1. Tell your cleaner everything you know about a stain. Substance, home stain removal attempts, and age of the stain is important to the cleaner who is trying to remove a stain.

2. Don’t allow a stain to set in. The sooner a garment is cleaned, the more likely the stain will be removed. Don’t be tempted to iron a stained garment. Heat sets the stain.

3. Take note of invisible stains and tell your dry cleaner. Some stains from white wine, soft drinks and sugary substances seem to disappear, but can turn brown and are sometimes permanent.

4. Never remove a care tag. The label has important information for you and your cleaner.

5. Don’t store your clothes in a plastic bag. The plastic bag your drycleaner uses is only to protect your garments on the way home. Once home store your clothes in a cool, dry place.

6. Prevent prolonged exposure to light. Many white garments are treated with optical brighteners that yellow when exposed to heat or light. Colorful garments will often fade. Be careful of sunlight and artificial.

7. Have matching pieces cleaned together. Normal fading may occur in any cleaning process. Even a slight change could ruin a set.

8. Protect your clothing. Perspiration, perfume, and hair products are tough on clothing – especially silks. Use garment shields when possible.

9. Check for rips, tears, and loose buttons. Your drycleaner will look over the garments for these flaws, but two sets of eyes are better than one.

10. Work with your drycleaner. If a garment bleeds, shrinks, or tears there could be a number of causes. Sun Ray Cleaners is a member of the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute. We can send the garment to be analyzed to help find the cause and possible solution. www.dlionline.org