Everett Childers has been a plant owner, educator, consultant, department head and instructor at Oklahoma State University during his career in the industry. He is the author of The Master Drycleaners Notebook (see below) and has an informative web site.
Don Desrosiers provides services to shirt launderers and drycleaners as a workflow engineer and management consultant. Has been in the drycleaning and shirt laundering business since 1978.
Richard Ehrenreich is a former drycleaner and the third-generation of his family in our industry. Contact him for your business sale, merger or acquisition activity or for succession, partnership conflict, litigation support or expert witness consulting, as well as appraisals, valuations or evaluations. Check out his credentials and references in LinkedIn.
Dan Eisen, the former chief garment analyst for the National Cleaners Association, offers independent garment analysis and provides consulting services to the industry on drycleaning and wetcleaning. His book, “Professional Guide to Restoration on Fabrics, Suedes and Leather,” is the only restoration manual that deals with restoring color and camouflaging discolorations. He can be reached by phone at (772) 340-0909 or (772) 579-5044 or through his website, www.garmentanalysis.com.
Sandra Haralson strives to provide down-to-earth assistance and training to startups and established operations alike. To learn more, visit the Sandra Haralson Drycleaning Consulting web site.
James Peuster offers on-site training in all aspects of routes. He views management, marketing and maintenance as key components in developing million-dollar routes. Visit his Route Pro web site for more information.
Bill Stork joined the family business in 1965 after finishing college and working as an industrial engineer. He later worked in equipment sales, installation, technical assistance, sales management and plant design. He applies his 40 years of experience to help with planning, layout, construction and training through his company, Dry Clean Design
Jane Zellers is consultant, lecturer and former owner of drycleaning establishments who comes from a three-generation drycleaning family. She has been involved in the laundry and drycleaning industry all of her life. She offers her services through JCZ Consulting.
A variety of courses are offered through several industry trade associations. To see current offerings, visit the association’s web sites. Courses and seminars are also listed in National Clothesline’s Dateline section.
The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute has scheduled courses at its School of Drycleaning Technology in Laurel, Maryland. DLI also offers compliance tools, educational videos, self-study courses and other useful materials through its products and services catalog
The National Cleaners Association has courses throughout the year at its New York School of Drycleaning in New York City.
Other trade associations offer courses and seminars on an irregular basis. Check the associations’ web sites for information.
Books by Dan Eisen: Dan Eisen, long-time National Clothesline columnist and former chief garment analyst of the Natrional Cleaners Association, has distilled his decades of experience into two books, "The Art of Spotting" and "The Art of Wet Cleaning;" He recently released a manual that covers techniques for restoration geared specifically to drycleaners. The manual, including including full telephone assistance plus handling and shipping, sells for $105. For ordering or more information, contact Eisen at 274 NW Toscane Trail, Port St. Lucie, Florida 34986; phone (772) 340-0909; cell (772) 579- 5044; or by e-mail, [email protected].
Master Drycleaners Notebook: Industry educator and consultant Everett Childers produced the first edition of his Master Drycleaners Notebook more than 20 years ago and has continued to revise and update it over the years. Now in its fifth edition, the book has been translated into Spanish and includes chapters on fibers and fabrics, drycleaning technology, stain removal chemicals and procedures, wetcleaning, bleaching and finishing. The strengths and weaknesses of various cleaning solvents are discussed along with tips for maximizing their cleaning performance. The book, along with a wealth of other information, is available through his web site.
Cleaners Supply offers a variety of books and video training aids by such noted industry experts as Don Desrosiers, Sid Tuchman, James Peuster, Stan Caplan, Ann Hargrove and Steve Boorstein. Visit their web site for details.
In addition to National Clothesline, there are several trade publications for drycleaners and launderers. These include:
American Drycleaner, based in Chicago, Illinois.
Cleaner & Launderer, based in Pasadena, California.
The Korean Cleaners Monthly, published in Korean, based in Englewoods Cliff, New Jersey
Fabricare Canada, based in Canada.
Laundry and Cleaning News, based in the United Kingdom.
Laundry & Cleaning Today, based in the United Kingdom.
National Drycleaner and Launderer, based in Australia.
Here are few key links to sources for information concerning government regulations related to the drycleaning industry.
The Federal Trade Commission is responsible for developing and enforcing the Care Label Rule. The FTC also maintains a database of garment makers to assist in looking up the Registered Identification Number (RN) of any garmnent.
The Environmental Protection Agency enforces the Clean Air Act among other regulations that affect drycleaners. The EPA has published compliance information for drycleaners. EPA sponsored the Design for the Environment Garment and Textile Care Program and published a document of its findings in 1998. EPA also funds the State Coalition for the Remediation of Drycleaners (SCRD) tracks clean-up legislation and programs throughout the United States.
The Small Business Environmental Page helps small businesses access environmental and pollution compliance information.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Who has been inspected? What violations were found? What penalties were issued? You can look it up on this page at OSHA’s web site. (Use SIC Code 7216 to look up drycleaning plant inspections.)
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