National Clothesline

As strange as it sounds, Kurt Lucero — the second generation owner of The Cleanery in Albuquerque, NM — actually worked in the drycleaning industry before his parents, Joe and Joy, started the family business in 1984. As a kid, Kurt often was engaged in one money-making venture or another, including selling cinnamon oil-soaked toothpicks to other children at school.

With a new year comes new possibilities, including signing up to attend Clean 2022, which is scheduled to take place from July 30 to Aug. 2 later this year at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. It will be the first time the drycleaning industry has experienced a Clean Show since June of 2019 when it was hosted in New Orleans.

Last month, it was announced that FallFest EXPO 2021 would become WinterFest EXPO 2022 by moving its dates back to Jan. 19-21 of this year to accommodate requests by busy drycleaners during the holiday season. Otherwise, the virtual educational conference plans to keep the same daily schedule and programs — with one exception — Sean Abbas is not available. The North

After reopening its School of Drycleaning Technology for students in October following a long hiatus, the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute have forged a busy schedule for 2022 that consists of virtual and on-site classes, as well as “blended” courses of the two. “We are excited

After 18 months, the Textile Care Allied Trades Association held its first in-person board meeting on Nov. 7 and 8 at the Omni Barton Creek in Austin, TX. While the TCATA Board still met regularly via Zoom during the pandemic, the association was thrilled to gather in person at long last.

With the holiday shopping season behind us, bargain hunting is probably a pastime still quite fresh in our memories. Perhaps too much so. When you’re shopping for a digital camera, an Xbox or a toaster, comparing prices from one outlet to another is rather simple. The products are technically identical, so price can easily become the sole decision-making factor.

In the next several issues, I will be explaining the processes incorporated in the modern drycleaning machine, including distillation, washing and extraction, drying and the control system. Also included will be the components used in these processes and how these components are combined and coordinated to clean garments. distillation

When it comes to people who value businesses, there is, arguably, no better evaluator than Warren Buffett (who happens to be a client). As the most famous investor of all time, there are things he looks for when making an investment. He looks for companies with what he calls a “deep and wide competitive moat” around them. Why does Warren Buffett

Should you have an employee handbook? Yes. Many jurisdictions require you to have written policies on leave, harassment, discrimination and the like. Governmental agencies and courts reviewing employee terminations want to know what policy the employee violated to get fired, and where that policy is documented. Before I begin, let me

The laboratory analysis department of a drycleaning association has reported problems with spandex-blended fabrics consisting of rayon and polyester. Spandex is an elastic yarn similar to rubber but consists of polyurethane. It is used to give fabrics better fit and wearability. Spandex-blended fabrics may consist of rayon or polyester, or both.

Finally, 2021 is over and — wow — it was a... well, it’s hard to find just the right words to describe it, really. The Oxford Dictionary (cited as the biggest English dictionary in existence) has over 171,000 of them in current use. I suppose out of all those options, one word does spring to mind to sum up the ongoing journey of adapting to adversity: resilience. There may have been a shortage of just about everything imaginable in 2021, but there was certainly no shortage of resilience. At times, 2021 felt like a searing inferno of endless frustration; at others, a font