<< Back to all Blogs
Login or Create your own free blog
Layout:
Home > Dry Cleaning Is Expensive

Dry Cleaning Is Expensive

June 10th, 2014 at 12:56 am

We rarely dry clean anything. Nearly everything we own is washable, with some exceptions. My husband's dress uniform is the most common to go in for cleaning, but that is less than once a year.

A few months ago, I realized my daughter's have wool coats. And they have never been cleaned. One is only a year old. The other might be three or more years old. Oops!

I made a reminder on my calendar for the beginning of June to get them dry cleaned in preparation for winter. The reminder worked like a charm. I remembered to take them in and pick them up. Oh, I also took in my husband's dress overcoat, too.

Eek! The bill for dry cleaning three coats with tax was over $48! I could have bought a coat for that. I did look for coupons in advance and could even see that this particular store hasn't offered coupons for coats in the past. I am glad I had it done, but in hindsight, I might have waited on the newer coat.

I tried to charge it on my new Wells Fargo Amex card, but the card reader the associate used, had a handwritten sign that read, Do Not Take American Express. I had to point it out to her when it beeped and she went to swipe it again. I ended up using the Southwest Rapids Rewards card instead.

Do you get anything dry cleaned? Where do you find the best prices or coupons? Do you avoid dry clean only clothing? Have you been unable to use your American Express card recently?

Posted in Spending | 9 Comments »

9 Responses to “Dry Cleaning Is Expensive”

  1. Shiela Says:
    June 10th, 2014 at 02:33 am 1402367586
    1402367586

    Dry cleaning is crazy expensive. I now just use a garment steamer for DH's suits. I would wash the pants inside out using the delicate cycle and then steam it. The jacket I just steam clean, DH only really wear it on the way to work and back home. I had to spend $150 for the steamer but I it has now paid for itself.

  2. My English Castle Says:
    June 10th, 2014 at 04:33 am 1402374813
    1402374813

    I also worry about the chemicals in dry cleaning. I tend to hang things outside, hand wash sweaters, and thus rarely get much dry cleaned. But my DH wears a suit about three times a year.

  3. Shiela Says:
    June 10th, 2014 at 04:41 am 1402375317
    1402375317

    DH wears suit 4 times a week, I wish it was only 3 times a year. So that $150 for the steamer really helped us.

  4. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    June 10th, 2014 at 01:11 pm 1402405882
    1402405882

    Have not dry cleaned anything in years. Maybe 20. But I do have a wool coat that I don't see an alternative for. I recently risked hand washing a suit coat that looked washable except for the lining. However, it worked great....A list of contaminated land in my city shows MANY old dry cleaners. I think in the past, the chemicals and their handling were even worse than now.

  5. creditcardfree Says:
    June 10th, 2014 at 01:16 pm 1402406162
    1402406162

    I think the reason I was so shocked was because I have not dry cleaned anything in a very long time. Of course, coats are more expensive than a basic shirt or a pair of pants. It will probably three years or more before I take anything in again. Smile

  6. CB in the City Says:
    June 10th, 2014 at 01:31 pm 1402407072
    1402407072

    I dry clean rarely, but used to do it a lot. I did find that a lot of "dry-clean-only" items responded well to handwashing. But it would be hard to handwash a wool coat!

  7. MonkeyMama Says:
    June 10th, 2014 at 01:48 pm 1402408139
    1402408139

    Dry Cleaning. What's that? Big Grin Not a fan from a simplicity standpoint (try to keep life simple). But also, we are very sensitive to the chemicals anyway. So extra motivation to never dryclean anything. (I never have).

    Over the years I have figured out that a lot of dry cleaned stuff doesn't really have to be dry cleaned. I take the "Dry cleaning labels" as more of a suggestion. But, of course it depends on the material.

  8. creditcardfree Says:
    June 10th, 2014 at 01:54 pm 1402408464
    1402408464

    I should add to anyone reading that eliminating dry cleaning from your budget would be a good way to save money. Many items can be hand washed, or run on delicate cycle. There are also dry cleaning kits that somehow work using your dryer that might be an alternative to try.

  9. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    June 11th, 2014 at 01:57 am 1402451878
    1402451878

    I don't remember the last time I had something dry cleaned ... I'm not even sure if I own anything that is dry clean only.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]