Q: How do I get service started with Wildhorse Cleaners?

A: Fill out the information on the sign up for service page and submit. A representative of Wildhorse Cleaners will contact you and schedule your first pickup day.

Q: What happens if I am on vacation or do not need a pickup for a specified period of time?

A: No Problem. Wildhorse Cleaners does not have a minimum order. We will temporarily store your clean garments while you are out of town or on vacation and will deliver when you return. E-mail us your schedule and we'll take care of the rest.

Q: Is there really an advantage to having comforters and blankets professionally cleaned over home laundering?

A: Yes. Professional cleaners have the ability to determine the best means of cleaning such items (dry cleaning versus laundering) to aid in maintaining the comforter or blanket's insulative and thermal qualities.

If the item is dry cleanable, it is exposed to less risk of shrinkage. Dry cleaning solvents cause less shrinkage than cleaning in water.

Comforters and blankets that can be laundered still have an advantage when professionally cleaned, as the machines are much larger than home washing machines. Large items such as comforters can get cleaner in a commercial sized washer and have more room in a professional sized dryer to dry evenly, which promotes even distribution of the fill contained in the comforter.

Q: What determines whether a garment should be drycleaned or laundered?

A: All garments at Wildhorse Cleaners are cleaned according to the manufacturer's specifications.

Federal laws require that all clothing manufacturers provide cleaning instructions, generally found on the tag at the back of the neck. Determining proper cleaning instructions is the responsibility of the manufacturer. These tags are supposed to provide information about the fabric from which the garment is made and special care instructions on how to clean it.

Garments should either state "Dry clean Only" or "Launder" and list additional symbols that are understood by dry cleaners worldwide. These symbols instruct the cleaner on special instructions such as type and temperature of solvent, cleaning times, drying and pressing instructions, etc.

Misprinted or missing labels are often the culprits of a garment that is improperly cleaned and experiences damage. [back to top]

Q: Why is drycleaning referred to as such if it uses a liquid?

A: Dry cleaning is termed so because water is not the primary liquid used in the process. Garments are, however, fully submerged in a liquid. Solvents that contain little or no water are used in place of water to remove soil and stains from fabric.

Detergent and sizing are added to solvents during the dry cleaning process. Detergents aid in enhancing the cleaning performance of the solvents while sizing helps restore texture and shape in the garments.

Solvents do no penetrate fibers in the way water does, thus reducing the risk of shrinkage, color bleeds and other cleaning hazards. The primary solvents utilized in dry cleaning include perchloroethylene and petroleum-based solvents.

Dry cleaning solvent is not harmful to most fabrics and is the only method for cleaning many of today's fashions. [back to top]

Q: Is it true that a brightener added in the production of certain materials can cause yellowing of white fabrics?

A: Manufacturers treat almost all white fabrics with an optical brightener to intensify the white appearance. Some of these brighteners are unstable and will yellow from age, heat and light (both natural and artificial).

The heat used in the laundering process, both at home and a professional cleaners, can cause the breakdown of the optical brighteners. Use of chlorine bleach can also cause yellowing as well in certain fabrics, such as polyester blends. Wildhorse Cleaners uses only oxygen bleaches to avoid such problems.

To minimize the potential for yellowing, never place white garments in direct sunlight or artificial light while being stored. Once these brighteners break down and the garment yellows, the yellowing is usually permanent. Yellowing occurs at an even faster rate when wet, thus drying white garments in the sun is not a wise choice. [back to top]

Q: What causes buttons to break in the laundry?

A: Basically, the construction of the button and time are the two main reasons breakage occurs.

Many buttons today are constructed of materials that do not handle the heat involved in home or professional laundering. They are often manufactured without the garment's care and cleaning processes in mind. As with fabrics, the manufacturer's care instructions are supposed to consider the buttons, trim, etc. in determining proper care suggestions.

Time is another important factor. Over the course of time, buttons will become brittle and break merely from age, wear and tear.

Wildhorse Cleaners replaces shirt buttons free of charge on laundered shirts, and most pants.

Wildhorse Cleaners stocks many different button types and colors so that the button replaced will match your garment. [back to top]

Q: I've heard that the life of draperies can be prolonged by cleaning. Is that true and why?

A: That is absolutely true. Despite the lack of physical wear and tear on window treatments such as draperies and curtains, many factors contribute to the deterioration of fabric items that remain stationary.

Sunlight is a prime culprit in the deterioration of window treatments. Just as the sun burns and draws moisture from our skin, it has a similar effect on fabrics. It can fade the colors and if left uncleaned for an extended period of time, can cause shredding during the cleaning process.

While quality linins can protect against sunlight, other factors continue to damage draperies, such as soot, smoke, dust and atmospheric impurities. These are particles that contaminate even the cleanest of homes. They can cause such damage as yellowing and streaking.

Window treatments will endure longer if cleaned yearly. By the way, the life expectancy for lined draperies is five years.

While cleaning is the best way to prolong the life of your draperies and curtains, vacuuming them while they are hanging in place can help cut down the damage due to dust sitting on the fibers. Use the upholstery attachment with your vacuum and you can increase your draperies life. [back to top]

Q: Are there such things as 'invisible' stains?

A: Crazy as it sounds, yes, there are. Hair sprays, gels and/or any other moist solutions containing impurities (like rain) which come into contact with clothing are often times the culprit of such stains.

While the sprays, etc., are invisible when they fall upon the garment, they sometimes contain impurities that dry invisible but leave a staining residue. Age, exposure and the heat of drying after laundering, drycleaning or finishing can cause these stains to oxidize and become visible.

A good example is a stain caused from white wine on a light colored, silk blouse. In the same way an apple turns brown after exposure to heat and air, the fruit-based wine stain, invisible upon occurrence, will brown when allowed to dry completely and is then exposed to heat (in the form of sunlight, body heat, or the heat involved in cleaning). Thus, it is common for such stains to show up after the cleaning process instead of before. [back to top]

Q: Why do cleaners charge different fees for men's and women's shirts?

A: Many cleaners do charge more based on the gender of the clothes, Wildhorse Cleaners does not.

Wildhorse Cleaners finds this practice unethical and discriminatory, charges for shirts should not be based on gender.

The cost is the same for a man's dry cleaned shirt and a women's dry cleaned blouse. Wildhorse Cleaners does not charge more for women's garments than men's.

Garments at Wildhorse can be cleaned in one of two ways: drycleaned or laundered (according to manufacturer's label). Drycleaning and laundry are two separate processes that utilize different machines, materials and incur different costs.

In the laundering process, there are two types of finishing (pressing) procedures: one utilizes automated pressing equipment and the other requires hand finishing.

Laundered shirts are inspected to determine what type of finishing the shirt requires. Shirts that fit size and fabric criteria can be finished utilizing automated pressing equipment designed to finish shirts quicker and more efficiently than hand pressing.

Shirts that do not fit within the criteria for utilizing the automated pressing equipment require hand finishing, a much more labor intensive and time consuming process. As in any service business, the time it takes to complete a project generally dictates the price. Therefore, because hand-finished shirts require more time to complete than those finished on machines, the cost is higher.


The professionals at Wildhorse make decisions and determinations based on what will best clean garments in the safest manner with the least risk of damage. [back to top]

Q: I had my feather pillows cleaned and when I got them back, they had a different cover on them? Why?

A: When pillows are cleaned, the fill is removed, freshened and returned in a new, clean casing. Many times, additional fill (or feathers) is added to fluff and add thickness to pillows. [back to top]