Our ratings of 458 area cleaners reveal that there are many excellent shops-including some with very good prices. But beware: not all drycleaners are able to produce top-quality results consistently, and with a few, the risk is high that what you get back will be barely better than what you dropped off-or that your garments will be damaged or lost.

Read our article and findings (available exclusively to CHECKBOOK subscribers)

Back to Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK Table of Contents.

Sample Subscriber Comments/Reviews About Drycleaners

CHECKBOOK provides subscriber comments on their experiences with the firms they use. Please remember that individual subscriber comments are informal. Subscriber comments may give you insight into the types of features and problems that exist in a service field, but are not the best basis for selecting or rejecting a specific firm. To assess the quality of a firm's performance, we recommend that you give more weight to the percentages of favorable ratings. Those percentages are generally based on much larger numbers of consumers' ratings (the number of consumer ratings is noted above).

As You Can See Below, Some Drycleaners Get High Praise from Their Customers. Some Others Don't. So Choose Carefully.
Here Are a Few Samples of the Thousands of Comments CHECKBOOK Has Collected on Hundreds of Different Drycleaners.

• Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote Another Cleaner: I am a long-time Alexandria resident. I have patronize many cleaners. This one has been..........
• Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Excellent. Have used them for years -- left for a few months to try Bergmann's..........
• Subscriber from SILVER SPRING, MD wrote Another Cleaner: Friendly staff, I am pleased with their service........
• Subscriber from CHEVY CHASE, MD wrote Another Cleaner: OUTSTANDING work on routine and difficult jobs!.......
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Excellent quality and service. Plus they know all of their customers by name!.......
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Excellent service -- cleaning is always done right and done early........
• Subscriber from ROCKVILLE, MD wrote Another Cleaner: They aren't much for catching and pretreating spots, but for most things they are great..........
• Subscriber from FAIRFAX, VA wrote Another Cleaner: The quality is questionable and the cost is high. However, the biggest issue is that..........
• Subscriber from VIENNA, VA wrote Another Cleaner: The owner always remembers your name, is extremely friendly and they have done a fantastic..........
• Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote Another Cleaner: I am very happy with Franconia Cleaners. Good quality service and they do not charge..........
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Although we used this dry cleaner for more than 5 years, we never received any..........
• Subscriber from LAUREL, MD wrote Another Cleaner: Poor cleaning performance. Have had to return items for a redo on many occasions........
• Subscriber from HERNDON, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Very nice people, but only so-so quality. They double crease my slacks despite my multiple..........
• Subscriber from FALLS CHURCH, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Very good work at reasonable prices........
• Subscriber from WASHINGTON, DC wrote Another Cleaner: The service is fine and the prices can't be beat, but don't expect any extra..........
• Subscriber from SILVER SPRING, MD wrote Another Cleaner: The family who runs this laundry knows me by name even though I only come..........
• Subscriber from BOYDS, MD wrote Another Cleaner: They are WAY over priced........
• Subscriber from MCLEAN, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Slightly on the expensive side, but worth it........
• Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Very nice staff........
• Subscriber from N BETHESDA, MD wrote Another Cleaner: Lately the quality of the work has been slipping, and the dry cleaning has been..........
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Love to stay and chat. Nice people. Great service........
• Subscriber from WASHINGTON, DC wrote Another Cleaner: ...and they have a good tailor/seamstress on staff.......
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Cleaner: I HAD PREVIOUSLY USED BESSON'S CLEANERS YEAR AGO AND THEY CLOSED AND REOPENED RECENTLY WITH..........
• Subscriber from SPRINGFIELD, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Good, but expensive........
• Subscriber from OAK HILL, VA wrote Another Cleaner: On a recent business trip, I was rushing and unthinkingly threw a can of hair..........
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Cleaner: The best in every way. Have been going here for 10 years and wouldn't consider..........
• Subscriber from BRUNSWICK, MD wrote Another Cleaner: I've never had a problem with them and I have had alterations done there too........
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Friendly staff. Work is good, but best to be very specific with stains........
• Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote Another Cleaner: I once picked up 4 shirts that i had laundered, and only had a credit..........
• Subscriber from FALLS CHURCH, VA wrote Another Cleaner: We use them about once a month with great results; most recent visit (yesterday)returned a..........
• Subscriber from CHANTILLY, VA wrote Another Cleaner: However, the business was sold to another Korean family about 2 months ago. Ask for..........
• Subscriber from WASHINGTON, DC wrote Another Cleaner: Fabulous value and cost!.......
• Subscriber from STERLING, VA wrote Another Cleaner: You get what you pay for. Pressing of pants and shirts (especially shirts) is barely..........
• Subscriber from POTOMAC, MD wrote Another Cleaner: The use environmentally safe products and process, but are very expensive........
• Subscriber from WASHINGTON, DC wrote Another Cleaner: Incredibly overpriced!.......
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Wonderful service!.......
• Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Expensive, but then never lost an item, nor ruined an item. Brought some clothes that..........
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Prices are high but quality is good........
• Subscriber from SILVER SPRING, MD wrote Another Cleaner: Just informing you that after 40+ years of Charlie Weller's owning this fine family cleaners,..........
• Subscriber from FX STATION, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Services also available in their business in Fairfax Station at the Lorton Village Shops. An..........
• Subscriber from VIENNA, VA wrote Another Cleaner: my finished laundered shirts smelled like body odor on more than one occasion.......
• Subscriber from FALLS CHURCH, VA wrote Another Cleaner: very nice and friendly service. Never had a complaint........
• Subscriber from BETHESDA, MD wrote Another Cleaner: Very accomodating for rush orders. Very pleasant to deal with. Quality work........
• Subscriber from WASHINGTON, DC wrote Another Cleaner: Much too expensive.......
• Subscriber from BURKE, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Go anywhere else. I gave Crest (different store) a second chance and they did the..........
• Subscriber from WASHINGTON, DC wrote Another Cleaner: Consistently excellent service.......
• Subscriber from BETHESDA, MD wrote Another Cleaner: It boils down to competence. I gave them a lampshade that came back dirtier than..........
• Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote Another Cleaner: Great dry cleaners - conveinent and timely!.......
• Subscriber from BETHESDA, MD wrote Another Cleaner: Expensive, but worth it. Terrific shoe repair, too........
• Subscriber from DUMFRIES, VA wrote Another Cleaner: They are in Dumfries VA 22205 was old zip code for Delaplane VA.......