Common problems with shirts.

We successfully launder hundreds of shirts every day. And we are very good at it. But, like all things, shirts can outlive their useful life or exhibit other problems. Whether your shirts are store bought, custom-made, expensive, or inexpensive, the problems below identifies and explains are those we encounter from time to time.

• Please point out spills such as those from white wine, fruit juices. or soft drinks, or other stains that may not be visible, when you bring in your cleaning. These invisible stains require special attention by us in order to prevent them from permanently discolouring your item.
• “I can’t wear my favourite shirt anymore.” The Dry cleaning & Laundry Institute tells us that the average life expectancy of a shirt is about 35-50 washes, or roughly two years. But even this will fluctuate depending on the amount of abrasion and strain placed on the shirt during wear, the fibre content, and how the shirt is constructed. Sometimes they simply wear out.
• “The collar and cuffs are full of wrinkles!” Puckering and excess fabric in the collar and cuffs is often the result of the interfacing shrinking leaving an overabundance of outer fabric. We can’t reverse this circumstance. The manufacturer is responsible for using interfacing that is compatible with the shirt fabric.
• “What happened to my pinstripes?” At first glance it may look like colour loss from bleach, yet a close examination will reveal that only the coloured pinstripe yarns are missing, leaving a skeletal framework of the white yarns. Here’s why: the coloured yarns were dyed with fiber-reactive or sulfurbased dyes that degrade with repeated.
• “Why are the underarm stains still there?” Most damage in the underarm area is directly related to consumer use Perspiration, if allowed to stay in a shirt will eventually stain and weaken the fabric. Aluminum chlorides, a key ingredient found in antiperspirants, also weaken the area under the arms. Frequent laundering after wear may minimize this type of damage.

• “What are these gray stains on my sleeve seams?” Discolouration or gray or shiny specks on the shirt seams, collar and cuffs, or placket occurs when the shirt manufacturer uses excessive and improperly applied adhesive to fuse interfacings with the outer fabric. In most cases, prevention of this damage is not possible since it cannot be identified prior to laundering.
• “You shrunk my shirt.” Typically, when a shirt is made, the manufacturer has allowed for two to three percent shrinkage by cutting fabric a little larger. Finished dimensions that exceed a pre-determined allowance may become too tight in the neck, too short in the sleeve length, and too tight around the middle. When this happens it is usually the result of poorly stabilized fabric and other elements of construction. There is very little we can do as professional cleaners that will cause excessive shrinkage.