Washing and Ironing?

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

We've been going to the same dry cleaners for, er, more years than I really want to count right now, but have mostly managed to live our lives without needing to dry clean stuff more than every few months.

We suddenly find ourselves in need of clean ironed men's shirts on a 5-day-a-week basis, and I think I'd prefer to reduce our use of dry cleaning chemicals at this point .) I know there are a few places that use more eco-friendly dry cleaning stuff, but what about old fashioned *wet* cleaning? Are there any places who offer to launder cotton men's shirts in washing machines and then iron them so they look nice, or did the advent of dry cleaning completely kill that business model?

Comments

[mjperson.livejournal.com]

Wash and press is a fairly common service offered by laundrymats that have their own equipment.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

I feel like all the signs say Wash and Fold, and I can handle that myself. It's the "iron" bit that doesn't turn up on signs. In my head the one in Teele and the one heading out of Powderhouse on College ave both say "fold" and not "press", am I wrong?

[ckd]

Clevergreen dry-cleaned my suit and laundered my shirt, so that might be a viable option.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I know that the drycleaner in Davis on elm street presses shirts, I was assuming that they launder rather than dryclean them, but I have no idea why I think that.

[gmpe.livejournal.com]

I thought dry cleaners laundering and pressing shirt, but not dry cleaning them, was what happened by default unless it was a weird fabric that needs actual dry cleaning.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Hmm, they usually come back smelling of dry cleaner, and I figured that it was because they were actually dry cleaned. Maybe I shall ask our regular dry cleaners.

[justom.livejournal.com]

"Shirt Clean" vs. "Dry Clean" is the term used by many cleaners in NYC; not sure how much that helps you in Somerville these days.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

I thought most shirts were laundered, actually. It's worth talking to various places, esp. those that take in clothing while being colocated with washing machines and/or do laundry by the pound — and no, I have no suggestions — and ask them.
Yeah, I know, it's a useless answer, but I believe it'll be easier to find than you think.

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

The wash-dry-fold on Washington Ave near McGrath (next to Potatofreak) does hang the shirts up straight out of the dryer. They may not press the shirts, but they come out on hangers.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/cobble-hill-laundromat-somerville

[laryu.livejournal.com]

Shirts are typically laundered and pressed, not dry cleaned. I haven't found anyone local who irons shirts by hand. I think Lapels, on Mass Ave in North Cambridge, uses eco-friendly chemicals for dry cleaning, but I haven't used them so I can't attest their quality.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I regularly get men's shirts laundered at Skyline Cleaners in Ball Square.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure, but I think "wash and fold" includes ironing as a default. Just like "dry cleaning" includes ironing even if you don't ask for it as a special service. I used to walk past a dry cleaners in Arlington with an ad in their window about how you should have them wash your business-casual clothes so you'd look less rumpled and therefore more impressive at work. (I don't remember the name of the place. It was on Mass Ave near the East Arlington post office.) You're probably not in Arlington, so I'd suggest you just walk into whichever "wash and fold" place is closest to you, and ask if their "wash and fold" service includes ironing.

[craigindaville.livejournal.com]

As a dude who makes weekly trips to the cleaners for work shirts, I can almost guarantee you that regular, cotton button-down men's work shirts are not dry-cleaned, but laundered and pressed. That's why it only costs around $2 per shirt, rather than the $6-$15/per item that dry cleaning can. Considering that my superhero power appears to be Extreme Ineptitude With An Iron it is completely worth two bucks to have someone else take care of these things for me, but at dry-cleaning prices I would find the antidote somehow and do it myself.

That's not to say that your particular cleaners isn't using some caustic laundry detergent and starch, which is where the smell might be coming from.

It's not in Davis, but my regular place is Mystic Cleaners on Broadway down by the Riley-Brickley Firehouse and the old Star Market.

[yagagriswold.livejournal.com]

This! We love Skyline and have a lot of men's shirts done there.

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

There is a difference between dry cleaning, wash and fold and shirt service/shirt laundering. Wash and Fold typically applies to bulk machine washing and folding of any laundry (no pressing). Shirt laundering is for shirts only - they are washed and pressed, and alternatively starched or boxed. I get my shirts laundered and boxed every 2 weeks at Royal White Cleaners on Cedar Street (now the customer entrance is directly on the floor of the factory). I found that they are the cheapest and do a good job.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

I don't so much care about eco products and dry cleaning, it's just that if I'm getting 3-4x a month instead of 3x a year I'd rather find a solution to having men's dress shirts that look business-ready (ironed or pressed) that are washed in a regular ol' laundry machine instead of a dry-clean method. I don't think theres enough difference between icky dry cleaning stuff and slighty less icky dry cleaning stuff, I'd just rather use neither for cotton shirts that need to look crisp but don't need any special fabric care. It's great to know that many places just wash stuff like shirts and don't necessarily dry clean as a default.