Hello everyone, and welcome to another of my reviews. In this article, I’ll be reviewing my experience with the local dry cleaner Astoria Dry Cleaning.
I currently own over 40 suits, and I usually drop them off at my neighbourhood dry cleaner (to varying levels of satisfaction over the years). When I commissioned a $4000 Ermenegildo Zegna suit from Meiko Tailor, I wasn’t entirely confident that my usual neighbourhood dry cleaner would be up to the task. I decided to ask Meiko Tailor for a dry cleaning recommendation, who promptly endorsed Astoria Dry Cleaning.
Blessedly, Astoria Dry Cleaning offers free pickup services for orders above $30. I used to physically lug my multiple jackets to my neighbourhood dry cleaner, so the free collection service was a godsend.
Astoria Dry Cleaning – the Process
I was interested in the dry cleaning process, and Astoria was kind enough to share with me its processes.
Upon receiving any garment, Astoria’s staff at the cleaning facility will inspect the items for any damages and refer to the cleaning label to note down the material and the best cleaning method for the item. For garments without any cleaning label, it would be cleaned based on Astoria’s prior experience with items of similar material. I should point out that Astoria in its current iteration has been in business since 1995, and traces its roots to Shanghai, where the current owners’ grandparents started a dry cleaning business in 1947. In other words, Astoria has decades of experience handling garments of varying materials.
Each item would then be tagged for identification purposes. This ensures that there will be no mix-up, which can be potentially disastrous if a garment is cleaned using an inappropriate cleaning method.
Some of the jackets that I sent in were stained, which was promptly noted by Astoria Dry Cleaning. They reassured me that stains were common, and that they have a bevy of in-house stain removal chemicals to treat different stains. However, there is no guarantee that the stains can be wholly removed, as that also depends on how long the fabric has been stained. Furthermore, stain removal comes at a cost – stain removal uses strong chemicals, which can weaken the fabric and cause it to eventually fray or even tear. Astoria shared that its staff will try to walk a fine balance between removing the stains (for aesthetics) and doing minimal damage to the underlying fabric (for longevity).
The garments will then be separated based on their colour (light or dark) and placed into a dry cleaning machine to commence the dry cleaning process. Here’s an interesting fact: the entire process isn’t entirely ‘dry’. Dry cleaning still involves liquid, but garments are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent perchloroethylene, known in the industry as ‘perc’.
After the cleaning process is completed, the garments are handed over to Astoria’s team of specialised ironers who will press the items using a steam ironer to ensure a fresh look. The use of steam in the ironing process is advantageous because it helps to relax the fibres without causing damage to delicate fabrics.
After the garments are ironed, Astoria’s team of packers will pack the clothing into individual protective covers to prevent any contact with dust or foreign substances during delivery. Note how the lapels are also thoughtfully ironed, with the original lapel roll being preserved. This is not the case with all dry cleaners, some of whom simply iron the lapels flat to save time and cost, thus giving the jacket a cheap one-dimensional look.
After a week, Astoria delivered my freshly cleaned and pressed garments. Interestingly, there was a memo attached to my stained jackets, which stated that Astoria has tried its best to remove the stains as much as possible without injuring the fabric. On my jacket, I saw an impressive 80-90% reduction in the stains. There’s still a slight yellowing along the edges of the collar, but it’s a stark improvement from before (see the pre-removal photo earlier in the article).
Conclusion – so Astoria Dry Cleaning “shiok” or not?
Overall, I had a positive experience with Astoria Dry Cleaning. Firstly, I appreciated the sheer convenience of Astoria’s free pickup and delivery services, which meant that I no longer had to physically drop off my jackets at the dry cleaners. Secondly, Astoria’s decades of experience shone through. Like a well-oiled machine, Astoria’s team specialised in their roles: the cleaners inspect and clean/remove stains from garments, the ironers iron and press, and the packers pack and deliver/pickup. Thirdly, Astoria’s rates are eminently affordable as well – it only costs $12 to dry clean a jacket.
Those interested in dry cleaning with Astoria can quote the promo code “WAHSOSHIOK” to enjoy 10% off its entire range of services. This means that it only costs $10.80 to dry-clean a jacket, with free pickup/delivery services available with 3 jackets or more. That’s a great deal that undercuts its competition, especially considering Astoria’s lengthy expertise. For comparison, Presto charges $12.80 to dry clean a jacket and requires a $50 minimum for free pickup/delivery.
Schedule a pickup here, and simply state “WAHSOSHIOK” under the ‘Remarks’ section to enjoy the 10% discount.
P.S: Check out The Shiok Store here – it serves as a curation of my favourite products from my favourite brands.
P.P.S: Do check out the new “Discounts!” page for exclusive discounts for Wah so Shiok readers! More brands will be added very soon – stay tuned!
P.P.P.S: If you haven’t already, do follow my social media channels on Facebook here, on Instagram here, and Youtube here.
P.P.P.P.S Shiok is a common word Singaporeans use to express admiration or approval. As of 2016, you can find the definition of the word in the Oxford English Dictionary.
