When You Want Your Home in Top Condition, Try Dry Cleaning

When you want to have your home in top condition — whether you’re putting it up for sale or unpacking from a move — there’s one no-fuss way to ensure that everything is in top condition: Dry-clean it. Some of the top dry cleaners in Manhattan are willing to come to your home (or private jet, for that matter) and take interiors, not just clothes, through the wash.“Just like high-end garments, furnishings are made from one-of-a-kind fabrics and need to be treated as such,” the director of interior cleaning for Madame Paulette, Paul Tabarovsky, said. “We clean five- and six-figure furnishings. There is a market for this service. It is niche, but it is needed.”“I want to offer my customers the complete package,” Joe Hallak of Hallak Cleaners said. “If that means picking up shop and traveling to homes, we’re there.”Draperies and window treatments are the most popular on-site services. Exposure to humidity, sunlight, and oxygen can cause irrevocable damage including color changes and weakening of threads — especially in fabrics closest to the window. Drapes should be cleaned every three to five years to preserve the integrity of the fabric, according to Mr. Tabarovsky, who charges between $250 and $450. Firms that offer professional drapery cleaning also take measures to ensure that the new and improved drapery does not deviate from the original design: They take digital photographs and match the color of the drapes before and after maintenance. The technicians at Hallak use a process called Adjust-a-Drape that eliminates and minimizes shrinkage.Technicians can clean fabric and leather furniture, as well as lampshades, rugs, carpets, drapes, shams, and fabric wall coverings. On-site services can take up to a week depending on the service and extent of care needed for a certain item. For example, applying stain removal chemicals to a sofa can take less than one day, whereas servicing a townhouse with flood damage restoration could take about a week: Technicians have to poke holes in the walls and floors to let water and humidity escape. During the cleaning, residents are able to stay in their homes; the smell of chemical solvents lingers only for about an hour.In addition to these textile and home furnishing cleanings, some firms are equipped to clean up after fire, water, or smoke damage. The process starts with cleaning all the damaged items, such as fabric walls, using deodorants and detergents. Residents are able to stay in their homes during the restoration procedure.Ozone treatment goes hand in hand with fire, water, and smoke damage restoration because it removes unpleasant odors, especially from smoke. This course takes up to 72 hours and homeowners are asked to leave the premises. If not done with extreme care, this process can cause rapid deterioration and oxidation of fabrics. Pet owners can find some refuge in this treatment, as ozone helps eradicate urine odors.Cleaning up after a fire or flood can cost several thousand dollars, but some costs are covered by insurance companies.

When You Want Your Home in Top Condition, Try Dry Cleaning

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