayon skirts met his approval.
"I thought we would get more good ones back," Riggs commented to PrimeTime. "But the majority of these items we wouldn't even want to wear."
Some of the garments were damaged by the cleaners. Runs and tears were shown in the fabric in two cases. The wearability of four of the silk blouses was diminished by the fact that black buttons bled onto the white fabric. This was caused by too much moisture in the cleaning solvent, Dr. Riggs said.
When PrimeTime's Chase returned to the cleaners to give them a chance to correct the problems, only three agreed to try again. One of those successfully removed the stains, but added a new one.
When Chase pointed out the new spot to the staff at the cleaners, she was told flatly: "We do not put stains on garments." After further explaining that the stains had been placed on brand-new garments as part of the test, she was still told, "It's not our fault."
PrimeTime also interviewed several unidentified drycleaning customers who told of similar experiences.
One said that when problems are pointed out to a cleaner "it's everybody's fault but theirs." Another said "they kept on insisting they had nothing to do with the stains." And another said she was told, after pointing out stains, "I can see a pig ate while wearing these pants."
The results of the tests led Chase to question the professionalism of drycleaners.
"Stain removal takes work and not all do it or even know how," she said. "Drycleaning is a business without any required certification or training. Anyone can be a drycleaner."
In the opinion of Dr. Riggs, many who are in the business shouldn't be. "If we had standards that I would like to see involving certification and testing and evaluation, probably easily a third would be out of the business," he said.
PrimeTime Live left its audience with some words of advice for finding a good drycleaner:
"It helps if the drycleaner knows what soiled the garment," Riggs said. Some stains are impossible to get out, he noted, but all of the stains presented in the tests were removable.
A wake-up call
Responding to the program, IFI's Chief Executive Officer Bill Fisher said, "This show is a wake-up call for us."
"As an industry, we are capable of providing excellent quality service to our customers -- as demonstrated by the quality work shown by several plants, especially IFI Certified Professional Drycleaners," Fisher said. "But this program also demonstrated how far too many plants have slipped in their work, causing the image problem we have."
The way PrimeTime's Chase was treated when she pointed out the shortcomings of the cleaning is as big a concern as the fact that the clothes weren't cleaned properly to begin with, IFI said.
"Training counter personnel is essential for good customer service. If this is how drycleaners react to customer complaints on camera, we have to wonder what customer service is like in an everyday situation," said Jon Meijer, director of education at IFI. "We need to get back to the good old days of quality customer service."
IFI advised cleaners not go on the defensive when mistakes happen . "Admit there is a problem and resolve it as quickly as possible. Keeping counter personnel and spotters informed and trained can also help increase quality," IFI said.
Among the cleaners who fared well in the PrimeTime test was Colonial Cleaners, owned by former IFI board member William Frein. IFI said Frein thought the PrimeTime piece was "very slanted but could have been worse."
"There is such a need for knowledge in this industry," Frein said.
Shortcomings exposed
Bill Seitz, executive director of the Neighborhhood Cleaners Association International, said it was a combination of a lack of effort and lack of knowledge that led to the poor showing in PrimeTime's tests.
"If five cleaners could remove the spaghetti sauce and Coca Cola stains, why shouldn't the other 10 also remove the stains?" Seitz asked.
"If two cleaners could remove the ball point ink, why shouldn't the other 13 remove the ball point ink, too?"
"Because too many drycleaners don't try and because they don't know how to remove relatively easy stains," he said.
Seitz continued: "PrimeTime Live wasn't a positive upbeat presentation for our industry, but don't blame PrimeTime Live. We gave them the ammunition to blow us away. On the positive side, the show gave us an opportunity to see our shortcomings."
Cleaners can respond by continuing to complain and maintain the status quo or by getting serious about their technical skills and customer service and begin to find solutions, Seitz said.
I have eagerly been awaiting someone to divulge the intricacies of removing the three types of stains that were placed on the garments that PrimeTime Live took to the cleaners in St. Louis. (Maybe that is where the phrase comes from.)
First of all, these were not Venus or Mars types of stains that only a select few in the whole world could remove. The staining material consisted of oil, tannin staining material, perhaps a little dye from the tomato paste used in the spaghetti sauce and ink. Just plain ol' ballpoint ink.
What I could determine from watching the show, reading the responses from the Fabricare Forum and Bill Seitz's breakdown of the stains and the garments, was that you would want to be aware that the buttons on the blouse were fabric with a black dye; the rayon contained spaghetti sauce and the lining of the jacket could have been acetate.
With these simple stains there was damage to several of the garments and quite a few of the stains didn't come out.
The first thing you would want to do is see what chemicals could be used on the differing fabrics and trims. Buttons are considered trims in that they decorate the costume. You should always be leery when you have a black trim on a white garment.
If you are going to attempt to wetspot in any way, including prespotting, you should first test the black with a protein spotter because it contains a lubricant, which is soap; water, which is the solvent; and ammonia or some type of pH boosting agent, which will encourage it to bleed if it has a tendency.
This can be done to the back of the fabric button in a very tiny area. After testing or prespotting with a water based chemical, the area should be dried thoroughly. This ain't no joke or just words to fill up a page.
Dry thoroughly before drycleaning.
Spaghetti sauce
Spaghetti sauce would be considered a combination stain in that it contains oils and tannin staining material. It probably also has a bit of a dye to make the spaghetti sauce look like Mama Mia's original fresh from the garden sauce.
With any combination stain, first remove the oil. This could be done in drycleaning without any prespotting. I think it is a 1 in 10 million shot that the heat of drying is going to oxidize it. So, first dryclean it, then apply a DROP of tannin stain remover, which is nothing more than soap, water and a pinch of acetic acid (vinegar).
Acids will generally set dyes, but don't push it. Work the stain gently with a bone scraper, then flush while holding the gun four inches above the fabric.
You have to realize that rayon, when wet can lose up to 80 percent of its strength. Ever notice how easily your competitors can blow a hole in rayon?
If there is still a trace of stain after those two operations, place about a match head's worth of sodium perborate on the remaining stain, then put one drop of protein spotter on it to wet it down, hold it in place and accelerate the sodium perborate.
Now, get a slight wisp of steam coming from the spotting gun and go right down on the perborate to melt it. When it has melted the stain is probably gone. Flush, dry and feather.
Coca Cola
Coke is almost a no-brainer because it is simply a tannin-type stain with a bit of dye added to give it a big, macho look and really quench that thirst.
Dryclean first to remove the garment soil, then apply a drop or two of tannin stain remover, flush, dry and feather.
If there is still a trace, add a small amount of sodium perborate and do like above.
Ink
Always assume that any jacket has an acetate lining. This will determine the chemical for removing ink. Use a prepared ink remover. There are several good ones on the market. The ones I personally use are from Jinx Ink: the regular Jinx Ink for any non-acetate or rayon garment without wild dyes, and Jinx Ink DF for rayon, acetate and loud colors. The regular Jinx Ink contains acetone while the DF is a citrus-based product. It is a little slower, but much safer.
To remove the ink from the garment described on PrimeTime, I would have applied the DF ink remover with an eye-dropper right along the line of ink and let it sit for about five minutes, then re-applied it.
After the second application it should be absorbed into a white, cotton, towel. Keep doing this until there is no more bleeding onto the towel.
Re-apply, then tamp with a spotting brush, then flush out with the steam gun.
If there is still a trace that you want to remove, apply a small amount of sodium perborate and bleach out as described above.
Stop complaining about Prime Time Live beating up on the drycleaners. Yes, there were parts that could have been better. There were remarks made that were provocative, but that is the nature of the TV Beast. Did you really expect them to be fair? TV is like newspaper and magazines. They sell their products with hype, exaggeration and showing the worst -- not the best.
Stop complaining about what Dr. Charles Riggs said or didn't say...
Dr. Riggs prepared a test that was fair and objective. You heard some of his remarks. You will never hear all of the positive things he said because they went into the garbage. But we can't deny or avoid how poorly the industry did in removing the stains and how we handled the customer when they came back with the complaint...
I have been telling the industry for at least 20 years that spotting is a dying technique. We have been sold (because we wanted to buy) simple, quick solutions. Three or four chemicals is all you need to be an expert spotter. Baloney!
The hottest selling items in our industry today are not spotting chemicals; the hot items today are T.S. tags that tells the customer "Our experts have worked on the stain and this is the best that can be done" and the customers believe you.
Then the customer wears the garment and, because the garment is no longer a special garment, it is put in their home washing machine with a little safety bleach and guess what! The garment comes out clean and free of stain.
Where is our credibility? Down the drain!
I believe the reason discount cleaners have any success even with their mediocre or poor quality is because the quality of the popular price cleaners who charge two or three times more isn't any better. The comments made by the customer service people and their lack of customer service in handling a problem customer is that it is not their fault. It is management's fault for not training, supervising and auditing their staff so that they know what to say and how to say it. I believe that if "PrimeTime Live" went to any city in the USA, the result would have been similar...
The most successful drycleaners I know throughout the USA and in the world are those drycleaners who are committed to quality and service that nobody else can do. When a consumer can do a better job in a home washing machine and a smattering of knowledge than we can do as professionals there is something wrong.
PrimeTime Live wasn't a positive upbeat presentation for our industry, but don't blame PrimeTime Live. We gave them the ammunition to blow us away. On the positive side, the show gave us an opportunity to see our shortcomings.
We have two choices:
Call me 212 967-3002 ext. 231 and I will help you find solution and in doing so will help you make your future brighter and better than ever.
Recent advances in wetcleaning equipment and chemistry have expanded the possibilities for the ages-old practice of cleaning clothes in water, but getting to the point of being able to wetclean 100 percent of the garments customers typically brought to a drycleaning plant appears to be a step or two beyond present technology.
For many cleaners, that's a chance to say "I told you so." The words of one cleaner, spoken early on in the discussions of expanding wetcleaning in professional garment care, ring true in light of the final report on the Greener Cleaner 100-percent wetcleaning demonstration project: "It's an 80 percent solution to a 100 percent problem."
Although the Greener Cleaner wet processed 100 percent of its volume during its first year in operation to the general satisfaction of customers and outside inspectors, the project overseers noted that "With the current state of technology, commercial operations relying on 100 percent wetcleaning face the challenge of maintaining cost effective, high quality performance for a small percentage of garments."
Indeed, 80 percent is the upper limit figure given by the Center for Neighborhood Technology which carefully analyzed the activities at The Greener Cleaner plant in Chicago during its first year of operation.
CNT concluded that cleaners could, at a minimum, wetclean up to 40 percent of garments -- those that have care labels that call for washing. With proper training and equipment, that wetcleaning percentage could be extended to 80 percent.
To wetclean garments not labeled as "washable" requires professional judgment by the cleaner based on understanding of fabrics, dyes and garment construction as well as familiarity with the equipment and supplies available for the job. A wider implementation of wetcleaning would also require the cooperation of textile and apparel makers and perhaps a change in care label rules that would identify garments that can be professionally wetcleaned as opposed to drycleaned.
Those issues were addressed at an EPA-sponsored conference last fall, Apparel Care and the Environment: Alternative Technologies and Labeling.
Manufacturers' view
Speaking at that conference, Kay Villa, Assistant Director of the American Textile Manufacturers Institute's (ATMI) Product Services Division, said her association supports the concept of a care label for professional wetcleaning, but only for those garments that would otherwise carry a "dryclean" care label.
Noting that the 31,000 garments that went under the wetcleaning microscope at the Greener Cleaner "are minuscule compared to the 12 billion garments that are sold the United States annually," Villa said more testing is needed before presenting professional wetcleaning as a mass-market solution.
"If the consumer has the idea that they can just take any of their clothes out of their closet and take it to a local 'greener cleaner,' we would expect to see more damage claims. We would expect to see problems including shrinkage, color loss, dye transfer, color bleeding, felting of wools, stiffness in some fabrics, and water stains and water marks," she said.
Modifying their products to accommodate wetcleaning is not something manufacturers can do overnight, Villa added. Most textile operations take six to 18 months to transfer the raw fiber to the end product that goes to the consumer, she said.
"In some cases, it might be an easy fix; it might be something the company can do within a two-month period of time to reformulate to develop a better product," she said. "But in some cases, we may never be able to find a solution that will take every single fiber, every single product and guarantee that it can be cleaned with these new technologies."
Villa also said that the environmental impact along the entire textile chain must be considered before declaring a wetclean process "greener."
"I want to emphasize that just because a product can be 'eco-cleaned' does not necessarily guarantee that the manufacturing processes that went into the development of that end product were done in an environmentally friendly manner. So we have to be able to weigh these options," she said.
Finally, Villa noted; "The other major factor that will really drive whether or not we are all successful is whether the consumer will accept the end product."
FTC on care labels
The Federal Trade Commission's position on a "professionally wetclean" care label was brought to the conference by Connie Vecellio, an attorney for the Division of Enforcement of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The FTC is in the process of revising the care label rules, but before a wetcleaning label could be implemented, a standardized definition of professional wetcleaning must be developed so that warnings could be given if certain parts of the wetcleaning process would damage the garment, Vecellio said.
"We would also need a way of determining whether a manufacturer had a reasonable basis for placing a claim on the care label that the garment could be professionally wetcleaned," she said.
And finally, wetcleaning would have to be available to most consumers.
"We need information about how available it is before we can allow garments to be labeled simply 'professionally wetclean.' If there's no professional wetcleaner in an entire state, it's not really fair to the consumers in that state to put garments on the market labeled 'only for professional wetcleaning'."
On the general topic of care labels and professional cleaners, Vecellio had some additional comments.
"The fact that a label recommends drycleaning does not insulate the drycleaner from liability. Liability with respect to consumer claims depends on the laws of the states. And in many states, I've been told, the drycleaner is basically held liable on a theory of bailment -- he took the product, he's a professional, he's liable if something goes wrong. The rule does not insulate him against that liability."
The Center for Neighborhood Technology has issued its final report on the one year Greener Cleaner project in Chicago.
During the project period, 31,734 garments were cleaned at the plant; 43 were not accepted for cleaning and there were 28 claims filed, nine of which were for lost garments. In addition to findings reported in the adjoining article, CNT had the following general observations about the 100-percent wetcleaning project:
An executive summary of the final report is available by calling CNT, (773) 278-4800, ext. 299.
Last month we complained about the proliferation of "Not Responsible" signs in drycleaning call offices. Not long after those words were written, we got to see, on national television no less, that some cleaners really mean what they say when they put those signs on the wall. It's bad enough to have a sign declaring "We're not responsible," but when we hear the words coming from the mouth of an actual "customer service representative," saying it to a customer who has a legitimate complaint, the sign itself suddenly becomes relatively inoffensive.
When PrimeTime Live's reporter, as part of her "mystery shopping tour" of 15 St. Louis-area cleaners, returned to several of the shops to point out stains that hadn't been removed -- or in one case, to show a stain that had been added to the garment while in the cleaner's care -- the universal response was, you guessed it, "We're not responsible."
The embarrassment that this "not responsible" attitude brought to the industry before a nationwide television audience could have been avoided if the cleaners had managed to clean the clothes right the first time. But if that's asking too much, at least the worst part of this sad episode would never have taken place if, when the "mystery shopper" pointed out the inadequate cleaning work, the people at the counter had responded appropriately.
The president of the St. Louis Better Business Bureau commented in the program that most customers who are unhappy about a cleaner's work want an apology. Very few get one. "How much does an apology cost?" the BBB president asked. Indeed, we didn't hear one word of sympathy for the customer whose garment came back stained, dirty or damaged. On the contrary, the customer service personnel were quick to pass the buck, in some cases trying to make the customer herself feel like the guilty party. "It's your stain. You put it on there," said one.
This part of the program, the confrontations between customer and counter, was the most dramatic and memorable portion and it was the part that showed cleaners at their worst -- defending their own incompetence. How easily this part could have been avoided by simply saying, "I'm sorry. Please let us try again." And then, of course, do the job done right on the second try. Had that been the approach taken, PrimeTime, left without a story, would have found something else to focus its cameras on.
So don't ask how much an apology costs. How much is an apology worth?
The price of ignorance continues to rise. Whether it is charged in bad customer service at the front counter, poor quality textile care or "not in my back yard" resistance to perc-using drycleaning stores, the result is a less than flattering perception of the industry in the public's eye. Fortunately, there are people out there doing something to provide solutions.
Even though Neighborhood Cleaners Association International in New York City and International Fabricare Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland, have in-house training schools, it has become apparent that outreach programs are the next level in textile care continuing education. There are a growing number of trainers who are traveling to the cleaner's hometowns and as a result have redefined training program delivery. New schools are in the works, too, at various locations around the country and NCAI has offered training programs to all cleaners nationwide, wherever and whenever a group of drycleaners wants it. And the association has expanded its certified drycleaner self-study program nationwide, making it readily accessible to all textile care personnel at the individual's convenience.
In the end, it will not be regulations, proposed legislation or the battle about perc that have the greatest impact on cleaners. Consumer demands, political pressure and changes in technology will weed out those who don't adjust to the demands of the marketplace. Education, training and adaptability are the keys. Those cleaners, trainers and associations who recognize this and understand the need to change will emerge as the textile care community of the 21st century. The rest will learn the lesson of evolution -- extinction happens.
NEW YORK, NY -- The Neighborhood Cleaners Association International is making its "Environmentally Accredited Drycleaner" program available nationwide.
The program was originally conceived by Jerry Levine, NCAI's associate director, to satisfy New York State's proposed certification requirements. It was recently revised to meet the new mandatory South Carolina requirements.
The program was originally designed to be a correspondence course and includes an extensive test of true/false and multiple choice questions which are supplied to the participant two weeks after receiving the study material.
Levine said that although the exam is an "open book test," it is not easy.
The program -- both the study material and the test itself -- covers the following topics:
The cost of the program is $150. Those who receive a passing grade get an "Environmentally Accredited Drycleaner" certificate.
For more information about the certification program, contact Levine at NCAI, (212) 967-3002, ext 228.
SILVER SPRING, MD -- More than 100 cleaners from the United States and Canada passed the Intentional Fabricare Institute's Certification examinations which were given last fall.
The written examinations are given twice a year at a variety of locations.
The Certified Environmental Drycleaner program was started by IFI in 1994 and the Certified Professional Drycleaner program began in 1996.
To become a Certified Environmental, a cleaner must pass a 150-question examination that covers environmentally related subjects -- regulations, waste handling and safe operating procedures for drycleaning equipment. The test fee is $175 for IFI members and $275 for non members.
To earn the Certified Professional Drycleaner (CPD) designation, a cleaner must pass a 250-question test that covers business management, customer service, fibers and fabrics and the drycleaning process. The test fee is $295 for IFI members and $395 for non-members.
For the next round of examinations, the registration deadline is Feb. 15. The tests will be given April 5 at various sites around the United States. Registrants for the tests receive a handbook, a list of testing centers, content outline and sample questions.
The tests are administered through the Professional Testing Corp. For information, contact the company at 1211 Avenues of the Americas, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036; or phone (212) 852-0400.
Cleaners who passed the October examinations are as follows:
Certified Environmental Drycleaners
Florida: Donald Griffin, Sebring.
Georgia: John Force, Augusts; Mark Myers, Augusta.
Illinois: Jami Gentile, Lombard; Peter Valessares, Chicago.
Kentucky: Robert Shurtleff, Pikeville.
Maryland: Edward Boorstein, Rockville.
Massachusetts: Charles Anton, Andover; David Masello, Haverhill; Jeffrey Moore, Andover; Lorraine Rohnstock, Dracut.
Missouri: Kevin Caldwell, Brandon.
North Carolina: John Goss Jr., Asheboro; Anthony Evans, Raleigh; Jamie Kelly, Cary; Joel Kilby, Winston Salem; Aaron McCoin, Greensboro; Lori Spencer, Clemmons; Robert Tober, Charlotte.
South Carolina: Diana Ardis, Charleston; James Baldwin, Georgetown; Timothy Bates, Charleston; James Becknell, Lexington; Larry Beldner, Charleston; Walter Bell, Spartanburg; Carlton Blanton, Gaffney; Sammy Brashier, Greenville; Richard Brown, Florence; Perry Bullard, Brunson; Earl Carpenter, Simpsonville; Clinton Carter, Lake City; Yong Chong, Easley; Harvey Clarke, Camden; James Freeman, Rock Hill; Marvin Gingrich, Orangeburg; John Gowan, Greenville; Kelly Hancock, Lake City; Greg Hicks, Little River; Jerry Hilton, Florence; Bill Honeycutt, Greenville; Donald Howe, Irmo; Robert Jackson, Marion; Naresh Kapadia, Spartanburg; Edward Kawasaki, Goose Creek; Larry Koester, Columbia; Henry Krysz, Summersville; Colie Livingston, Orangeburg; Wayne McCutchen, Hartsville; David Meeder, Hardeeville; Mary Mims, Holly Hill; Stephen Moore, West Union; Anil Parag, Charleston; Carl Powalie, N. Myrtle Beach; Daniel Rae, Hanahan; Gerald Riggins, Williamston; Dana Ritchie; Columbia; Redic Robinson, Columbia; Phillip Joel Sapp, Winston Salem; Julius Schwartz, Myrtle Beach; David Shaw, Columbia; Alfred Smith, Charleston; Harold Smith, Greenville; Mary Smith, Charleston; Russell Smith, Charleston; Kevin Sturgeon, Darlington; Jimmie Talbert, Mauldin; John Vukic; Myrtle Beach, Sandra Walczak, Ladson; Gergory Watson, Charleston; Larry Whitmire Jr., Anderson; Derrick Wilson, Lexington.
Tennessee: Steven Brown, Jackson; Mohamad Zarook, Nashville.
Texas: Joe Darcy, Irving; Doug Duerr, Beaumont; Howard Goldberg, El Paso; Richard Skinner, Houston.
Virginia: Emanuel Martin, Hampton.
Wisconsin: Jennifer Klinke, Madison; Richard Klinke, Madison; Susan St. Germaine, Greenfield.
Certified Professional Drycleaners
British Columbia: Gregory Erickson, Burnaby.
California: Jack Hampton, El Centro; Joel Shapiro, Newark.
Colorado: Greg Geller, Denver; Tom Johansen, Carbondale; Donna Riley, Littleton; Sharon Rombough, Littleton.
Georgia: David Shipp, Conyers.
Illinois: Todd Campbell, Galesburg; Jeff Markus, Chicago.
Indiana: John Strader, Evansville.
Kentucky: Dean Jones, Lexington.
Maine: Eric Pooler, Brewer.
Maryland: Richard Selleh, Suitland; Thomas Tanglos, Crofton.
Massachusetts: Paul Ceccarelli, Plymouth.
North Carolina: William Coltrane, High Point.
Tennessee: Barry Goss, Knoxville.
Texas: James Addison, Houston; Dana Davies, Denton; Carol Gardner, Richmond; and Steve Huckabee, Bedford.
Utah: Sharon Dutcher, Kaysville.
If new cancer risk assessment guidelines proposed by EPA are approved, the long-running debate over how perchloroethylene should be classified could end quickly.
The new guidelines would replace the current five-tier system with just three categories of carcinogens: known/likely; cannot be determined; and not likely.
The International Fabricare Institute said in a November press release that under that system, "perc could only fall into the 'known/likely carcinogen' category."
"If perc is placed in a group that includes known carcinogens, it is entirely reasonable to expect that there will be regulatory and public confusion about the chemical's precise ranking similar to that which has taken place during the past several years."
IFI supported the need for changing the cancer risk guidelines in its comments to EPA and to base risk assessments on a broader range of scientific information.
EPA's cancer risk guidelines were first issued in 1976 and updated in 1986. Efforts to revise the 1986 guidelines began in 1988. The new guidelines, proposed in April, 1996, call for using new techniques of microbiology and putting less emphasis on animal tests in determining a chemical's potential to trigger cancer.
Wide-ranging impact
The changes would affect regulatory decisions under most of the nation's main environmental laws, including rules governing standards for cleaning up toxic waste, limits on emissions into the air and discharges into the water, and methods for treating municipal drinking water.
EPA has received comments on the proposal but has not indicated its course of action.
In comments to EPA, IFI stated: "While the proposed revised guidelines are not without flaws, if applied openly and fairly, they represent a major step forward in providing a sound foundation for the Agency's human cancer risk assessments."
IFI said the revised procedure not only reflects the progress that has been made in cancer risk assessment since the original guidelines were published in 1986, it also provides more flexibility to incorporate future advances in the risk assessment process.
"Methodologies set out by the 1986 guidelines have become overly restrictive and too narrowly focused," IFI said.
The Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance, in its comments to EPA, expressed similar views: "The guidelines take an important step forward even by moving away from a single alpha-numeric hazard classification. We submit, moreover, that the proposed three categories of descriptions... are inadequate even to summarize the available biological evidence."
John D. Graham, the head of the Center for Risk Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health and a long-time critic of what he has called overzealous efforts to reduce relatively minor environmental risks, called the changes "a modest positive step."
"The important principle that the guidelines embrace is that all carcinogens were not created equal," he said. "That is because the testing of chemicals in animals is much more relevant to humans for some chemicals than for others."
The wrong direction
The EPA plan has been strongly criticized by Steven J. Milloy in op-ed pieces in the Wall Street Journal and on his "Junk Science" World Wide Web site (http://www.junkscience.com).
Milloy, who is president of the Environmental Policy Analysis Network in Washington, DC, calls the guidelines "a giant step in the wrong direction."
"As proposed, the guidelines further enhance EPA's already virtually unfettered ability to label as cancer-causing whatever substance or condition it chooses," Milloy wrote in one of his articles.
The guidelines, he said, eliminate the need for showing statistical significance in epidemiological studies -- studies of distributions and causes of disease in actual human populations.
"Of critical importance... is the requirement that epidemiologic results be statistically significant," he wrote. "There should be some level of confidence, usually 95 percent, that observed study results did not occur by luck or chance. Study results that are not statistically significant, are deemed to be a fluke and are not suitable for concluding that a risk exists."
"The traditional requirement of statistical significance has long been the Achilles heel of epidemiologists and, hence, risk assessors. Because of statistical significance, epidemiologists have not been able to convincingly associate electromagnetic fields, dioxin, environmental tobacco smoke, dietary pesticide residues, and hazardous waste sites, to name a few, with cancer because the results of their epidemiologic studies often have not been statistically significant."
With no requirement of statistical significance, EPA's would have wider latitude in using epidemiologic studies to associate various substances and conditions with cancer, Milloy said.
Milloy queried William Farland, director of EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment, about the lack of statistical significance requirements soon after EPA publicized its proposal in May 1996. In a letter he received in response last August, Milloy said that Farland denied that statistical significance had been deleted in the proposed guidelines.
Milloy is not the only one concerned about the statistical significance issue. In formal comments to EPA, others sharing that view included the American Forest and Paper Association, the Utility Health Sciences Group, the Chlorine Chemistry Council, the Edison Electric Institute, the American Automobile Manufacturers Association, and the American Water Works Association.
SILVER SPRING, MD -- The International Fabricare Institute is offering technical editorial services to its members, allied trades and the general public.
IFI said its staff will review technical publications for completeness of work, accuracy and audience appropriateness. IFI's staff expertise includes textile testing, garment analysis, equipment and technology, care labeling, legislation and regulations, and garment care for consumers.
IFI said it requests for review of materials concerning the industry will be streamlined under the new review process to ensure accurate and helpful information for authors.
For information on the service and a price list, call IFI, (800) 434-62222, ext. 122.
It's two o'clock in the morning, The telephone rings and it's one of my customers apologetically saying, "Herb, my Autoflex isn't working and K can't afford any down time. Can you help me?"
Connie, my wife, watches as I head out the door.
I'm Herb Rosenfeld and I was a customer service manager for R. R. Street & Co. Inc. for 28 years. My territory, 34, covered southern Los Angeles county.
Connie has been a large part of my success in the industry and I'm very proud of her. People have called me a workaholic and I guess it's true. I think of the countless nights when Connie kept dinner warming on a back burner because I was late coming home. And the nights when, after a bad day, I burst through the door with a curt, "Hi," went upstairs to my office, slammed the door and spend an hour or two doing paper work and returning phone calls, further delaying dinner.
She put up with it all and so much more. Connie had the largest share of raising our three children: our daughter, Terry, married to Steve Coty; our son, Alan, and his wife, Monika, and our son Marc. I remember all the conventions I attended, leaving her behind, or the conventions when she accompanied me and then had to fend for herself because I was too busy to be with her.
Connie did a large part of the paperwork involved in running my territory. Since my handwriting is unreadable, she willingly rewrote my reports when they had to be sent to Street's office. Each month she straightened out my expense book before sending it in to the office. She was the one who daily had to field innumerable phone calls from my customers. Street's recognized her contributions to the success of my territory, by awarding her a special plaque designating her as "Territory 341/2."
Three and a half years ago, Connie developed cancer. She has bravely endured treatments and surgeries ever since. For 42 years Connie has taken care of me and it is now my pleasure to return the favor. She has taught me how to do housework and cook and she even had to teach me how to make out a check!
I'm retired now, and it hasn't been easy adjusting to the inactivity, but Connie in her own special way has made the transition easier.
Connie, I want the world to know how much you mean to me. You are the greatest wife, mother, companion and best friend anyone could have. I will love you and cherish you forever.
-- Herb Rosenfeld
Family-friendliness, all but unheard of till the late '80s, got a major boost from the Family Medical Leave Act of '93 and has been on a roll ever since. At the political conventions last summer it was all the rage, with both major parties taking credit for its creation and promotion.
Yet, while the politicians prattle on about the government helping the family, the workplace has the bigger impact on family life. Wages, scheduling, benefits, job security, these are the "family-friendly" issues, and only the employment environment can address them.
Family-friendliness is more than an annual company picnic and a policy allowing employees to get married and have children. The most common practices of family-friendly employers today are: Flexible scheduling; job sharing; child care assistance; quality health care; disability income; strong pension plan; Employee Assistance Programs (EAP's); tuition reimbursement.
On the leading edge, it means: Family sick days; elder care assistance; long term care; adoption benefits; employee help line; on-site summer camps; financial planning for employees.
For those wishing to go overboard: Internet access; pet care; lawn service; (Yes, any good idea can be overdone.)
Ask yourself, "Are these programs worth it?" That depends on whether you want to be profitable. A recent study out of Cornell University says yes, they are. The study analyzed l36 companies that went public in 1988, measured their commitment to employees through tangible reward systems, and compared the companies' survival experience. Of the companies that made substantial investments in their reward programs, 92 percent survived, while the overall survival rate was 60 percent.
In fact, the study showed that how employees were valued was the major determinant for success for these 136 companies.
In addition, Business Week magazine conducted a year-long study of dozens of companies' family-friendliness policies and surveyed thousands of their employees. Ten companies with impressive family-friendliness strategies and results emerged. Four of the 10 are on Fortune Magazine's list of America's best-run companies. The top company on the list, a bank in Tennessee, experienced a 55 percent profit gain over the past two years, which they attribute directly to their aggressive family-friendly practices.
Yes, family-friendliness is a subject of substance, and every company's practices in this area will contribute to the bottom-line, one way or another.
SILVER SPRING, MD -- The International Fabricare Institute's resident courses for 1997 get underway this month with the first of eight scheduled Introduction to Drycleaning classes.
Introduction to Drycleaning is a one-week course on the basic elements of drycleaning, stain removal and finishing for employees and owners/managers with less than one year of experience. The course fee is $350 for members and $455 for non-members.
The first course this year will begin on Jan. 27. Other starting dates for the remainder of the year are March 3, April 7, May 5, July 14, Aug. 11, Sept. 15 and Oct. 13.
Each introductory course is followed by an Advanced Drycleaning course. This two-week course covers more advanced drycleaning procedures, including stain removal techniques and finishing procedures, wetcleaning, and fiber identification. Tuition is $700 for members and $910 for non-members.
The first advanced course this year begins Feb. 4 with future classes starting on March 10, April 14, May 12, July 21, Aug. 18, Sept. 22 and Oct. 20.
Both courses can be taken in consecutive sessions with the introductory courses. When taken back-to-back the tuition is $995 for IFI members and $1,295 for non-members.
One-day courses on wetcleaning are slated for Feb. 15, Aug 2 and Nov. 1. The wetcleaning course is designed for those who want to learn about various aspects of wetcleaning and using the new wetcleaning equipment and supplies. Cost of the course is $99 for members and $119 for non-members.
A March 22 wedding gown workshop will focus on how to market wedding gown services and various cleaning and packaging techniques. Cost for IFI members is $99; for non-members, $119.
IFI also plans two sessions of its Advanced Stain removal course, one of its most popular offerings last year. The three-day class delves into more advanced techniques, including using bleaches, handling antique and specialty items and removing difficult stains. Members can attend this course for $210; non-members pay $300. The course will be offered June 20-22 and Nov. 14-16.
Registration and other information about the resident classes and other education programs is available by calling the IFI education department, (800) 434-622, ext. 144.
SILVER SPRING, MD -- Frequently requested articles from the International Fabricare Institute's Fabricare magazine are now available in reprint packages.
Each package is a compilation of articles published in the magazine -- either a series of articles or a collection on related to a specific topic. Each package has from five to 15 articles.
Topics include Total Quality Management; Marketing 101; Family Business Tips; Cleaners and computers; Public Relations and Business tips; Insurance and Safety Needs; Wetcleaning; and Equipment and Chemicals.
To order or get information about prices and availability about receiving the publication, call IFI, (800) 434-6222, ext. 107 or 125.
"I was wondering if anyone was having a problem with the very brightly multi-colored shirts by Tommy Hilfiger..."
This simple query, posted to the Fabricare List e-mail forum on the Internet, brought a flurry of responses from other cleaners that could be summed up in one word: "YES!"
So what is the trouble with Tommy?
For the person who asked the question, it was "Every time I wash one of these shirts they bleed and turn the shirt pink or blue."
Another cleaner noted that a pair of Tommy Hilfiger dark green shorts faded to the point that they now have light brown wear marks after only one cleaning.
"They look like they have been processed several times instead of only once," the cleaner said.
"My customer doesn't believe that the garment is faulty since we have done other shorts and pants by Tommy Hilfiger without having this problem. The customer also believes in the Tommy Hilfiger myth: If it costs more, it has to be better made."
It turns out that cleaners have been having problems with some Tommy Hilfiger garments for some time.
And no one really has the answer. Suggestions ranged from "refuse them all" to "hand wash them all."
There seems to be no one answer because the problem itself is not consistent. Some Hilfiger shirts present no problems. Others, as one participant in the discussion noted, "bleed like a wolverine on the highway."
Speaking for himself on a Good Morning America program aired Nov. 19, Mr Hilfiger offered advice to consumers that, in the eyes of professional cleaners, was less than adequate, especially if applied to some of the problematic garments that carry his name.
For example, he advised viewers never to follow the instructions of machine wash or dryclean for wool sweaters. They should always be hand-washed in a sink, wrung it out and blocked dry, laying flat on a towel.
"It will come out like new every time," he declared.
NCAI responds
There are a few problems with this advice, as pointed out in letters sent to ABC's Good Morning America by officials of the Neighborhood Cleaners Association International (NCAI).
Ignoring the care label instruction is a bad idea, said NCAI executive director Bill Seitz.
"Clothing manufacturers put dryclean-only labels on garments for one simple reason -- it is easy to damage clothes washing them yourself," Seitz wrote. "Clothing manufacturers don't want their garments ruined any more than you do. And of course, if you do not follow the care label instructions, you have no recourse to the manufacturer if there is a problem... even one that was caused by a manufacturer defect!"
NCAI's chief garment analyst Dan Eisen, in a separate letter, took issue with Hilfiger's suggestion for hand washing, wringing out and laying flat to dry.
"Some wool sweaters, especially multi-colored sweaters, can not be put into water due to fugitive dyes. This means the dyes will run or bleed while immersed in water and transfer to other parts of the sweater," Eisen wrote.
Wringing out the wool sweater can easily cause distortion in the knit construction, both Eisen and Seitz noted. And then laying it flat to dry "may cause yellowing and dye migration if not done properly," Eisen warned.
Search for solutions
What solutions have professional cleaners come up with, short of refusing to handle Hilfiger garments?
Everett Childers, a drycleaner and educator of other drycleaners, said it's easy to pick out likely suspects due to the dyes and designs.
"We simply ask the customer if it has been laundered before. If they say no, we tell them that the batting average of this brand is pretty low... If they say they have been serviced before, then we explain that there is still the possibility of a dye run and they should be aware of it."
"Frequently we will wash them in our little Daewoo washer with cold water, neutral detergent and a fabric conditioner with no surprises," Childers said.
Another consultant and advisor to drycleaners, Sue Armstrong of Omaha, NE, said that choosing a neutral wetcleaning detergent is critical. Detergent should be tested with pH paper. Some detergents may claim to be neutral but only testing will tell for sure, she said.
Despite precautions, things may still go awry. Corrective steps can be taken, but not always with the desired results. One cleaner said that when a striped shirt bled in a warm water wash, he dye-stripped it in and the dye bleeding was removed. But as he air-dried the shirt, it bled all over again.
Another cleaner reported success in getting the color back by soaking the garment in sodium perborate and warm water (in a bucket or sink) then running it separately in a regular wash.
Back to the store
When care labels are followed and the garments still lose their color or change to a different color, the retailer who sold it may take it back for a refund or exchange.
"May" is the operative word. Some cleaners said they have been successful getting the store to take back failed garments while others reported the opposite experience.
In one case, a cleaner returned a "Tommy" shirt to a large retailer who commented, "Gee this doesn't happen much." But a customer who was standing by jumped into the conversation to say it had happened numerous times to her husband's Tommy shirts.
So the clerk gave the cleaner a "no-hassle" refund and tossed the shirt into the trash can.
And the customer said she still buys Tommy Hilfiger shirts, despite the problems.
SILVER SPRING, MD -- The International Fabricare Institute has signed a comprehensive agreement with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) that allows IFI to move forward with the cleanup of the WestFarm properties.
The agreement, signed Oct. 7, follows IFI's settlement of damages with WestFarm Technology Park in May, 1996. WestFarm, which owns property that adjoins IFI in Silver Spring, sued IFI in 1991 for damages to its property caused by perchloroethylene contamination.
A jury awarded $2.5 million to WestFarm in a judgment against IFI and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) in 1993.
IFI said that with the administrative consent agreement with the MDE, it has now started the necessary steps toward installation of the cleanup system which must be operating by October, 1997. The first of three deadlines leading to installation of the system has already been met, IFI said.
IFI said in December it was in discussion with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission over cost sharing for the cleanup.
Based on a preliminary agreement with WSSC and an estimate of $1 to $1.2 million for capital costs of the cleanup, IFI said it has "virtually all the monies needed set aside in an escrow account for its share of these capital costs."
"We are moving quickly," said Bill Fisher, IFI's chief executive officer.
"This has been a long chapter in our life. We will all be pleased once the installation is complete, the cleanup begins and the WestFarm matter is finally behind us."
Under the terms of the court award to WestFarm, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission was liable for one-half of the $3 million owed to WestFarm, a figure that included accumulated interest since the time of the court judgment.
However, as a result of a another court case, IFI won a $235,000 judgment against WSSC.
With that amount applied to the WestFarm damages award, IFI's share is $470,000 less than WSSC's. A year of negotiations with IFI insurance carriers, WestFarm, and WSSC, led to the agreement signed in May, 1996.
ATLANTA, GA -- With registration for Clean '97 beginning this month, several new services have been added to make it easier to register and get information about the upcoming international trade show.
Attendees will be able to use MasterCard or Visa credit cards to pay registration fees this year. Pre-registration for the June 2-5 show in Las Vegas, NV, is $35 per person until May 7 (or April 7 for attendees from outside the United States). After that date, registration will be on-site only and the fee will cost $60.
Registration information was scheduled to be mailed to potential attendees this month. All registrations must be sent in with a check, money order or credit card number. Credit-card registration can be sent in via a toll-free fax 800 number, found on the registration form, but telephone registrations will not be accepted.
In addition to the mailing going out to prospective attendees, the registration and hotel reservation forms, travel information, a fact sheet and a show schedule are available from a fax-on-demand service. To hook up with the service, call (800) 449-9096 or (908) 544-2846.
Information about the show will also be available on a Clean '97 World Wide Web page which should be available in February.
Riddle & Associates, managers of the show, reported that more than 220,000 net square feet of exhibit space had been contracted by the end of November. The total for the Clean '95, which was the largest Clean Show to date, was 238,230 square feet. Riddle expects the 1997 show to easily surpass all previous show records for exhibit space.
In addition to the fax-on-demand service, information about the show is also available from Riddle & Associates, (404) 876-1988 or by fax at (404) 876-5121.
Travel discounts are available through six airlines for Clean '97. Arrangements can be made through the show's official travel agency, Globetrotter Travel, which offers additional discounts of up to 30 percent on some flights.
Rental care discounts are also available. Call toll-free 888-24 CLEAN or (301) 570-0800.
If using another agency or calling the ' directly, Clean 97 discounts are available by mentioning the following ID numbers:
Reservations for Clean 97 hotels must be made through the Housing Bureau managed by ITS. Call (800) 650-6893 or (847) 940-2155. Most hotels will not accept a Saturday check-in, but a Saturday night stay is not required for discounted air fares to Las Vegas.
Drycleaners in North Carolina have had an active trade association for decades. In the past few years, their group has made several decisions which changed the way it operates. First, long-time executive director Sunny Smith retired. Then the state became an affiliate of the International Fabricare Institute, a procedure which affected everything from bookkeeping to program delivery.
When this was happening, the North Carolina Association of Launderers & Cleaners realized it needed someone who would be responsive to drycleaners, yet understood professional association management. It would be delicate, taking NCALC from being a stand-alone independent to affiliate of a national group.
Right at the start, problems cropped up. The candidate who accepted the post had a change in situation and couldn't take the job. Then the board discovered their answer right at home -- NCALC president Steve Winzeler was the person they could trust to do the job.
Winzeler's industry pedigree includes a three-generation involvement in the industry, hands-on ownership of multiple drycleaning businesses, work as a consultant with Methods for Management, vice presidency of the Cleaning and Laundering Association Executives group, frequent presentations on textile care and business management to audiences nationwide and service as NCALC executive director.
His roots in textile care go back to New York.
"My grandfather worked for the Prosperity Equipment Co. in New York, and my father built a series of drycleaning plants for Prosperity in the Midwest," Winzeler recalled. "Eventually he took them over."
This took place in Jackson, MI, where Winzeler's father "built the business into an operation of seven plants with a coin laundry location."
Winzeler was soon thrust into the management of the business due to the premature death of his father at age 47.
"I was 20 and somebody needed to take over family business," he said. "This was during the era of wash and wear, of polyester; the time in the early 1970s when drycleaning was in a down cycle."
Winzeler said he took over "when the company was not at its best but we rolled with the storm."
But by 1981, he and his wife decided they'd "had enough of Michigan weather and were ready to leave."
"We sold the family business in 1981 and moved to North Carolina with the idea we would reenter the industry," Winzeler said. His wife left her job as a newspaper reporter for the Jackson daily and off they went.
They arrived in North Carolina and "bought a location, built the location, bought some more and became real active in the association."
This, too, was a throwback to his roots when he and his father were very active with the Michigan Institute of Launderers & Cleaners.
That group "always had strong leadership and a very active board. My father had been a president of MILD, and Mike O'Neill (MILD's former executive director) was a personal friend of the family."
In North Carolina Winzeler continued the family tradition. "I got so involved, I was an officer and a committee chair. I spent less and less time at my business."
He realized that he had a choice to make. He could "not grow (his business) anymore -- it could go without me -- and become a volunteer" for NCALC and other groups. This phase included activities with his three children: swimming, basketball, soccer. Their two daughters are in college now and the 15 year old son is at home. His wife is a high school English and journalism teacher.
The extra volunteer work would lead to a fork in his career road.
"It was about four years ago when Sunny Smith announced she was going to retire from NCALC," Winzeler remembered. "We formed a search committee and got more than 200 applicants. There were a lot of qualified people. Seven candidates were interviewed and the job was offered to one of them.
"Three weeks after the offer was made and accepted, the situation changed. The person couldn't relocate." NCALC had a problem. "Sunny had already started retirement. Our choice was 'to go back through search committee.' As association president, I thought it over hastily; then took a little time and decided the job was something that would work well."
Winzeler made the board an offer, stating what he could do and how he'd do it. They accepted his pitch. In the "spring of 1993, I was state director of the association."
Leaving his family's textile care business in his staff's hands, Winzeler stepped in to keep NCALC moving forward. He had no worries about the family business. "My business runs on its own, I have good management."
"We were very new at joint state. Everything was changing," he said. "At the first, it was very good for us and the institute. Terry Burns had been hired" and everyone was optimistic.
"Things have continued to go okay, though not as we expected," he said of the affiliation. "We've managed okay."
"NCALC still has a very active board and, thanks to the North Carolina economy and the activities of our association and leadership, we've held membership," Winzeler said. "We continue to hold programs. I'm continuing as executive director."
On the last point, Winzeler noted that "they perceive value with me involved in the national front. The exposure, keeping in touch with national information and all the other things going on" bring intangible benefits to NCALC.
His whole professional world isn't the association, however. He was doing "some individual work for people I know and had in mind to begin to do some cost bureau development."
It was at an association executives meeting that he approached Deborah Rechnitz, owner and operator of Methods for Management and executive director of the Northwest Drycleaners Association.
He asked "how I might start something like a management bureau, knowing her national prominence as a bureau leader, speaker and executive. She didn't hesitate for a minute to ask me to come to work for her."
He started off with individual projects with clients of Methods for Management and then began to develop new bureaus.
The time and work is incredible, Winzeler said.
"Methods is continuing to grow," he observed. "The growth is a matter of concentrating on a variety of sizes of operations. We have nine management bureaus worldwide and two manager's bureaus."
Winzeler also speaks about the Methods program at national, state and regional associations. In addition, he's been kept busy conducting seminars.
"It has been a wonderful company to work for," Winzeler said. "Deborah is phenomenal and her staff is spectacular, keeping me going on the road and making me look good all the time. It's a great company."
The experience "also helps because it comes back here. In a very positive way it spreads information to many, many sources.
He is proud that NCALC is an active association, providing all the necessary and extra services that membership deserves.
He reassures members that he "is providing full-time availability. My administrative assistant, Janet Johns, is there now assisting members with their immediate needs."
NCALC continues to develop its own programs with the confidence that it "can offer almost any level and variety of seminar, using resources within our state. We've developed workers compensation program, environmental programs, management programs and feel that we now have everything in place that we can fill just about any needs of the drycleaners in the state. Moving ahead, that's what we want to be able to do," Winzeler declared.
Winzeler's industry education combines both practical business-based experience and association-sponsored programs.
"I did the IFI Train the Speaker seminar, and that's how I started as a speaker. Following that, I was doing some assignment work for them -- spotting and cleaning programs as well as technology," Winzeler said
All this leads to what an association must to do prove its worth.
"The membership is there, it's not impossible to grow," he said. "People want information. That's what people want. Real value received for communication, for information. You have to have your ducks in a row, know which direction you're going in."
"I've talked to the head of the local Korean association," Winzeler said. "They know what they want. You can't sell them a bunch of fluff."
He's also vice president of the Cleaning & Laundry Association Executives group -- "a wonderful group to be with and still have it be work, he said. "CLAE, as far as a national group of people, is as important anything because it goes way above IFI or NCAI. It touches everything."
Winzeler's record thus far proves that when you have a method, you find the way.
The label for textile wearing apparel must have either a washing instruction or a drycleaning instruction. If the product can be washed and drycleaned, the label need have only one of these instructions. If the product cannot be washed or drycleaned, the label must say: "Do not wash. Do not dryclean."
It is recommended, but not required, that the terms defined in the glossary be used when applicable (see end of this article). Symbols that communicate care procedures may be used in addition to words, but the words must fulfill the requirements of the rule. The alternate process must be forbidden, otherwise it can be assumed authorized.
Washing instructions
Washing. The label must say whether the product should be washed by hand or by machine. The label must also state a water temperature setting if regular use of hot water will harm the product.
Examples
Machine Wash, Warm
Use washing machine warm setting. (Hot water should not be used.)
Hand Wash, Cold
Wash by hand in cold water. (Machine washing, warm or hot water should not be used.)
Bleaching. If all commercially available bleaches can be used on a regular basis, the label need not mention bleach. If chlorine bleach would harm the product when used on a regular basis, but regular use of a non-chlorine bleach would not, then the label must say: "Only non-chlorine bleach when needed."
If all commercially available bleaches would harm the product when used on a regular basis, then the label must say "No bleach" or "Do not bleach."
Examples
Machine wash, Warm
When bleach is not mentioned, all commercially available bleaches can safely be used when needed.
Hand wash, cold Only non chlorine bleach when needed.Non-chlorine bleach can safely be used. (Regular use of chlorine bleach would harm the product.
Drying. The label must say whether the product should be dried by machine or by some other method. Unless regular use of high temperature will harm the product when machine dried, no temperature setting need be indicated.
Examples
Machine wash warm
Hot medium or low dryer temperature setting can safely be used.
Machine wash, warm
Tumble dry medium
Medium or low dryer temperature settings can safely be used. (The hot setting should not be used.)
Ironing. Ironing information must be given on a care label if ironing will be needed on a regular basis. If regular use of a hot iron will not harm a product, then no temperature setting need be mentioned.
Examples
machine wash warm, tumble dry, medium, warm iron
Iron on a medium temperature setting. (The highest setting should not be used.)
Warnings. If the consumer may be expected to use a washing procedure that would harm the product, the label must contain a warning, such as "Do not..." or "No..." or "Only..." or some other clear wording to warn against the harmful procedure.
For example, even though ironing is not regularly needed and should not be used, the label should state: "Do not iron" if the customer can be expected to occasionally "touch up" the garment.
If a care procedure on one product could cause harm to another product being washed with it, then a warning must be given. For example, if an item, is not colorfast (stable), the label must say: "Wash with like colors" or "Wash separately."
Warnings are not necessary for alternative procedures that may be harmful. For example, if the instructions state "dry flat," it is not necessary to give the warning: "Do not tumble dry."
Drycleaning instructions
If all commercially available types of solvent can be used, then the label need not mention any type of solvent of one or more solvents would harm the product, then a solvent that is safe to use must be mentioned.
Examples
Dryclean
Item can be drycleaned by any commercial method that uses any of the available drycleaning solvents.
Professionally Dryclean
Petroleum
Item can be drycleaned by any commercial establishment using petroleum. (Perchloroethylene solvent should not be used.)
Warnings. Any part of the drycleaning process that will harm the product must have warning on the label: "Do not... "No..." or "Only..." or other clear wording must be used.
Examples
Professional dryclean
Reduced moisture
Moisture addition to solvent should be reduced to decrease the solvent's relative humidity. (Do no use moisture addition to solvent up to 75 percent relative humidity.)
Professionally dryclean
Cabinet dry warm
No steam
Cabinet dry at a temperature up to 120 degreesF. (Do not tumble dry.) No steam should be used in pressing, steam cabinets or wands.
Author's Note: Since no separate dry cabinet can be used (and none is being manufactured or ever has) for perc; and transfer units are now forbidden except those using less than 140 gallons of perc per year and "grandfathered" (and must use a refrigerated condenser on the recovery tumbler with door exhaust), the label, therefore forbids use of perc and allows only petroleum.If a perc drycleaner wanted to "cabinet dry," he would need to hang the garment from one of the cylinder's holes at the top and run on the dry/reclaim/cool-down cycles without the cylinder moving. Of course the machine must have that feature of being operated completely without the cylinder moving.
Also, shouldn't the label say "Only"?
1. Washing, Machine Methods
A. Machine Wash: A process by which soil may be removed from products of specimens through the use of water, detergent of soap, agitation and a machine designed for this purpose. When no temperature is given, e.g., "Warm" or "Cold" hot water up to 150 degreesF (66 degreesC) can be regularly used.
B. Warm: Initial water temperature setting of 90 degreesF to 110 degreesF (32 degrees to 43 degreesC), i.e., hand comfortable.
C. Cold: Initial water temperature setting same as cold water tap up to 85 degreesF (29 degreesC).
D. Do not have commercially laundered: Do not employ a laundry which uses special formulations, sour rinses, extremely large loads or extremely high temperatures or which otherwise is employed for commercial, industrial or institutional use. Employ laundering methods designed for residential use or use in a self-service establishment.
E. Small load: Smaller than normal washing load.
F. Delicate cycle or gentle cycle: Slow agitation and reduced time.
G. Durable press cycle or permanent press cycle: cool down rinse or cold rinse before reduced spinning.
H. Separately: Alone.
I. With like colors: With colors of similar hue and intensity.
J. Wash inside out: Turn product inside out to protect face of fabric.
K. Warm rinse: Initial water temperature setting of 90 degreesF to 120 degreesF (32 degrees to 43 degreesC).
L. Cold rinse: Initial water temperature wetting same as cold water tap up to 85 degreesF (29 degreesC).
M. Rinse thoroughly: Rinse several times to remove detergent, soap and bleach.
N. No spin or Do Not Spin: remove material at start of final spin cycle.
O. No wring or Do not Wring: Do not use a roller wringer or wring by hand.
2. Washing, Hand Methods
A. Hand Wash: A process by which soil may be manually removed from products or specimens through the use of water, detergent or soap, and gentle squeezing action. When no temperature is given e.g., warm or cold, hot water up to 150 degreesF (66 degreesC) can be regularly used.
B. Warm. Initial water temperature of 90 degreesF to 110 degreesF (32 degreesC to 43 degreesC), i.e., hand comfortable.
C. Cold: Initial water temperature same as cold water tap up to 85 degreesF (29 degrees C).
D. Separately: Alone.
E. With like colors: With colors of similar hue and intensity.
F. No wring or twist: Handle to avoid wrinkles and distortion.
G. Rinse thoroughly: Rinse several time to remove detergent, soap, and bleach.
H. Damp wipe only: Surface clean with damp cloth or sponge.
3. Drying, all methods
A. Tumble dry: Use a machine dryer. When no temperature setting is given, machine drying at a hot setting may be regularly used.
B. Medium: Set dryer at medium heat.
C. Low: Set dryer at low heat.
D. Durable press or permanent press: Set dryer at permanent press setting.
E. No heat: Set dryer to operate without heat.
F. Remove promptly: When items are dry, remove immediately to prevent wrinkling.
G. Drip dry: Hang dripping wet with or without hand shaping and smoothing.
H. Line dry: hang damp from line or bar in or out of doors.
I. Line dry in shade: Dry away from sun.
J. Line dry away from heat: Dry away from heat.
K. Dry flat: Lay out horizontally for drying.
L. Block to dry: Reshape to original dimensions while drying.
M. Smooth by hand. By hand, while wet, remove wrinkles, straighten seams and facings.
4. Ironing and Pressing
A. Iron: Ironing is needed. When no temperature is given, iron at the highest temperature setting may be regularly used.
B. Warm iron: Medium temperature setting.
C. Cool iron: Lowest temperature setting.
D. Do not iron: Item not to be smoothed or finished with an iron.
E. Iron wrong side only: Article turned inside out for ironing or pressing.
F. No steam or Do not steam: Steam in any form not to be used.
G. Steam only: Steaming without contact pressure.
H. Steam press or steam iron: use iron at steam setting.
I. Iron Damp: Articles to be ironed should feel moist.
J.Use press cloth: Use a dry or damp cloth between iron and fabric.
5. Bleaching
A. Bleach when needed: All bleaches may be used when necessary.
B. No bleach or Do not bleach: No bleaches may be used.
C. Only non-chlorine bleach when needed: Only the specified bleach may be used when necessary. Chlorine bleach may not be used.
6. Washing or drycleaning:
A. Wash or dryclean, any normal method: Can be machine washed in hot water; can be machine dried at a high temperature setting; can be ironed at a hot setting; can be bleached with all commercially available bleaches; and can be drycleaned with all commercially available solvents.
7. Drycleaning, all procedures
A. Dryclean: A process by which soil may be removed from products or specimens in a machine which uses any common organic solvent (for example, petroleum or perchloroethylene) located in any commercial establishment. The process may include moisture addition to solvent up to 75 percent relative humidity, hot tumble drying up to 160 degreesF (71 degreesC) and restoration be steam press or steam-air finishing.
B. Professionally dryclean: Use the drycleaning process but modified to ensure optimum results either by a drycleaning attendant or through the use of a drycleaning machine that permits such modifications, or both. Such modifications or special; warnings must be included in the care instructions.
C. Petroleum or perchloroethylene: Employ the solvents specified to dryclean the item.
D. Short cycle: Reduced or minimum cleaning time, depending upon the solvent used.
E. Minimum extraction: Least possible extraction time.
F. Reduced moisture or low moisture: Decreased relative humidity.
G. No tumble or Do not tumble: Do not tumble dry.
H. Tumble warm: Tumble dry up to 120 degreesF (49 degreesC).
I. Tumble cool: Tumble dry at room temperature.
J. Cabinet dry warm: Cabinet dry up to 120 degreesF (49 degreesC).
K. Cabinet dry cool: Cabinet dry at room temperature.
L. Steam only: employ no contact pressure when steaming.
M. No steam, or Do not steam: Do not use steam in pressing, finishing, steam cabinets or wands.
8.Leather and suede cleaning
A. Leather clean: Have cleaned only by a professional cleaner who uses special leather or suede care methods.
It seems drycleaners can never determine just why they are successful.
Oh, they have lots of very obvious reasons, but no exact way of being certain, what with all the variables of promotions, location, poor competitors and local economic changes influencing the direct results of quality and service.
Without a doubt, there is a consensus of opinion that if your call office runs smoothly and with very competent managerial control, your entire volume and profit will reflect that degree of success, month after month, quarter after quarter.
Since your counter sales personnel are the direct extension of your policies and the image you wish to project, it stands to reason that their performance should have the highest priority you can muster if you want to secure and protect your investment.
Every business and industry struggles with the continuous problems of delivery, service and quality. The drycleaner facing a multitude of fabrics and stains subject to heat and distortion is no exception.
That's where the human element comes in -- to make each customer feel special in his or her experience with your firm. Quite a task, when you think about it.
How much counter sales experience do you require before you hire? How much training do you offer at the start of employment? Do you provide an on-going training program to keep up with the dynamic changes in fabrics and label comprehension to your very important counter personnel? (Send $5 to me at the address below for a counter sales personality test.)
Dealing with the public is no easy task, but it can be fun for the trained individual who is a "people person." The genuine concern comes through the moment a customer enters your establishment.
The first impression
Visualize, if you will, how a face will light up when it meets a warm smile and a friendly greeting. The start and beginning of that meeting rings out: "How are you?" And "Thanks for your business."
Then the efficiency takes over and a professional impression assures that a high standard of quality has been set, the order will be ready when promised and, in general, doing business is a pleasant experience.
Is your operation the opposite of the above?
I will never forget the unkempt and shabby call office and the seemingly busy attendant, who, without a greeting or a smile, handled the order in a gruff manner. The only words spoken were "When do you want 'em?"
It has been said your quality can only be as good as your final inspection. The true "final inspector" is really your customer!
Armed with this knowledge, we can start the first personality check program using the "Mystery Shopper." I recently saw an ad in the local "Help Wanted" section for hiring "Mystery Shopper." More and more smart business people see the need for this unbiased type of counter evaluation.
This "Mystery Shopper" could be anyone. They are hired at random to test the service and quality of a vast number of service businesses, from chain operations to small independently owned businesses, such as pharmacies, supermarkets and drycleaners.
Taking the test
Here's how it works.
1. You carefully instruct your counter sales people in what you expect in courtesy, attitude and performance with your policies and standards of excellence.
2. All counter sales people will wear a jacket or smock with a name tag.
3. Let them know that in the coming weeks you expect them all to remember a steady customer's name. It's easy. It just takes practice and the association with the face, and the name. It could be their clothes, or their car -- whatever, connect the two!
Remembering names is the difference between a professional sales person and a dull order taker.
4. SMILE. It's important! Some say it proves there's a light on in your heart To everyone it says, "Welcome, I'm pleased to see you!"
A smile is universal wherever you go. It disarms us and immediately sets a mood of cooperation. It subtly says, "I'm a total stranger. How can I be helpful?"
Now for the "Mystery Shopper." You let the staff know that in the coming weeks someone will enter your store and will be dealing with you for perhaps the first time. That person might be inquiring about your hours or a services or the prices. The "customer" could be male or female.
Afterwards, the "customer" will report to the owner on the time and hour of the store visit and with whom they were dealing and how they treated.
Most reports are sent to the owner's home or private Post Office box. Was the "Mystery Shopper" informed about your new water repellency service? Box storage? Drapery removal and rehanging special? Or anything other promotions in effect at that time?
Since these individuals are trained in customer relationships (airlines, car rentals and all heavily competitive businesses use them all the time), they are masters of observation and the subtle body language that tells much more than we would like to reveal, such as enthusiasm, boredom and impatience.
Credit where it's due
A record will be kept. Personal cleanliness will be noted along with general housekeeping in the call office, etc.
The report is of course "confidential," but a prize will be awarded to the top individual, maybe a picture and recognition in the local papers as "Counter Sales Person of the Month." However it is handled, be assured the evaluation has taken place and the "Mystery Shopper" is an on-going service.
We believe "It's up front where it counts." And you never get a second chance for a first impression!
Leather trimming is once again becoming popular fashion from garment manufacturers. Manufacturers can produce imitation leather that has a close resemblance to real leather. The imitation leather is less expensive than real leather and provides manufacturers with an unlimited source of trimming.
Imitation leather is produced in two types of plastic -- vinyl and polyurethane. The coating is applied to a base fabric that has been coated with an adhesive binder. The use of rollers, pressure, heat and curing is necessary in applying the coating.
The plastic can be dyed any color and can be made with varied grain effects.
Imitation leather can be made to imitate grained leather, lizard, alligator and snake skin. Imitation leather can be found as trimming in all types of garments, including the most expensive designer suits, dresses, coats, jackets, blouses and raincoats.
Fabric problems
Vinyl coating in imitation leather stiffens in perchloroethylene and it loses pliability in petroleum solvents.
Vinyl facing depends on chemical additives known as plasticizers for its suppleness. When the plasticizer is dissolved during the drycleaning cycle, the vinyl becomes stiff, cracked and boardy. Commercial plasticizers used to soften the trimmings are no longer being produced.
Polyurethane facing in imitation leather is drycleanable but it is sometimes unserviceable because the manufacturer has neglected or failed to preshrink the backing fabric. When not preshrunk, it puckers and bubbles in drycleaning.
Another failure of polyurethane facing occurs when the manufacturer has used a solvent-soluble adhesive or has not properly "heat set" the adhesive binder that holds together the facing and backing fabric. This results in fabric separation.
Identification
To identify imitation leather, look at the reverse side of the material, if possible. Genuine leather will appear as animal hide on both sides. Imitation leather has a fabric backing.
Look for sewn-in labels that give drycleaning instructions. Ask the customer for a hang tag which came with the garment if there is no sewn-in label.
An additional test for differentiating imitation and real leather in dark colors is to dampen a Q-Tip with solvent and wipe an unexposed area of trimming. If dye transfers to the Q-Tip, it is real leather. Imitation leather usually does not bleed.
Polyurethane and leather trimmed garments require a customer's signed release. No matter what the care label may say, vinyl is not drycleanable.
Drycleaning
Polyurethane trimmed garments should be drycleaned in cool solvent, three to four minutes. Extract and dry at 120 degreesF.
Spotting
Vinyl facing. Use wetside spotting chemicals only. Dryside chemicals may stiffen vinyl facing imitation leather
Polyurethane facing. Same as for vinyl. Dryside may cause coating to peel.
Wetcleaning
Vinyl and polyurethane facing. Wetclean if lining, fabric trimming and ornamentation will withstand water. Soak in cool water (90 degreesF) with a mild detergent. Agitate by hand. Rinse and hang to dry.
Finishing
Vinyl and polyurethane facing. Limit the use of steam and pressure to avoid shrinkage and separation.
About 17 years ago, I asked the advice of a good and very wise friend. I wanted to know if he thought I could create a group for drycleaners who would be willing to pay for marketing advice.
He said it sounded like a good idea but he wondered what I could say, without repeating myself, after a few months.
Well, it's now 17 years later and not only have I not run out of things to say, but I have become educated in so many phases of drycleaning that I could not live long enough to deal with all the important subjects I would like to discuss.
The Golomb Group members and the industry provide me with an endless number of subjects. Now, with the drycleaner's forum on the Internet, I have all I can do to keep up with my personal correspondence with the drycleaners on the net.
But I'm learning so much that it's now becoming a problem of priorities. All this to tell you about a fantastic find I made while surfing the net.
I came across a connection called, "Small Business Survival Committee."
Those of you who have access to the Internet can reach this base by typing in http://townhall.com/ and you will find very valuable information and will be able to relate to a large group of small businesses.
To make my point, I picked up a News Release titled:
News Release Small Business Group Documents Superfund As Highly Toxic For Entrepreneurs and Business December 7, 1995 Contact: Renee Stikes (202) 785-0238
Washington, DC -- The Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) a 40,000-member small business advocacy group that promotes a free market, pro entrepreneur agenda, released a report today highly critical of the federal government Superfund program. "Highly Toxic: The Superfund Assault on Common Sense, Business and Entrepreneurship" was written by SBSC Chief Economist Raymond J. Keating.
U.S. Representative Bill Zeliff (R-NH), a leader in Superfund reform efforts and Chairman of the Small Business Survival Caucus, wrote the foreword to the report.
"Highly Toxic" documents some of the history, the massive costs and egregious inefficiencies of the Superfund program, which was designed to help clean up hazardous waste sites across the country. Instead, according to the report, a mere 18 percent of the worst waste sites have been cleaned up at a combined government/private sector cost of approximately $90 billion.
Keating declares: "Superfund unleashed the bloated bureaucracy and gross inefficiencies of the federal government on often unsuspecting individuals and businesses; turned essentially local or, at most, state problems into national woes; set arbitrary and unattainable criteria for compliance; sent legal costs skyrocketing; forced many businesses to close their doors; reduced capital available for investment in certain industries; restrained job growth; and damaged U.S. international competitiveness."
"Highly Toxic" fully explains and offers examples of each of these Superfund consequences.
"Superfund is riddled with problems," Keating notes, "but worst of all is its liability scheme. Under Superfund's strict, retroactive, and joint and several liability, if a business disposed of waste, toxic or nontoxic, large or insignificant amounts in good conscience and in complete accordance with the law, it can still be held liable for the costs of cleaning up the disposal site if it later became a Superfund site.
Notions of responsibility and fairness mean absolutely nothing under Superfund."
"Highly Toxic" suggests phasing in a three-step reform process for Superfund:
1) Repeal retroactive liability for all actions taken before 1987, eliminating litigation at an estimated 80 percent of Superfund sites, use science-based risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis to determine required clean up remedies, and cap the number of Superfund sites to gain some control over costs.
2) In the name of fairness and common sense, repeal the strict, retroactive, and joint and several liability schemes altogether, and only assign liability to individuals and businesses who broke the law, who were negligent, fraudulent, deceptive, etc.
3) Eventually put an end to Superfund waste sites that are local or, at most, state issues, not federal.
Keating concludes: "At the very least, Superfund must be completely overhauled.
As things currently stand, no one wins under the Superfund scenario of high costs and few clean ups."
Stan Golomb's special notation
After studying this news release, I decided to highlight certain sections. Although it shouldn't be necessary to do that since every sentence and every paragraph is pertinent.
All I can ask you to do is to please read this entire report again and be sure you don't miss a word. Just realize that there is an organization of a multitude of small businesses that have a very strong interest in an overhaul of Superfund.
Your federal government caused this problem and it's up to them, with a push from us, to solve the problem and use some common sense and repeal this regulation.
With the start of a new year, the progression to more environmentally friendly methods of processing suede and leather garments has spotlighted wetcleaning and captured the attention of drycleaners.
Can suedes and leathers really be washed in water like a shirt? Can any drycleaner or launderer wash suedes and leathers without hurting them?
The answer to these questions is yes, if the drycleaner or launderer will follow these instructions.
Wetcleaning or washing suedes and leathers can be successfully accomplished by the following procedure:
There is no need for a pre-wash treatment or a special final rinse with this method.
Prespotting
Prespotting suede and leather is different from prespotting cloth in three important ways.
First of all, live steam is never used when spotting suede or leather.
Second, crusty spots and stains are removed from suede by abrasion.
Third, spot removers used on cloth are not to be used on suede or leather as they can cause color loss and damage. Use only spot removers formulated specifically for suede and leather.
Prespotting suede is accomplished by two methods:
Prespotting leather is accomplished by dissolving spots with specially formulated liquid spot removers. Abrasives are never used on smooth leathers.
Abrasive spot removers commonly used to abrade crusty spots and surface stains include the following: The abrasive strip and the abrasive block. They are for use on suedes only and then only with care.
Liquid spot removers used to dissolve and loosen spots, stains and soil from suede and leather fall into two types: wet spot removers and dry spot removers.
The wet spot remover Leather Magic is specially formulated for use on suede and leather where needed to remove water soluble spots, stains and soil without removing color or hardening the skin. It breaks up embedded water soluble stains and loosens ground-in soil.
The Spot Magic and Ink Magic dry spot removers are specially formulated for use in wetcleaning suede and leather to remove oily spots, stains, inks, paint and soil without removing color, hardening the skin or leaving oily rings.
The liquid spot remover's effectiveness may be enhanced by applying mechanical action on the spotting board utilizing a bone or metal scraper or spatula and by the use of special suede and leather Spotting Brushes.
Spotting agents other than those mentioned above may cause color loss and damage the skin if used on suede and leather.
Finishing
After wetcleaning and drying, suede and leather garments should be pressed to look their very best.
Pressing includes: pressing on a press; ironing with a hand iron; and forming on a form finisher.
The cardinal rules to remember when finishing wetcleaned suede and leather garments are:
The reason is that two things are bad for leather: (1) wetting the skin and (2) then applying heat to it.
The result of doing these two things is that the skin will almost always draw up and shrink unevenly.
So the first rule is: Be sure the item is thoroughly dry and never use live steam when pressing leather and suede on a press.
The same is true when ironing suede or leather with a hand iron. Be sure the garment is dry and use no steam.
Now when using a form finisher, you can safely use some steam to blow out a suede or leather.
However, care should be exercised to be sure it is fully dried and then not get too much steam on soft suedes or painted leather coats.
By taking these precautions, you will be able to press most suedes and leathers without problems.
Note: Prosuede-Wet, Spot Magic and Ink Magic are registered trademarks of Royaltone Co., Inc.The International Fabricare Institute has a high-quality national survey of consumer attitudes towards drycleaners and the service that drycleaners give. However, nothing can be as beneficial to making your business "customer driven" as a survey of your own customers' opinions.
The idea of market research scares many people. It sounds too formal, too complex, costly, and unnecessary.
"I already know what my customers think" and "If I did everything my customers wanted, I'd go broke" are the most common protests against learning about customers and what motivates them to do business with us.
What many business owners fear is that by listening to the customer they will learn some unpleasant things about themselves and the way they are running their businesses.
No one wants to hear unpleasantries or negatives about their businesses. The resulting reality is that market research is simply not going to be done to any significant degree. Here are some short-cuts for quickly getting a feel for your customers.
An extremely effective way to learn how customers really feel about the services you are providing is to call a few of them and ask questions. Because you are "having a conversation" rather than doing "market research," you get a much more candid appraisal of your particular services than a national market survey can produce.
In fact, when making this type of call, you should never say you are doing market research. Instead say: "I know you have been using XYZ Cleaners. I would like to ask you a few questions about your experiences."
People are usually glad to be asked their opinions because that makes them feel important. This approach makes them feel as if they are being singled out from among thousands, rather than just a random sample on a survey list.
How many people must you interview? Amazingly, five or six customers per location can give you a pretty good feel for what's important about your services and what customers' main concern might be.
Naturally, trained market researchers will criticize this as unscientific and claim the results could not be reliable. But for small businesses, whose trade area is usually a one- to three-mile radius, this may be all that's needed to help you steer a new customer-driven course.
What should you ask them? Anything you want to know. But don't be closed-minded. The purpose of the informal telephone survey is discovery. By having an open-ended conversation with the customer, you discover things about your services that you would not learn if you were going strictly by a script. If a customer brings up a point not on your list of questions, feel free to deviate and explore it.
Survey by mail
Another means of finding out how to motivate and satisfy customers is through a questionnaire that can be mailed to customers and prospects alike.
Your questionnaire should be typed, single-spaced on two sides of a letter or legal-size sheet of white paper. Leave plenty of room for answers. The reader should be able to indicate answers by checking a box or writing a brief reply in the space provided.
Questions should be numbered. At the bottom of the last page, you should give the reader the option of filling in his or her name and address, in case you want to contact them for follow-up (make sure filling in name and address is clearly optional).
Send out the questionnaire with a cover letter indicating that you are asking the recipient for a favor. A good opening line is, "I have a favor to ask of you."
Offer an incentive
Also, provide a reason for complying. For example, by completing the survey about the customer's drycleaning and laundry likes and dislikes, your cleaners will be able to give them the clothes-care service they enjoy most.
One incentive technique is to affix a quarter or dollar bill to each letter. This increases replies because it makes readers feel guilty about accepting your money and then not cooperating with your survey.
Another technique is to offer a "surprise bonus gift" as a reward for completing and returning the survey. The gift might be a discount coupon for your cleaning services.
What to ask in the survey? Again, ask anything you want to know.
Here are some of the things you might ask:
The number of surveys necessary for a good sampling will depend on the size of your market and your budget. A good rule of thumb would be to mail out to 100 customers and 100 non-customers (prospects).
The advantage of telephoning is that you can prompt the customer for additional information if a reply is too brief or not informative.
On the other hand, telephoning can be more time-consuming than mail surveys. With the mail, you can send out and get back many more surveys. This is why it's often best to use a combination of the two.
Editor's Note: This column originally was published in the August 1994 edition of National Clothesline. In light of the recent PrimeTime Live segment on drycleaners, we are republishing it this month to show that it should not be necessary to watch television to find out what customers think of their drycleaner.On Thanksgiving Eve, PrimeTime Live, the ABC Television newsmagazine aired a consumer interest segment about drycleaners.
As you may already know, on this show the PrimeTime staff brought 15 white silk blouses and 15 rayon skirts to 15 drycleaners in St. Louis, MO. Each blouse and skirt were stained in exactly the same way. The drycleaners were given four days to clean these items.
The end result was that five of the blouses were cleaned correctly and two of the skirts were cleaned correctly. That is five of 15, or 33 percent of the blouses were cleaned and 67 percent were not cleaned. As for the skirts, 13 percent were cleaned and 87 percent were not cleaned. Hmmm... respect?
Since the airing of this television show I have listened to and read a bunch of opinions from a whole bunch of drycleaners. These opinions include such things as; "Why does the media always pick on us?" and "We need to train our counter people better." and "The solution is certification."
I don't think there are any legitimate arguments against training counter people or becoming certified but these ideas will not correct the real problem which is that 77 percent of those 30 garments were not cleaned. That represents a 77 percent failure rate -- yes, failure rate!
When you hang out a sign saying that you are a drycleaner you are implying/making three promises to your customers...
Point #1
When a customer brings an item to the drycleaners to be cleaned, what do you think they expect? Give this some serious thought. You've spent a lot of time and money trying to get them into your store... and now that they are here - isn't it your job to fulfill their expectations? If your customers didn't want their clothes cleaned they would be somewhere else.
Point #2
If you don't know how to properly clean clothes... if you don't like the business... if you're in it just to "make a buck"... it's time for you to sell the business!
Point #3
Pricing! Could it be that this is the real problem? On the PrimeTime show they mentioned four prices for drycleaning the white silk blouses. The first price was $1.69, the second was $14.30, the third was $4.80 and the fourth was $1.75.
This price discrepancy is outrageous! I don't know of another industry where there is such a spread in price... $1.69 to $14.50. At least the drycleaner who is charging $14.50 can afford to replace the customer's white silk blouse if it gets ruined.
At $1.69, it's not hard to believe that:
I have been told by some very smart people that you can make a profit and charge $1.75 for a short piece. That I don't doubt... but can you charge $1.75, make a profit and also meet your customers expectations? I haven't seen it yet!
Case in point... I have two counter computer cost/management groups. One is a group using the DCCS system and one group uses the MAX computer system -- these computers provide a tremendous amount of accurate and valuable information.
How low can you go?
The question here is "How low can you drop your price, make a profit and still earn some respect from your customers by meeting or exceeding their expectations?"
I am going to compare the numbers from two group members. In these groups I only show percentages when comparing member costs but we also compare average price per piece.
The two members I am using in this example have many similarities. Both drycleaners have two drop stores and one route; do a good job cleaning their customers clothes; and they treat their employees well.
Each is doing close to the same dollar volume in sales. The difference between these two drycleaners is in pricing, their labor cost as a percentage of sales, their bottom line and, most important, the amount of time the owners spend at work and the amount of time they spend doing production work. Do you own and manage a business or do you own a job?
Let's look at some actual numbers:
Client # 1 Client # 2
Average price per DC piece:
$4.82 $3.35
Average price per shirt
$1.38 $1.04
Drycleaning Pieces
124,100 171,500
Number of shirts
136,600 199,500
Labor costs
39.8% 53.2%
Bottom Line
14.5% 0.9%
In the above example, Client # 1 charges his customers 30 percent more for drycleaning and 25 percent more for shirts. Now let's look at their labor costs.
To determine the average price and average labor cost per piece I am going to add drycleaning and shirt sales together and divide the sales total by the total number of drycleaning and shirt pieces.
Client #1 = $786,670/260,700 = $3.02 (average piece price)
The average piece price times 39.8% labor cost = $1.20 per piece.
Client #2 = $782,005/371,000 = $2.11 (average piece price)
The average piece price times 53.2% labor cost = $1.12 per piece.
The difference in piece cost is $1.20 minus $1.12 = .08, or a 6.7% difference.
Now it is time to pay attention. In this example we have two drycleaners who have a 25 to 30 percent spread in pricing but less than a seven percent spread in their labor costs.
Remember, these two drycleaners are keeping their promise to clean their customers clothes correctly. What this means to me is that there is a minimum price point below which you cannot go and do the job right and still stay in business.
The drycleaner with the average piece price of $3.35 is bouncing along at break-even. I know his plant well enough to know that he can't cut his labor costs any more without dramatically reducing the quality of work. The PrimeTime piece showed a 77 percent failure rate -- a rate which is directly related to pricing.
Doing the job right means you must invest time inspecting each garment all the way through the plant -- starting at the counter.
Next, you must invest the time necessary to remove the stains your customers put into their own clothes (at this point they are your stains). This is what you promised to do when you hung out the sign that says you are a drycleaner.
The last step in this whole process is getting paid for the time you invested in cleaning your customers clothes properly.
The drycleaning industry is a labor-intense industry and it takes time to do the job right. If you are not willing or able to properly clean clothes -- you are in the wrong industry.
For drycleaners to improve their image with the general public, the first thing they must do is meet their customers' expectations in terms of their ability to clean the customers' clothes.
Every survey ever conducted proves that drycleaning customers are more concerned with convenience, the quality of service and the quality of the work than they are with price.
Yes, it is a fact that 80 percent of drycleaning customers who use drycleaners on a regular basis rank price as their #4 priority!
We, as an industry, will never get any respect if we don't first earn it!
Remember, in the game of business the more you know the better you can play.
There are many forces at work to harm our industry and if we are to overcome them we must be prepared to fight back for our survival. Many groups that have nothing to loose and some publicity for their cause to gain are using us as victims.
The sky is falling
If you chose to do nothing or run around like a chicken without a head, shame on you. In my state of New Jersey, we have been busy this month with attacks of gender-based pricing. As in other states, a not so well known Assemblywoman has tried making this cause into a public media circus. Hopefully, it will not get far, but it has gotten her on television, radio and in the newspaper by taking on a quiet opponent. These Pearl Harbor-like attacks have to be challenged by us.
There is also a bill in the Assembly regarding an environmental clean-up fund and machinery upgrading.
We know this is inevitable, but have made the Assemblyman who has taken this cause to heart aware that we are willing to work with him.
Instead of an atmosphere of cooperation, he chose to let the bill sit idle for about one year after we offered some public challenge to his misinformation. Now he has quietly reintroduced his bill with more restrictions and information he has gained from us. We were neither informed by his office of his intentions, nor given credit for the research the cleaners and Neighborhood Cleaners Association International provided to him.
Perhaps he will be surprised to find that we have developed a network to keep us advised, and will appear at public hearings to defend or challenge him as necessary.
We have options open. We are a strong, vital industry if we work together. I must credit the Korean cleaners of my state for being dedicated, hard-working and very active. They have stayed abreast of the political happenings. Although we do not always agree, I would like to see more people taking the initiative to organize and help as they have.
I have seen the enemy and it is us
Most of us have heard of or seen the attacks against our industry on television including sitcoms like The Cosby Show, documentaries like PrimeTime Live, and in the news in New York and other cities.
If there is an opening for us to be publicly flailed there must be something wrong with what we are doing. (Did you know The Better Business Bureau lists drycleaners as number three for customer complaints nationally?) The cure to this problem requires a serious self analysis of our industry.
We need to prepare a counter attack to defend ourselves. Many of us are not prepared with the funds and staff required to do the job, but our associations can help. But associations can not be everything, everywhere, we must work with them. They have the expertise available, but not the manpower. Becoming active with them will give you the ammunition you need to help yourself.
This means partly educational by investing the time to attend meetings and learn what is necessary to improve your technical and public relations skills and those of your workforce. We can get our message across if we work at it. The world is not out to get the drycleaners, but some self-serving special interest groups are and they can be very damaging.
I believe their effect can be dampened if we put some effort into it. I think our customers respect and depend on us and want us to continue offering the vital service we provide to them. But they have other more important priorities in there lives than to worry about our welfare and their opinions can be manipulated. Therefore if we want to survive and prosper it is up to us to limit the effects outside forces have on us
If you want to keep getting what you are getting keep doing what you are doing
I propose a multi faceted approach to the following issues:
We must take a more objective look at ourselves. Like every industry, we have downfalls. Our industry has the appearance of being both a needed service and an uncaring entity. Our efforts must take the lead in giving superior customer service through better training of our front-end line of first defense, our customer service people. We must give them the best training available and advise them on policies to communicate to the public. This involves not only fabric care, but also environmental awareness and gender-free pricing.
The gender price issue is a real sore area to cleaners, but from what I have seen it does not take away from us the right to price according to work performed. The problem is how we communicate with our customers. We must take men's and ladies' out of our vocabulary when it comes to pricing. This must change to fabric, labor involved and terms like regular or hand finishing.
I was involved in a discussion on why we are the brunt of jokes and criticism by the public.
A very astute cleaner summed it up this way;
"Customers have a resentment for personal services they feel obligated to use and often do not get the good feeling they are hoping for. This is not limited to drycleaners, people have a resentment for mechanics, doctors, lawyers, etc. What group is more maligned than lawyers with all of the jokes we hear, but when you have a problem who do you run to? A lawyer, looking for defense."
Another instance of this was related to me by a drycleaning industry veteran who said the following:
"I drive a $60,000 car that I love, but resent every time I go to the gas station and have to pay $20 to put gas in it. That part is just not fun." Sound parallel to buying a beautiful new suit or dress for $50, $100 or more then resenting paying the cleaner $5 or $10 to clean it?
Our response must not be one of being defensive once harm is done, but being in the forefront of improving our public perception. Be proactive in bettering our cause rather than always fighting off attacks.
Your time can be much better served touting the benefits we offer than waiting to be attacked and fighting off enemies. It is far better to educate customers of the time, effort and money we save them. Highlight how we prolong the life of their valuable garments and are always there to provide them an important service. Always be aware that it is fun buying a new outfit but what a chore it is going to the cleaner. But what fun would it be if we were not there for them?
Get positive publicity
This is possible through positive publicity in the media. Most cleaners think it is impossible to get a positive story about us, but it happens all the time. It may take some work on your part, talk to your local association, the NCAI or IFI. They have materials available for your use.
Next develop a media list. All this involves is getting the names of the editors in your newspapers who handle community and business news. When there is something important in our industry, or with your business, send them a press release.
If you do not have the writing skills, ask your association, a free-lance writer or hire someone like myself or other writers in our industry for a nominal fee (I can provide you with other names if you would like). I know that NCAI has a public relations firm on staff that can get the job done.
You must also allow time occasionally to attend association seminars or meetings. When a subject is affecting our industry in the government you must be available to go to a town, city or state legislators office. It is possible to get their attention, but the burden is on you. A letter mailed or faxed and a short meeting will let them know that you have a stand on an issue.
There is nothing to fear but fear itself
I know most of you have never done this but neither did I until recently. I am here to tell you that it can and must be done. If we remain afraid of things we have never done, someone else will do it for us.
Unfortunately, it is usually our adversary who has nothing to loose by our apathy and everything to gain. You have a vested interest in your success and must take action.
Do not let lack of time become an excuse. I put in 80 hours this week and had to write for a deadline. If lack of time is an issue think of the free time we will have on our hands if our adversaries ruined our businesses.
Another area where we suffer is problem garments. Many cleaners are reluctant to contact a clothing retailer or manufacturer themselves when there is a problem with a garment.
I for one am tired of hearing from a clothing store that they never had a problem with a garment that we know is faulty.
How would they answer if all of the cleaners in town, or at least as many as you can organize, contacted them. Better still, why not develop a relationship with the reputable stores in your area and tell them that you will be happy to refer your customers to them if they work with you.
Imagine the benefit of having your customer buy from a store that you know can be worked with if a problem occurs.
As for profitability, I have talked much about this in the past. In the context of this discussion, if we do all of the other things right, profits will take care of themselves.
CENTREVILLE, VA -- Do your own drycleaning at home? That's what the Custom Cleaner's Home Dry Cleaning Kit promises.
The kit is supposed to clean and refresh garments in home dryers and remove stains. One reusable dryer-safe bag, which can accommodate two or three garments, and three drycleaning sheets for cleaning up to 12 garments are included in the kit.
Dave Norford, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Cleaners and Launderers Association, bought one of the kits at a grocery store and gave it a try.
Norford, who has plenty of experience as a professional drycleaner, was less than impressed.
The enclosed "Guide to Dry Cleaning at Home" instructions "are very specific about what the product will not do," he said. "The instructions go on at length about pre-cautionary measures when attempting to remove most common food accidents and every day soils like gravy, salad dressing, tomato sauce, lipstick, etc. Custom Cleaner is also not recommended for cotton or poly/cotton garments, collar and cuff grime, large stains, heavy soils or set-in stains," Norford reported.
So does it work? Perhaps it's a good thing that the kit guarantees money-back if the buyer is not completely satisfied.
"We tried to remove some simple stains prior to cleaning several garments," Norford said. "Complete removal of a stain was never achieved."
"Following the low-heat tumbling instructions, the garments did emerge with a fresh, clean scent. Beyond that, they were not cleaned to anything that begins to approach a professional standard and, contrary to kit claims, except for a sweater, they would need pressing to make them presentable enough to wear."
"It reminds me of the once often-touted Eco-clean process," Norford commented. "Spot the clothes wherever there was visible soil or stains, tumble them in a dryer, press them and give them back.
The International Fabricare Institute also questioned the claims for the product and has lodged a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
IFI hasn't tested the product, but in a letter to the FTC, Bill Fisher, IFI's chief executive officer, said, "Clearly this product is not drycleaning, either in a colloquial sense or in a regulatory sense."
"According to Webster's Dictionary, to dryclean is 'to clean with some solvent other than water,'" Fisher noted. "And of course, FTC's Trade Regulation Rules on Care Labeling defines drycleaning as a process using any solvent with a relative humidity up to 75 percent, tumble drying at up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit and use of a steam press or steam-air finishing'".
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- The Pennsylvania Drycleaners Launderers Association has announced plans for several of its 1997 programs, starting off with four seminars by Jane Zellers.
Zellers will lead three seminars on counter operations and one finishing seminar in March. Her class at Wharton Cleaners in the Philadelphia area on Tuesday, March 25 will be the only finishing course offered by PDLA this year. The course was added to the schedule due to requests from members.
Zellers' other three seminars that same week will be on counter sales. Dates set for Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, March 24, 26 and 27. Locations and other information will be announced soon.
PDLA will jointly sponsor a "Spring Fling" in Atlantic City featuring Sid Tuchman, president of Tuchman Training Systems Inc. and the founder of a highly successful drycleaning company. The April 17-20 joint conference is being presented by PDLA, the North East Fabricare Association and the Mid-Atlantic Cleaners and Launderers Association.
Tuchman, who specializes in customer-driven marketing and motivational strategies designed to win and keep customers, will lead discussions of how to build business and increase profit.
Also on the program will be MACLA's executive director Dave Norford who will share his expertise in how to make your pricing policies bullet-proof from allegations of gender discrimination. Norford testified in June before a U.S. Civil Rights Commission hearing on the issue and understands both the law and the problems that cleaners face in their stores.
More speakers will be added to the slate and time will be set aside for socializing and enjoying the Atlantic City attractions. PDLA, NEFA and MACLA will sponsor a cocktail party each evening so members of all three groups can renew old acquaintances and make new ones.
PDLA has also announced that its annual convention will be held the weekend of Sept. 12-14. Seminars, table-top displays and social functions are part of the plans for a weekend at the Host in Lancaster.
For information on the programs, call (215) 830-8495.
CENTREVILLE, VA -- The Mid-Atlantic Cleaners and Launderers Association is preparing for busy legislative seasons in the states covered by its membership territory.
MACLA executive director Dave Norford outlined the issues he expects to arise in Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia in the association's December newsletter.
Norford said he expects at least one sales tax expansion bill will be introduced in Maryland even though many legislators have said they see little sense reducing one tax and raising another.
MACLA members in Maryland should be ready to jump into action and contact their Delegates and Senators early in the session, Norford said. He suggested that "there may be need for a coming together of all industry members for some personal lobbying in Annapolis or at a large industry meeting."
In Virginia, legislators will take on a variety of issues related to taxation -- but not sales tax -- along with workers compensation and other business-related concerns, Norford said.
West Virginia has a new Republican Governor, Cecil Underwood, who Norford says is considered a friend of small business. "As his new administration takes over and begins to take shape, we will be carefully watching proposals that come from the new administration," Norford said.
LANSING, MI -- The Michigan Institute of Laundering & Drycleaning said it had spent the last year focusing on the three major areas it decided it "should do well, all the time."
Since then the institute has focused on education, public relations and membership. This winter MILD is seeking a recommitment from members toward these goals by seeking additional volunteers for the committees.
"These committees are a great way to get involved," MILD said. "Even if you only have a little time to give, choose a committee that interests you and ask what you can do."
The purposes of all three focus on improving the quality of services the association provides.
The education committee will "decide the educational needs of the members, then implement the programs to meet those needs." It also plans to promote the value of education.
The goal of public relations "is to enhance and promote the image of the industry internally and externally."
Membership objectives tie into both as it seeks to "work on bettering MILD membership services to best suit the needs of all members."
One of MILD's programs is a self-insured workers' compensation fund. This program has proven to be a big success.
Greg Watkins, chairman of the fund, said the 1996 dividend for members is $894,789 and increases the life total of the fund dividend to more than $3 million.
"This return represents over 61 percent of each member's annual premium returned as dividends," Watkins said. "This shows that the fund is exceptionally well run and fiscally responsible."
The Michigan Fabricare Industry guidebook is another MILD venture.
This publication was produced through a cooperative venture by MILD and Michigan state agencies. It is a "comprehensive guidebook designed to address the regulatory requirements of drycleaners and laundries," Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality staffer Dave Fiedler said.
In order to receive the book, a cleaner must attend a workshop in which the information is explained to participants. It includes training on many of the regulatory programs affecting drycleaning and laundries and a question and answer session with the authors of the guidebook.
The authors include representatives from the drinking water division, safety education and training division, occupational health, bureau of construction codes, department of consumer and industrial services, the state fire marshal's office and MILD representatives.
"We are all excited about this document," MILD executive vice president Merry Bering said. "It is an excellent tool for the industry, the regulators and the public."
Workshops are three hours in length. Contact Fiedler at (517) 373-0607 or Elden Dickinson at (517) 335-8251 for details.
Merry Bering can be reached at (517) 337-2909.
JOLIET, IL -- The Illinois State Fabricare Association is asking for the financial support of every drycleaner in the state to finance its regulatory proposals for the 1997 session of the legislature.
"We want every drycleaner in Illinois to be aware of the survival fund," ISFA executive director Jinelle Walker said. "We need the support of the industry for our effort. We're asking for a donation of at least of $100. So far, the donations have ranged from $100 to $300."
Williams & Co. Consulting has been working on the draft of the bill. The prototype has been drafted and redrafted, ISFA said, and it's almost complete.
The Illinois Gold Star program continues to develop with the "core group" ready to start the first stage.
This group was created two years ago at Chicago '94 by cleaners who purchased the ISFA environmental plan book.
"They will be the pilot group for the program," Walker said.
ISFA also noted the successful conclusion of its 1996 coats drive. The final collection was at the final Chicago Bears game on Dec. 14.
"It's over but we haven't finished the count," Walker said. "We probably exceeded our goal of 50,000 coats. When NBC 5 is done counting, the number will probably be closer to 60,000 garments.
OMAHA, NE -- The Nebraska Fabricare Association will hold its spring seminar on April 1213 at the New World Inn in Columbus, NE.
NFA board member is developing the Sunday morning education program. Also on the April 13 agenda is a board of directors meeting and a luncheon.
A social program on Saturday includes a party at the Owens' Cabin on the Platte River.
Details on the weekend are available from NFA, (402) 556-2217.
ST. LOUIS, MO -- A proposed Midlands Fabricare Association involving the Mid-America, Iowa and Nebraska drycleaners associations failed to muster the needed votes in Nebraska and Iowa, putting the plan on the back burner for the present.
MAFA interim executive director Dennis Loomis said he'll wait to see if his plan to merge the four states is reconsidered. In the meantime, discussions may be held with other regional state associations.
Loomis said he originated the merger idea among the three groups. He also stressed he is the interim executive director of MAFA.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- The Indiana Drycleaning & Laundry Association held the third program of its fall education program in November which it co-sponsored with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
The meeting examined changes in state regulations, discussed the results of last summer's in-plant visits and heard about revisions in the compliance manual.
In addition, the association provided information on the status of the "Barton bill."
"We need some type of legislation to help the many drycleaners that face the problem of losing their business because of unfair laws," IDLA executive director Rex Beddies said.
Beddies also noted new technologies which may are entering the market place, notably the "Dry Wash / CO2 cleaning that has received a lot of press lately."
IDLA also discussed well field regulations as they pertain to Indiana drycleaners.
Beddies said the work IDLA is doing with Indiana cleaners is causing other states to look to "what we're doing in reviewing their laws."
IDLA also noted that its web site "has launched the association into a new world of vast information."
"I feel that our members will benefit from the information superhighway," IDLA Internet committee chair Dana Horvath said. "Look for our web page at http://indla.com for late breaking news and membership information."
Information on IDLA programs can be obtained from Beddies with toll-free call in Indiana, (800) 401-0703.
NEW YORK, NY -- The Budgewood Laundry site was recently renovated and rented to the City of New York as a school facility. But now the building stands unused, a symbol of problems the drycleaning industry faces, an allied tradesperson active in state regulatory activities said.
The Harlem building was reconstructed this year for $4 million, but prior to occupancy a state agency went in and took air readings.
"They found perc in the building's air," Nora Nealis of Diversitron said. "The city stopped paying rent. This, more so than Tribeca, is a bigger blow to the drycleaning industry because it is something where a free-standing building is deemed uninhabitable because there are trace elements of perc there."
"Even though the building was gutted and new walls put in, supposedly some engineers had it tested and some perc was found," Neighborhood Cleaners Association International associate director Jerry Levine said. The measurements were "down in the parts per billion." Based on the low numbers, Levine questioned both the validity of the test and the source of the perc the testing allegedly found.
The cleaner has been working with NCAI through the building rehabilitation process.
Nealis, a member of the New York state negotiated rule making committee for drycleaning as was Levine, fears the situation "has repercussions far beyond Tribeca. What landlord will rent to a cleaner if he can't use the building afterwards?" she asked.
The problem was made public when the New York Daily News ran a story with the headline, "City Board of Ed makes $4 Million Mistake."
Prior to the Budgewood revelation, the closing of a Manhattan drycleaning store by the state department of health drew media attention to perc drycleaners.
The White Glove Cleaner shutdown by the state health department put perc into the public consciousness. A press conference held by tenants of the building, Greenpeace and others earlier in the day charged the site with being a health hazard because of excessive perc levels in air measurements.
NCAI reported that in mid-December the landlord served the owner "with a 5-day notice to cure. This means the landlord wants him to take out drycleaning machines within five days or get evicted.
In the meantime, the New York state regulatory picture continues to develop. The state register has delayed the implementation of the negotiated rules for perc drycleaners until July, 1997.
According to Levine, the reasons cited were the failure of health department to release the results of peer review and the need for a cost-effectiveness study on the need for vapor barriers in mixed use buildings.
"They tend to include state health department guideline as part of the negotiated rule," Levine said. "That's very negative, as far as I'm concerned, as it will get the city to drive drycleaners out."
The feeling among NCAI executives is the state health department may be intentionally pursuing this policy because it would cause city and city health to move forward with their own control programs.
NCAI said it would monitor developments to protect cleaners' interests.
BOSTON, MA -- Drycleaners and other small business owners in Massachusetts must now comply with a state law requiring employers to adopt sexual harassment policies and encouraging sexual harassment prevention training programs.
The law, which took effect Nov. 6, requires businesses to adopt a personnel policy which states that "sexual harassment in the workplace is unlawful..., that it is unlawful to retaliate against an employee for filing a complaint for sexual harassment or for cooperating in a sexual harassment investigation," provides a description and examples of sexual harassment and lists the consequences for employees guilty of sexual harassment, the North East Fabricare Association advised last month.
In addition, employers must provide a process to handle complaints within the company and keep available "the identity of the state and federal employment discrimination enforcement agencies and directions as to how to contact these agencies."
These regulations also mandate that businesses with 15 or more employees must distribute written copies of their sexual harassment policies annually to their current employees. Companies with six to 14 employees must comply with this rule by Jan. 1, 1997.
NEFA also reported that the new law "encourages employers to conduct education and training programs on preventing and addressing sexual harassment," with note that supervisors have a responsibility "to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and to take immediate and appropriate corrective action."
NEFA warned that drycleaners who have not yet developed a policy should do so immediately. It also advised cleaners to conduct training programs both to insure that employees understand harassment will not be tolerated and to show that efforts are being made to convey that message.
NEW YORK, NY -- The Neighborhood Cleaners Association International predicts the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will have its new computerized permitting system for drycleaners in place this month.
NCAI associate director Jerry Levine is a member of the drycleaning equipment general permit committee which was formed to create a way to register equipment which can create air pollution.
"The object was to create a form so simple that if you sent in the form, you didn't have to wait to get approval," Levine said.
The association reported that one of the obstacles to getting the plan in place was resolving conflicts between federal regulations and New Jersey regulations.
Now with the permitting procedure established, the next step is putting it into practice.
According to NCAI, it is expected that drycleaners can file on a computer disk. The association is considering offering use of its own computers to cleaners who wish to file electronically.
WAKEFIELD, MA -- The North East Fabricare Association begins its 1997 education program with four seminars to be held in cooperation with the International Fabricare Institute.
Two seminars on the Fundamentals of Drycleaning will be held in January. The first is planned for Jan. 19 in the Wakefield NEFA office. The second will take place in Albany. A tuition fee is charged for the program.
The February sessions will involve business management skills. According to IFI, "instructors will discuss effectiveness ratings, break-even analysis, cost of producing a garment and the value of a business." The first program will be held in Wakefield on Feb. 19. The Feb. 20 site has not yet been selected.
For information on these programs, call NEFA, (800) 442-6848.
NEFA also announced that Tony Masiello is the new director of membership services. He succeeds Gina C. Ryan, who accepted a position with another organization outside the textile care industry.
"We are indeed fortunate to have found the person we needed right on our own staff," NEFA executive vice president Peter Blake said. "We are confident that Tony will successfully handle all the demands the job requires."
Masiello has worked with NEFA staff members on a variety of projects in the past year.
"Having worked closely with Gina has given me the insight needed to implement new ideas on expanding and strengthening our membership retention and recruitment programs," Masiello said. "I look forward to helping NEFA continue to grow and serve the needs of drycleaners in our eight-state community."
Masiello's first project is the completion of the 1997 NEFA educational schedule, due by the end of December. He is working with Carmelia and Fred Bernardi on the programs and can be reached at (617) 245-6688.
SAN ANTONIO, TX -- Jane Zellers has accepted the position of chief instructor of the Southwest Drycleaners Association's school at the Texas Research Center of Laundry and Drycleaning in Denton, TX.
Zellers takes over from the founding instructor, Stan Caplan, who is retiring after completing his last course as chief instructor at the school in November.
Zellers is familiar to many cleaners in SDA territory as well as throughout the nation from the many courses and consultations she has given in recent years. She taught two courses at the SDA school in 1996 and was on the seminar program at SDA's convention a year ago.
In addition to teaching at the school, which is housed on he campus of Texas Woman's University, Zellers will present two seminars at SDA's annual convention in Branson, MO, in March.
Two courses at the school have been scheduled for 1997 with more to be announced later. Zellers will teach a week-long stain removal course April 21-25 to lead off the course schedule.
The course will cover fiber content, weaves, garment construction and how to test fiber content by burn testing. The tools and terminology of spot removal will be explained, too. Class sessions are divided between lecture, discussion, demonstrations and hands-on experience.
Tuition is $320 for SDA members, $405 for other IFI members and $455 for all others.
General Fabricare will be offered at the school June 16-27. The two-week course covers counter operations, fiber to fabrics, stain removal basics and procedures drycleaning technology and finishing, wetcleaning procedures and equipment, bleaching/dye stripping, setting and digesting and dye and fabric testing.
Workflow systems, plant layout, installation engineering, purchasing equipment, accounting systems, cost analysis, employee motivation, maintenance management, employee relations, regulatory compliance, marketing, quality control and problem solving will be covered, too.
The class is divided between presentations and practical application using the equipment in the school's plant.
Tuition is $515 for SDA members, $570 for other IFI members and $645 for all others.
Scholarships are available to attend the General Drycleaning and spotting courses. Application should be submitted by Jan 15.
For more information about the courses and scholarships, call the SDA office, (210) 826-4684.
SAN ANTONIO, TX -- The testing of drycleaners undertaken by ABC's PrimeTime Live points to the need for more industry training, the Southwest Drycleaners Association said.
The stain removal tests that were used on the television program were done under conditions sanctioned by experts at Texas Woman's University drycleaning facility, SDA noted. SDA has operated a drycleaning school at the same facility for the past 12 years.
Dr. Charles Riggs of TWU was featured as the professional consultant who set the standards of the tests conducted by a "secret shopper" at 15 drycleaning plants in the St. Louis area.
According to Andy Stanley, executive director of SDA, "Although this feature was done without the consultation knowledge of any of the officers or directors of the association, it does illustrated the urgent need for drycleaning training courses such as those which the Southwest Drycleaners Association sponsors through the Texas Research Center for Laundry and Drycleaning located on the campus of Texas Woman's University."
"We do not necessarily agree with a 'secret shopper' approach such as the one used on the news segment, since it did not have industry wide approval and there were some questions as to the approach used, i.e., whether or not plant owners were provided a reasonable opportunity to better resolve the 'finding' in a forum other than on national television." Stanley commented. "In fairness, the story could easily have given the drycleaners involved more than one isolated snapshot before rating their services in public."
Nonetheless, Stanley said, the segment showed that "proper training gets results and can help everyone. It underscores how existing association-sponsored programs such as the Certified Professional Drycleaners program and the SDA and IFI training courses improve the overall industry," he said.
Despite the shortcomings of some drycleaners highlighted by the PrimeTime Live, he said, "the thousands of caring, professional drycleaners who routinely provide quality services day in and day out should nevertheless stand tall and take pride in their professions."
"The fact remains that drycleaning is a service and not a commodity and therefore consumers standards and marketplace competition will ultimately determine the acceptable quality level of overall services," Stanley concluded.
SAN ANTONIO, TX -- Jan. 15 is the registration deadline for the Southwest Drycleaners Association's annual convention in Branson, MO, March 13-15
The $175 package registration covers the opening reception on Thursday evening, a continental breakfast on Friday, two seminars by Jane Zellers and admission and transportation to the three shows.
SDA is organizing a "Party Bus" to take people to the convention. Special convention hotel room rates and reduced air fares are also available.
For more information on convention plans and travel arrangements, call SDA, (210) 826-4684.
FRANKFORT, KY -- Workers compensation insurance costs in Kentucky will be going down, Kentucky Fabricare Association executive director Tom Underwood predicted in the wake of the passage and signing of a major rate reform bill last month.
Underwood said the measure passed "in a big way. It's a huge victory" that will be a model for workers' compensation rate reform nationwide.
A 7:30 p.m signing on the day the senate approved the reform was the conclusion to a 24-year effort to modify the state's system. It faced fierce opposition from trial attorneys and labor unions, but this year they "didn't get a single amendment attached."
In this session, things were different. In just nine days after it was introduced, the bill became law after it was approved 80-17 in the House, 32-6 in Senate.
Underwood said 37 floor amendments were beaten with four being accepted in the bill in the day-long debate in the Senate.
The plus side for drycleaners will come in the first year.
"Their workers comp costs are going to come down," Underwood reported. "They should go down by 20 percent in the next two years."
One reason Kentucky has such high costs are state coal miners who receive most of benefits. Although they represent two percent of the population, they receive 50 percent of the benefits, Underwood claimed.
Kenny Rapier Sr. was the bill sponsor for governor, Underwood added. "He did great job leading the floor fight as the House majority whip." Rapier has an interest in the drycleaning industry with his son Ken Jr. having served as KFA president.
The Neighborhood Cleaners Association International program to provide South Carolina cleaners with a state-accepted certification program attracted more than 100 cleaners, association associate director Jerry Levine reported last month.
Drycleaners were mandated to be certified before Dec. 1. The state requirements included environmental compliance and machinery operations and maintenance. The NCAI course and test was designed to allow cleaners to meet the deadline while gaining a recognized certificate.
NCAI used its experience in New York State for a state-specific compliance program, Levine said. He added that he was pleased with the Carolina response to NCAI's offer and the enrollments in the association.
NASHVILLE, TN -- Tennessee drycleaners must meet "Best Management Practices" requirements if they are to meet the requirements of state air emissions standards. This is the message the Tennessee Fabricare Association is sending to its members at the beginning of 1997.
Eddie Mannas of TFA provided an outline of what the association expects the state to implement. He reported that "Best Management Practices" are divided into two classes, with drycleaners falling into Class I status.
The rules have three categories for class one practices -- compliance with existing regulations, waste management and proper materials storage.
"I feel most cleaners in the state are already complying or currently should be," Mannis said.
The waste management section is a common-sense warning that drycleaning solvent and waste materials should be stored safely so that the materials will not "cause or may cause a release of drycleaning solvent ... to soil, sediment, ground water or surface water."
New in the waste management section are activities which apply to perc-using plants only. This mandates that waste containing drycleaning solvent, regardless of the plant's amount of solvent consumption or waste generation, must be transported to an authorized treatment, storage or disposal facility by a "permitted hazardous waste transporter."
This is a change for some small cleaners who have held a conditionally exempt status in the past.
The storage rules state that solvent and solvent-containing materials should be stored in properly labeled containers in good condition in a non-traffic area of the facility. Weekly inspections of the containers and storage areas must be conducted and logged.
The Class II category is for use when a cleaner applies to the state for remedial action. It covers definitions of containment systems, floor and drain seals, transfer machines, solvent delivery systems and training and education programs. On the last item, the state may consider a continuing education requirement for cleaners.
Call TFA, (615) 254-3687, for details.
ATLANTA, GA -- South Eastern Fabricare Association staff members are working on the "SEFA Does Disney" and the awarding of the association scholarship, the group said in December.
The Disney program will be held April 46 in the Grosvenor Resort Hotel at the Florida vacationland. SEFA executive director Joel Deutsch said seminars will be held on Saturday and Sunday mornings on such topics as human resource management, a review of perc, petroleum and wetcleaning techniques, an environmental and legislative affairs update and dealing with the new consumerism.
The traditional Sunday morning "Eggs and Issues" breakfast plans to feature a Fabricare Media Forum. The participants and agenda are in the planning stage.
The Jamie Morgan Memorial Scholarship is available to an SEFA member or member's employee with at least eight months experience in the industry. Applications are available from the SEFA office with a submission deadline of Feb. 28, 1997. The scholarship is named after a former SEFA Georgia state vice president. After he passed away unexpectedly, SEFA decided to name the scholarship in his memory.
SEFA can be reached at (770) 998-9900.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- The Gulfcoast Fabricare Association is the host for series of seminars in February featuring textile care consultant Jane Zellers.
GFA executive director Lou Lawrence said the exact dates have not been settled on and was checking with drycleaners to determine the best times to set up the programs.
Lawrence has a spotting course in mind for one of the programs and knows that a few cleaners want to set up their own in-plant training session.
GFA did not hold a December members meeting and Lawrence is finishing plans for the first one of 1997.
Lawrence can be reached at (813) 527-3151.
January will bring a seminar on pricing to the Sacramento area and a two-day stain removal session in the San Diego area, and next month will bring the second general drycleaning class offering from the California Fabricare Institute.
Kenney Slatten will lead the pricing seminar on Jan 23. He presented the program for the Peninsula Drycleaners Association last fall before a group of 65 cleaners who, Slatten reported, "didn't want to leave after two hours of talk."
The seminar guides cleaners toward legal and sensible methods and reasons for their price structures.
The seminar will also be presented at a Southern California location on Feb 15. and Slatten said he plans to take it on the road outside of the state during the year.
For more information on dates and locations, call Slatten, (619)385-0958, or the California Fabricare Institute, (916) 443-0986.
CFI drycleaning course
The second course in CFI's fledgling drycleaning school will be offered Feb. 15-16 in Los Angeles. The General Drycleaning course is designed as an entry level class. The first session, held in November, included mostly first-time operators in the industry who got a thorough overview of the business.
Tuition is $150. Class size is limited; to register, call the CFI office.
The "Sultan of Stain"
Bill Seitz, executive director of the Neighborhood Cleaners Association International, will lead a spotting class in San Diego, CA, Jan. 11-12.
All drycleaning operators are invited to attend or to send any plant personnel who are involved in spot removal or garment inspection. Attendees will receive 15 hours of instruction and demonstration of spot removal techniques and corrective procedures.
The course will be held in the 8,700-sq.-ft. facility of Johnny's Valet in downtown San Diego. Class starts at 8:30 a.m. both mornings and will conclude about 5:30 p.m. each day.
Seitz, sometimes called the "Sultan of Stain" because of his stain removal prowess, has been teaching the art and science for more than 50 years. Education of both the plant operator and the public is the key to the industry's long-term success, he believes.
The registration cost is $250 for NCAI members and $325 for non-members. The registration fee includes a notebook, hand-out material and practice fabrics. All material is also available in Spanish and a Spanish translator will be present throughout the weekend.
Students are encouraged to bring troublesome garments to the class where Seitz will show how to fix the problems.
For more information, call Seitz or Tony Terrell at NCAI headquarters, (212) 967-3002.
LAS VEGAS, NV -- A group of drycleaners from the Japan Fabricare Research Center visited the Las Vegas area in November, touring two plants in the area and meeting with U.S. cleaners for a discussion of mutual concerns.
The Japanese delegations was led by Yoshimichi Mitsuishi, director of the JFRC. During the visit, 15 members of the Japanese group met with seven members of the Western States Fabricare Association, which covers Arizona and Nevada, for a discussion of environmental issues, business and marketing.
The discussion revealed that cleaners in both nations have similar problems with environmental cleanups. Japanese cleaners are changing to petroleum solvent and reducing their perc usage. They also see their business declining due to economic conditions.
"All who attended this discussion felt good about our counterparts in Japan said Bob Shirley of City Laundry and Cleaners, one of the two plants toured by the visitors from Japan. Shirley is the District 7 representative on the International Fabricare Institute board of directors.
SACRAMENTO, CA -- The California Fabricare Institute will hold its 76th annual convention Aug 15-17.
The Marriott City Center in Oakland, CA, will be the headquarters hotel.
For more information, call CFI, (916) 443-0986.
Sam Choi has been named vice president of Asian affairs for the International Fabricare Institute. Choi, who has been working part-time at IFI since May as director of Korean affairs, will expand his duties in IFI's membership department to include communication, program development and public relations with Korean-American members and associations. He will also develop new international membership markets in Asia for IFI. He and his family own a drycleaning plant and he has experience in international relations, public relations, publications and financial administration. He is a member of the Korean-American Businessmen's Association of Greater Washington, the League of Korean Americans, the local Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau. He also has 25 years of experience in the Korean diplomatic corps. "I am extremely happy that Sam accepted this position and that he will be with us full-time," said Bill Fisher, IFI's chief executive officer. "Sam will be a welcome addition to the high caliber of staff that I feel fortunate to have." Roger Schilling, IFI's vice president added, "Sam, has been instrumental in developing positive relationships with a number of Korean associations. His international experience as part of the diplomatic corps makes him highly qualified for this position."
Drycleaning Equipment Corp. of Coconut Creek, FL, has been appointed an authorized distributor of Multimatic drycleaning machines and related equipment in Florida, covering the area from Sanford in the north to the Florida Keys in the south. The company can be reached by phone at (954) 426-2345 or (800) 274-3818 or by fax at (954) 426-1701.Marjorie Laws has joined Fremar Inc. as vice president, secretary and treasurer. Laws will head Fremar's marketing and advertising efforts and provide leadership ion other corporate activities. Laws recently retired as a vice president of Alaska airline to devote more time to Fremar. The company, a manufacturer of garment and fabric finishers, is owned by Fred and Marjorie Laws She replaces Paul DeKoekkoek who was marketing manager at Fremar since 1987. He is leaving the company to pursue an opportunity in an unrelated field.
The International Fabricare Institute's magazine Fabricare received an honorable mention award for Trade Association magazines from Association Trends. IFI published the magazine 11 time a year. More than 400 publications were entered in the contest. "When we decided two year ago to change the look of Fabricare, we knew we had the ability to develop an award winning publication," said Bill Fisher, IFI's chief executive officer. "With the change in format and content we have made in the last year, we are proud of the excellent publication our members receive every month."Union Drycleaning Products USA has appointed Generation Machine Co. as an authorized distributor of Union products in Maryland, Washington, DC, and northern Virginia.
SANTA MONICA, CA -- Air Quality Labs has introduced its new Mist-It S/S waste water removal machine. The all new "Zerowaste" machine was designed for states that added stringent requirements for treating waste water. The Mist-It S/S is made of stainless steel throughout and uses the same B-1 filter system as used in other Zerowaste machines. A new electronic package was designed to control all functions of the machine. Included are a perc sensor shut off and a tank full light. A 15-ft. extension to the fogger is standard on the Mist-It S/S. This allows the drycleaner to place the unit directly behind his cleaning machine and place the fogger near a window or exhaust fan. The Mist-It S/S is designed to eliminate completely the old catch bucket behind drycleaning machines. The Mist-It S/S can also handle direct water coming from central vacuums systems which is being required by more and more states to be treated as a hazardous waste.
----------EAST POINT, GA -- Union Drycleaning Products USA has just introduced a newly designed sludge container for compliance with EPA regulations. The sludge container meets specific dimension criteria and is equipped with an overfill safety switch to avoid spillage. Union U-2000 drycleaning systems automatically transfer the sludge from the still to the container and eliminate any sludge contact with the operator. Union said it can retrofit any of its drycleaning machines with the container.
----------REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN -- A set of pictographs that helps the drycleaning plant's production staff locate stains and other garment problems that need attention has been developed by Darcy Moen of Mobi Cleaners. The pictographs -- outline sketches of various garment types -- are based on forms used by tailors to locate specific areas of a garment. In the drycleaning usage, the pictograph forms are kept at the front counter and when the customer points out a stain or repair that is needed, the counter person marks on the form the location of the problem. A pre-printed line number on the form helps identify which line item the garment is on the invoice. Using the pictographs, the counter staff is able to indicate all the problem areas. When the garment reaches final inspection, it can be quickly compared to the pictograph indicators to make sure the stains or repairs have been taken care of.
----------BALTIMORE, MD -- The GottaChek washing machine motor tester, made by Riteway Laundry Systems of Baltimore, speeds the process of checking for problems with the motor or a washer. Hooked up to a washer motor, the unit will test both the agitate and spin cycles without removing the motor from the washer. The tester attaches directly to the junction block of the existing motor, bypassing other washer components. A toggle switch is set to either Agitate or Spin to check the motor's condition for those cycles. Total time for the test, including connect and disconnect time, is usually less than five minutes, the company said. The tester was developed by the owner of Riteway Laundry Systems Inc. It is designed to test GE and Hotpoint motors typical of those used in domestic and coin-operated washers for the past 20 years.
----------SKOKIE, IL -- Foster-Stephens says its Heirloom Pak is a moderate approach to wedding gown preservations. The full-size chest is as durable as the company's best chest and all standard accessories are included. The chests can also be used for private labeling, by displaying a company's name and logo.
TULSA, OK -- ProSuede-Wet from Royaltone is a specially formulated liquid detergent plus conditioner for wetcleaning suede and leather in a laundry washer. Royaltone said ProSuede-Wet will remove soil and stains from suedes and leathers washed in water without harmful effects. The washer is loaded at half the rated poundage capacity with soiled dry suedes or leathers and filled with warm water at approximately 100 degreesF. The liquid detergent conditioner is added at a ratio of one ounce per 10 pounds of suede or leather. After washing on a regular cycle and extracting on the normal washer setting, suedes or leathers hang to dry at ambient air temperature or are placed in a dryer set at 100 degreesF or less. After drying they are form finished, pressed or ironed with no steam. Then the nap can be brushed up.
----------SILVER SPRING, MD -- The ABC's of Stain Removal, a stain removal reference guide produced by the International Fabricare Institute, is now available in Spanish. The guide outlines simple solutions to remove everything from alcoholic beverages to rubber cement and features 50 of the most common stain removal problems for dryside and wetside spotting.
----------SAN ANTONIO, TX -- Neuhaus Chemical Products has changed the name of XScale to JinXScale to bring it in line with names of its other products: Jinx Ink, Jinx Ink DF, Jinx Odor and Jinx Starch.
----------KENNER, LA -- New product literature from Milnor features three sizes of open pocket, cushion-mount washer/extractors,. Capacities of 55, 110 and 165 pounds are features, all with oversized wash cylinders and each with Milnor's E-P Plus microprocessor to provide up to 30 programmable wash formulas. The 110- and 165-lb. machines can be ordered with a Mark III microprocessor with up to 100 formulas, 98 of which are programmable. Major features, including a simple one-motor drive with inverter that provides all speeds, are illustrated in the brochure.
----------COLD SPRING, KY -- Stamford Chemical, a division of Fabritec International, has published a brochure titled, "A Sensible Approach to Wetcleaning." Copies are available from distributors or through Fabritec International.
----------Date created: Dec 26 1996 Copyright © 1997, BPS Communications Inc. National Clothesline ncled@aol.com