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Summer is here – and that means sunshine, warm colors, and flowy fabrics are back in season! At A Touch of Class, our mission is to keep your wardrobe in tip top shape – and that includes selection just as much as it does professional dry cleaning & care. To help you stay in style this summer, here's our guide to the hottest summer fashionwear of 2017. Everybody Loves KhakiKhaki is the great utilitarian fashion fabric: tough, perfect in casual and formal settings, and ideal for almost any type of garment. This summer, khaki is definitely in – so don't be afraid to go for a light khaki jacket, a smart pair of khaki trousers (for both men and women, mind you!), or even something a little bolder like a khaki skirt. White Shirt DressesWant to put a fashion-forward spin on the classic summer sundress? Try donning a white shirtdress to take the summer in style. This is a trend we'll be seeing more of this year, and this versatile style can definitely make up a good portion of your summer wardrobe. Stripes!Shirts, pants, dresses, jackets, jumpers... whatever piece you want to wear, stripes are in for the season. Add some flair to your wardrobe by embodying the Nantucket spirit with some seaside stripes – it's a great way to add texture to all those summer pastels. Care for Your Clothes with Luxury San Rafael Dry CleaningOf course, it doesn't matter how fashion-forward your wardrobe is: if you're not caring for your clothes, people will notice. Every piece of clothing needs different kinds of care, so if you really want to look your best in every outfit, you need an expert dry cleaner that knows how to care for each fabric individually. At A Touch of Class, that's our motto. We'll give every article of your clothing the luxury treatment, providing fabric-specific care and leaving everything squeaky clean and sparkling – and we'll even pick it up and drop it off right at your door. Want to see what makes us the best dry cleaning in San Rafael? Just schedule your laundry valet service today. Time to take summer in style!
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Spring is here and summer is just around the corner, and that means it's time to break out some of our favorite sections of the wardrobe. Everyone loves a good sundress, a comfortable light button down, and to finally get to enjoy shorts weather – but to keep your clothing looking its best, you also need to take care of it the right way. At A Touch of Class, we're proud to provide valet dry cleaning delivery service throughout San Rafael, Ross, Marin County, and San Francisco, but caring for clothing goes beyond just valet dry cleaning. Here are some tips for keeping your spring & summer garments fresh, fun, and ready for the season!
How to Keep Your Spring & Summer Clothes in Great Shape
Contact Your San Rafael Valet Dry Cleaning Service We hope you find these tips helpful for keeping spring and summer clothes perky and pristine, and we hope they make it all the more fun to enjoy this section of your wardrobe. As premium valet dry cleaning experts serving all of Marin County and San Francisco, we know a thing or two about caring for laundry – and if you'd like your clothes in the care of experts, we'd love to help out. Call us today at (415) 453-8620, reach out to us at our contact page, or schedule a valet service online. Trust us – your wardrobe will thank you for it! When you’re in need of San Francisco, Marin, Ross, or San Rafael dry cleaning, we at A Touch of Class are proud to go above and beyond to meet all your desires. Not only do we provide a high-quality professional cleaning, but we’re also glad to be your valet and bring your newly-cleaned clothes directly to you. While we’re proud of our modern washing and dry cleaning process, we’d like to provide a little perspective by sharing with you a few facts on how washing and drying laundry used to be done in the not-so-modern times. How Laundry Was Originally WashedOriginally, laundry was done through riverside washing. The clothes would be taken to the riverside where they would they would be soaked in. After the clothes were soaked, they were typically brought over to a washing board that was brought to the river. This washing board could be just a simple wooden board or also something more sophisticated. These boards would be used as scrubbing surfaces to help get dirt and other gunk out of the clothes. Sticks and washing bats were also helpful for beating the dirt out of them. This was a process that even the most advanced parts of the world would do until well into the 19th century. In fact, this is still the most common way to do laundry in some of the less-developed countries. Drying & BleachingJust like with washing, drying your clothes was often a public and group activity. Many towns had a communal area of mown grass set aside that was used as a bleaching ground. Clothes were spread out on the grass and the sun would help bleach off-white clothing and dry it as well. In addition to drying your clothes on the grass, drying could also be done by spreading the clothes on bushes. Clotheslines started to be used from about the 16th century, but they didn’t acquire much popularity until at least the 18th century. Contact Your Ross & San Rafael Dry Cleaning Valet Today!If you’re in search of San Francisco, Marin, Ross, or San Rafael dry cleaning and you’re interested in the convenience of having it delivered to your door, we encourage you to try us out! You can start service through our website or by giving us a call at one of our two convenient locations. Our San Rafael phone number is (415) 453-8620 and our Ross phone number is (415) 461-3743. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. We can’t wait to hear from you!
017 is in full swing and if you’re like many people, so are your New Year’s resolutions. Promising yourself that you will make some improvements to your life is always a good idea and the brand New Year is a great time to do just that. As you work and play all year through, the clothes you wear are hard at work right along with you as you’re sitting, walking and grinding away all day long. Your daily routine does not just affect you as it affects your wardrobe as well. And that’s why the start of a brand new year is a great time to start getting premium care for your clothes with A Touch of Class. As a premier San Rafael drying cleaning service, we can help you extend the life of your wardrobe and ensure that your clothes always look neat and clean. Below are a few tips for taking great care of your wardrobe in the year ahead so your clothes always look great and feel clean and fresh. Know What Clothing Articles Require Dry CleaningAs you may already know, the ‘dry clean only’ label on clothing tells you that those garments can be harmed by hand- or machine-washing and that certain fabrics are more prone to damage than others. Clothing made of delicate and sensitive fabrics like wool, cashmere, silk and some synthetic blends must be dry cleaned to ensure the feel, body and texture remain intact and that the color remains stable. Men’s and women’s suits should always be dry-cleaned, regardless of what they’re made of as dry cleaning helps retain their shape and fit. Other ‘dry clean only’ items include any pleated or lined items and clothing that is embellished with beads, embroidery or sequins. Purge Your ClosetTake some time to go through your closet to look for garments you don’t plan on wearing again and either donate those items or take them to a recycling center that accepts textiles. When you come across ‘dry clean only’ garments you haven’t worn because they need to be cleaned and freshened up, set those items aside so you can have them professionally dry cleaned. If you’re often pressed for time or just think that dropping off your clothes and picking them up at the dry cleaners is a hassle, A Touch of Class offers San Rafael dry cleaning delivery services. When you choose this service, a valet will pick up your garments, take them to our facility where they’ll be cleaned, and then we’ll deliver them back to you when done. Know When to Dry CleanIf you wear dress shirts and suits consistently, these items should be dry cleaned every three or four wears. This will keep them clean & fresh and will preserve their quality for the long run. Wool pants and jackets should be dry cleaned when brushing, spot cleaning and airing out no longer do the trick. It’s important to only dry clean your wool garments when they truly need it and not on a set schedule as cleaning wool clothing too often can strip and weaken the wool fibers to age the garments unnecessarily. Contact Your Ross & San Rafael Dry Cleaning ServiceAt A Touch of Class, quality is at the core of what we do and who we are and providing you with superior service is always our goal! If you have any questions about the dry cleaning services we offer or would like to schedule a valet, give us a call at (415) 453-8620 (our San Rafael location) or (415) 461-3743 (our Ross location). We look forward to helping you keep your wardrobe looking like new!
The holidays are a wonderful time to relax, enjoy delicious foods and treats, and spend some much needed time reconnecting with family. They're also a chance for all of us to break out some of the nicer pieces in our wardrobes and show off some of our finest clothes. However, caring for holiday garments and fine fabrics can be tricky, and it's all too easy to damage these clothes by mistreating them. With care, though, your holiday garments will last you years, giving you the pleasure of wearing them for many more holidays to come. Listen To The LabelsWithout a doubt, the most important part of caring for holiday garments is to read and follow the instructions on the label. The symbols included on the laundry tag of an article of clothing each have a distinct meaning, and it's critical to follow them in order to properly care for the clothing. Every item is different – some may be perfect for tumble drying, while others may be ruined by it – so it's important to pay close attention to the instructions on the label.  You can use this guide to decipher the laundry care symbols, also just called care symbols, on your holiday garments. A great tip for traveling is to print out this guide and attach it to the inside of your suitcase. That way, it'll be easy to reference when you have the opportunity to clean your clothes. Contact Your Ross & San Rafael Dry Cleaners Today!With proper care, your holiday garments will last you years, but if you'd rather leave it to the experts, we're happy to help! At A Touch of Class, we've been caring for fine fabrics and holiday garments for years, and we take a careful, detailed approach to every article of clothing we handle. We work hard to treat each piece of clothing with the specialized care it needs, and we'll even deliver your freshly cleaned laundry right to your door with our valet service. We service the surrounding areas of Marin and San Francisco, including Corte Madera, Novato, Paradise Cay, El Campo, Strawberry, and Larkspur. If you want to look your best this holiday season, leave it to the professionals: call us today at (415) 453-8620 for our San Rafael location or (415) 461-3743 for our Ross location and we'll have your holiday garments looking better than ever before!
Whether it is a navy blue blazer or a bright red blouse, vibrant color is one of the best parts of clothing and can make any outfit come alive. Over time, though, sometimes the dyes that give clothing these colors can lose their luster and fade away. Without proper care, and without using the right kind of washing techniques, it is easy for clothes to get faded over time. Thankfully, though, there are some simple steps you can take to protect your clothes in the wash and keep them bright for years to come. Sort ClothesSorting is one of the most overlooked methods for keeping clothes well maintained in the wash, but it is also one of the easiest and most effective. At the most basic level, you should wash white or light clothes separately from dark and colored clothes, but you can take sorting a step further to wash all like colors and like fabrics in their own loads. Separating the clothes this way helps to prevent the dye from other clothes contaminating them, keeping them looking sharp and fresh longer. Wash Inside OutPart of the fading that occurs during washing is due to the friction that happens when clothes rub together. If this friction occurs on the outsides of the clothes, it can easily cause the fabric to pill and the dye to start looking mottled and faded. To prevent this, wash your clothes inside out with all the buttons and zippers fastened. This will help to protect the outside of the clothes from harsh rubbing and friction. Try VinegarIf keeping color strong is really a problem for you, try adding a cup of vinegar to your load of laundry. Vinegar acts as a DIY fabric softener while also protecting dye from fading, and do not worry, the vinegary smell comes out in the wash! Contact Your Local San Rafael & Ross Luxury Dry CleanersFollowing these simple tips can help keep the colors of your clothes bright, bold, and vibrant, ensuring your clothes last you as long as possible and look great the whole time. When you really want to take care of a piece, though, we always recommend leaving it to the experts. At A Touch of Class, we treat every piece of clothing with care and respect. If you would like to give your clothes the luxury treatment, feel free to call us at (415) 453-8620 for our San Rafael location, (415) 461-3743 for our Ross location, or reach out to us at our contact page to arrange for expert valet dry cleaning. We look forward to hearing from you soon! At A Touch of Class, we put clothing in the VIP section. Our wardrobe care specialists work hard to clean every piece of clothing we touch carefully, safely, and without damaging the integrity of the fabric, and separation is a key part of that care. For this blog, we will give some details on how, and why, to separate clothes in the laundry or dry cleaning process. Specialized CleaningSeparating loads is important because, just like people, every piece of clothing is different. They come in various fabrics, clothing styles, colors, and materials, and each one of the properties requires different kinds of care in the wash. Separation allows for optimal cleaning of each piece of clothing without unnecessary wear or damage, keeping your clothes comfortable and elegant for as long as possible. Kinds Of Laundry SeparationWhile most people understand the principle of sorting by color (or at the very least, sorting darker clothes from lighter clothes), there are a number of other factors to consider in separation, including:
Contact Your Local Marin County Dry Cleaner Valet Today!Naturally, at A Touch of Class, we take care to separate all the clothes we handle by all these factors, and that is just one part of how we go the extra mile to protect your fine clothing and garments. If you would like to find out more about our laundry, wash and fold, and dry cleaning services and learn how our valet delivers your clothes straight to your door, feel free to call us at (415) 453-8620 for our San Rafael location or (415) 461-3743 for our Ross location, or reach out to us at our contact page. We service the surrounding areas within San Francisco and Marin County, including Novato, Corte Madera, Larkspur, Kentfield, El Campo, and Paradise Cay. We look forward to hearing from you soon! Healthier HandlingAt A Touch of Class, we are committed to using only products that meet the most rigorous environmental standards in our washing and dry cleaning services. But sometimes, clients ask us if using eco-friendly laundry products is really all that important. After all, does it really matter if your soap will biodegrade or not? The answer is yes, and in more ways than one! Healthier HandlingWhile you may not realize it, the detergents and cleaning products we use on our clothes leave a thin, invisible residue that sticks to clothes even after they come out of the dryer. While it may seem solid, skin can actually act like a sponge for chemicals, and your clothes stay on your skin for almost every minute of every day. So, what you use in the wash ends up affecting your internal health as well. Eco-friendly products do not contain the same toxins and are less damaging than their chemical counterparts. For The EnvironmentThose chemicals do not just end up in your body, as they also make it to our water supplies and surrounding environments. Laundry products seep out of wastewater and into the water table at large, contaminating streams, rivers, and even run off into the ocean. It goes without saying that once there, those chemicals wreak havoc on the animals, plants, and ecosystems they touch. Eco-friendly products are designed to break down quickly, preventing large-scale pollution and avoiding damage to the environment. Contact Your Marin County & San Francisco Luxury Laundry Service TodayAt A Touch of Class, we are proud to use only the most environmentally-friendly cleaning products in our washing and dry cleaning services. To find out what the difference feels like for yourself, just call us at (415) 453-8620 for our San Rafael location, (415) 461-3743 for our Ross location, or reach out to us at our contact page with any questions. We cannot wait to hear from you, and we look forward to seeing you back at this blog for more tips and information on taking great care of your laundry and dry cleaning, and looking great while you do it!
Many people hand their clothing over to a local dry cleaning service without giving any thought to what actually happens with their clothes. Here is a brief overview of how dry cleaning works so the next time you drop your clothes off at our San Rafael and Ross dry cleaners, you will have a good understanding of how your clothes become clean and fresh. When your typical dry cleaning service is ready to clean your clothing items, it places them in a washing machine that uses dry cleaning solution and detergent. These cleaners are not water-based as they instead use an oil base or chlorinated solvent that lifts out oily, waxy buildup from the fabric. Often, stain deterrents, water repellents, and chemicals are added to make the clothes feel fresh and crisp. There is only a very small amount of water used when dry cleaning clothing, which means fading and shrinkage is never an issue and the clothes come out dry when done. Then your clothing items are inspected, pressed, steamed, inspected again, bagged, and ready for you to pick up. Many dry cleaning services today are becoming more eco-friendly by replacing toxic and polluting solvents with less harmful solvents. The problem with many of these services that are trying to “go green” is that often times, the products they 'upgrade' to are still harmful to the environment and the public. When you have A Touch of Class dry clean your clothing, we use cleaning products that are organic, biodegradable, and dermatologically tested. Our Ross and San Rafael dry cleaning service is a true green method that is safe for the planet, safe for our staff, and safe for you. We use the SYSTEMK4 method of cleaning that is absolutely safe and environmentally-friendly. It poses no risks to air, water, people, or soil and is tested dermatologically with the “Very Good” result. This system meets the high standards we set for ourselves as well as the standard we have set for the public. It is a truly green dry cleaning method that will leave your clothes clean and crisp. Contact A Touch of Class Today!If you have any questions about our dry cleaning service, laundry delivery, or questions about our company, philosophy, or other services we provide, we encourage you to contact us today. You can call (415) 453-8620 for our San Rafael location or (415) 461-3743 for our Ross location. We are always happy to speak with you! We look forward to hearing from you soon!
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