KCRag Forum

been using westport cleaners all of my life. luv em. hell, still use them several times a year when i am in town, drop stuff off there the day i leave, pick it up at 4, head to kci, with my shirts all neatly boxed ready to pack up.

cant go wrong with westport cleaners, right off of main. plaza ford ideal sucks, always hated em.

McDonalds makes you guys have your shirts pressed?  Glad I work at Wendys.

I go to the Hangers in Strawberry Hill.  5 minutes from the River Market.

They do a great job and Beau is a great guy.

In Out is open until 5:30 by the way.

Thanks for all the input.  I'll be trying the place next to Willie's.

velvetelvis wrote: I've used Arrow on 38th and Troost they are fantastic! www.arrow-care.com ....they clean the clothes of celebrities....the have a Video of Regis and Kelly on there website.

In my opinion, Arrow cleaners (39th and Troost, actually) is the only drycleaner/launderer worth patronizing in the entire KC metropolitan area.  If you live in Mission Hills or Sunset Hill, you can arrange for them to do a weekly pickup.  Otherwise, their counter service is very reliable, friendly, knowledgeable, and professional.  There is virtually nothing they can't clean, fix, or alter.  Send a piece of dirty, used clothing to Arrow, and one week later it will appear brand-new.  Leather and bedding are a specialty.  Still, even an ordinary shirt or pair of trousers comes back from Arrow looking pristine.

Do not go anywhere besides Arrow.  Nothing else compares, unless you send your clothes to specialized laundry services in N.Y., Chicago, or L.A.  Arrow is the best.

KCPowercat wrote: McDonalds makes you guys have your shirts pressed?  Glad I work at Wendys.

they are actually real strict on it. if you show up with an unpressed shirt and or the wrong burger tie, you get written up.

Royal Master, next to Willie's on Grand, is fantastic (at least as far as convenience)  They are open until 6pm - and I don't think they are open on the weekends.

I would agree with Royal Master... although they will not be there for long, as the landlord is only doing leases month to month... The landlord wants to cash in on the downtown boom, and is always considering offers for his land.

I've heard good things about hangers, and of course Arrow, but you pay more to use their services.

As far as being "environmental(sp) friendly" well all dry cleaners in the area are... or they would be shut down.

Dry Cleaning is a huge industry in the U.S., and unfortunately, with pressure from "green" groups, Dry Cleaning may get really expensive in the next few years.

There are a few alternative cleaning systems out there right now... However, the U.S. gov. and states (California) have started to outlaw the chemical Perc. which is the most commonly used fluid.  There are acquisations of Perc. being a Carcogein (sp) or something that can cause Cancer.  However, after extensive research, researchers have not been able to find a direct coorelation between the two. 

As of right now, the most common alternative fluids are Co2, HydroCarbon, WetCleaning, etc.  The problem is, the state and federal gov. have handcuffed Dry Cleaners by outlawing Perc. when there is still no clear better alternative fluid.  Also, these new fluid machines costs are almost double or triple the cost of Perc. machines.

I am in the DryCleaning business, and our company runs the largest pick-up and delivery dry cleaning service in K.C.  We use a combination of Perc and alternative fluids (Hydorcarbon).  Just thought I'd try to clear the air about that... Every cleaner as of now is environmentally friendly, as long as they dispose of the chemicals properly...

So, don't fret too much about what kind of chemicals a dry cleaner uses, but go to a cleaner that you like because they offer a quality service.  bottom line. Also, I'm sure people know by now, but cleaners such as Pride upcharge their cleaning considerably, and then make you feel like you're getting a great deal by offering you 20-25% off your bill.  Just read the fine print, and compare prices pre-and post discounts.  Sometimes discounted prices are the same as a regular mom and pop's regular prices.  This is just F.Y.I., I dont' compete with Pride so I could care less if anyone uses them.

Skim82

I also use Royal Master and have had nothing but great experiences.  I chat with the guy every time I'm in and he always rounds my bill down to the next five dollar increment.  Even when my bill is low, like 13 bucks, he'll round it down to 10.  Also, though they close at 6, I've been by several times as late as 7:15 and he's usually still there and happy to take/give clothes.  Prices, especially for shirt laundering, which is what I use most, are unmatched.  Also, the place serves as a one-stop shop for many other services I found.  They do tailoring and shoe repair and I ask them about all kinds of other stuff too, like bike repair, transmission rebuilding etc.  If they don't do it themselves they know someone in the Vietnamese community who does and will do it for MUCH less than you can get it done elsewhere. 

Yea, the use Co2, I wasn't aware that there were no royalties paid, but it's a grip to get involved.  They do good work from what I heard, but their prices are much higher than regular mom and pop cleaners.  But hey, people will pay higher prices.  Just remember, what more are you really paying for, and is it worth it to YOU to pay more... It's a personal decision, that's all i'm saying. 

Right now there are many different unproven cleaning options available on the dry cleaning machine market.  As far as I know, everyone is waiting until they find the "one".  I guess that's the smart thing to do, because those machines are not cheap. But Co2 has still come out to be the best alternative to perc... so far.

BTw, sorry if i hijacked this thread with my earlier post...

Can't we just start a new  U.S. trend, "the wrinkled look"?  Had the chance to be in Milan, Italy recently and that is exactly the summer look they have adopted.  Suits, shirts, skirts, everything were being worn in a "natural" state.

(sorry, dry cleaners.  maybe you can just skip a step if this comes about)

loftguy wrote: Can't we just start a new  U.S. trend, "the wrinkled look"?  Had the chance to be in Milan, Italy recently and that is exactly the summer look they have adopted.  Suits, shirts, skirts, everything were being worn in a "natural" state.

(sorry, dry cleaners.  maybe you can just skip a step if this comes about)

Um... could be a trend.  I'm sure many people have noticed, but the "casual" workwear trend is still prevalant in the workplace, at least from what we can tell as drycleaners. 

I've noticed in the last few years that the "suit/tie" has been replaced by "polo shirt/slacks".  This is okay, as it's more comfortable than a dress shirt and tie.

However, for cleaners, this is actually a good thing.

For example>

Typical dress shirt: $1.75-$2.00 per cleaning
Typical slacks: $4.50-$5.75

Now, let's replace that with more "casual" dress

Typical polo/golf shirt: $4.85-$5.75
Typical slacks: $4.50-$5.75

So, to recap, cleaners MAY be cashing in on the causal dress trend.

At least that's what I've noticed. 

Also, as many of you may know, dress shirts (button down you wear with a tie) is a "LOSS-LEADER" for cleaners.  Meaning that cleaners mark down the price of dress shirts to entice customers to bring in more dry cleaning.  It's kinda like the dollar menu at McD's.  They don't make money off the burgers, but instead make money off the soft drinks, etc. 

Oh, btw, the trend in Europe may be happening, but the fact is many people still are very conscience of the way they dress, and take pride in looking professional.  I know that even if I didn't get my dry cleaning for free, I would spend at least $50-$100 a month on cleaning because I like to dress.... ok... I'm a hardcore metrosexual.  Most of my clothes are from BR, A/X, H&M, etc. 

Oh, also, women are the real profit machine for Dry Cleaners.  They typically send in all their blouses ($4.75-$6.50) and slacks, along with dresses, skirts, etc. that are far pricier than men's clothes.  It's not that we are "gouging" them, but the dry cleaning industry has yet to produce machines that can finish laundry blouses properly and efficiently.... so they are done by hand.  Manual labor costs causes the huge price gap between men and women's shirts.  Think about it, women range in sizes from 0-14 (typically) while men's shirts are pretty much standard from (15-18.5).  Sorry ladies, I sympathize with you, if we could, we would lower the prices.

It's great to hear others have had the same experience I've had with Royal Cleaners.  I've used them 6 several years.  They are very friendly people, and do an excellent job.  Shirts are 1.80, pants 4.95, sweaters 4.50.  They are also open Saturday 8-noon.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a drycleaner downtown? I've been using Organic Power Drycleaners next to Cosentino's for the better part of a year and I never fail to be amazed at how poorly the operation is run. The last straw was today when we went to pick up clothes over lunch--and they were closed. For lunch.

So, basically, I'm in the market for a new drycleaner and I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

Hangerskc(.com) is solid but I have them do more pressing than actual drycleaning.

Pick up and drop off at your door. They use a more environmental safe method.

Kims (his name, don't know shop name)

Next to Willy's at 15th and Grand.  Really pleased with their work.

Excellent, thanks for the suggestions.