Where Have All The Dry-Cleaners Gone

[yorksrob]

Has anyone else noticed how difficult it is to find a dry-cleaners these days ?

Leeds is supposedly a major city, yet the last one I used to use seems to have shut up shop. A few years ago there used to be at least five !

 

[Bletchleyite]

Fewer people wearing suits to work? Regular smart trousers can be machine washed and ironed at home. I don't actually own a garment that requires it.

Add to that competition from online services that collect and deliver, as well as supermarkets doing it, I guess.

 

[yorksrob]

I don't really get the 'convenience' of on line, given that you have to wait around for the garment to be collected and delivered.

 

[James H]

In my area several new dry cleaning shops have opened in the past year.

 

[Cowley]

Has anyone else noticed how difficult it is to find a dry-cleaners these days ?

Leeds is supposedly a major city, yet the last one I used to use seems to have shut up shop. A few years ago there used to be at least five !

Within ten minutes walk of our house we've got a garden centre, a pub, a garage, a farm shop, a school and yes... A dry cleaners.
Guess which one I've never used?

They'd struggle to get the Dulux out of my t-shirts to be fair though.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

There's two in the same street near where I work...and they're busy!

 

[sprunt]

I don't really get the 'convenience' of on line, given that you have to wait around for the garment to be collected and delivered.

Well, you don't have to "wait around", you can get on with doing other stuff while you're waiting if you're at home.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't really get the 'convenience' of on line, given that you have to wait around for the garment to be collected and delivered.

I've used one (for general laundry when my washing machine was broken) and they like Tesco etc did a 1 hour slot, so it was no issue at all. It'd take an hour to go to a physical shop and back by the time you've parked etc.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

There's two within 5 - 10 minutes walk of me, although I'd only trust one of them.

 

[HOOVER29]

There are two within a 10 minute walk from my house. My town has 3 dry cleaners altogether.
Been around for years too

 

[DarloRich]

Has anyone else noticed how difficult it is to find a dry-cleaners these days ?

Leeds is supposedly a major city, yet the last one I used to use seems to have shut up shop. A few years ago there used to be at least five !

aren't they often in Supermarkets these days?

Fewer people wearing suits to work? Regular smart trousers can be machine washed and ironed at home. I don't actually own a garment that requires it.

I don't have any garments that require dry cleaning. I have some that benefit from dry cleaning.

 

[underbank]

Clothes are "disposable" these days due to the likes of Primark selling stuff at stupidly cheap prices. Fewer people wear "smart" clothes that need to be dry-cleaned.

My son needed a suit for sixth form and uni interviews. My wife insisted on choosing one that was machine washable rather than dry-cleaned - pretty easy to find in the main High St clothes shops such as Next, M&S, etc.

 

[yorksrob]

In my area several new dry cleaning shops have opened in the past year.

I must admit, I haven't noticed any new ones anywhere I go.

Within ten minutes walk of our house we've got a garden centre, a pub, a garage, a farm shop, a school and yes... A dry cleaners.
Guess which one I've never used?

They'd struggle to get the Dulux out of my t-shirts to be fair though.

My local Homebase seems to have shut up shop as well. Fortunately I still have a B&Q (even though their cutting service can't manage diagonal lines for some reason.

Well, you don't have to "wait around", you can get on with doing other stuff while you're waiting if you're at home.

That depends on what you've got around the house to do. Plus, I tend to be out during delivery times.

I've used one (for general laundry when my washing machine was broken) and they like Tesco etc did a 1 hour slot, so it was no issue at all. It'd take an hour to go to a physical shop and back by the time you've parked etc.

Still doesn't beat the convenience of popping in on your way to/from the office.

aren't they often in Supermarkets these days?

I know of one in an out of town shopping centre that's very tricky to get to for non-drivers.

 

[Busaholic]

We've not had a dry cleaners in Penzance for about 15 years: 25 years ago there were two. Morrisons, just outside town, offers some sort of service, but forget getting anything back in less than three days, and it's now closed in the evening (the service, not the store.)

 

[cjp]

One has just opened near me but I think it is a receiving office with no machines on the premise but I might be wrong. It took the place of a failed builder/estate office so How long it will last is anyone's guess. Before that I used to either use one near work or it was a a couple of miles to where there were three, one of which did a good job on my curtains.

 

[yorksrob]

We've not had a dry cleaners in Penzance for about 15 years: 25 years ago there were two. Morrisons, just outside town, offers some sort of service, but forget getting anything back in less than three days, and it's now closed in the evening (the service, not the store.)

Given that Penzanci is the largest town for distance, that surprises me. But then, given that I can't seem to find one in the centre of Leeds, perhaps I shouldn't.

Just tried the larger of the two Sainsbury's in Wakefield. Seems to have everything but.

 

[ASharpe]

Quite a few dry cleaners do collection/drop off from offices in Leeds. Far easier to drop your clothes of on a rail at work than make a separate trip to the dry cleaners.

I reckon the new casual dress code at my work must have really hit their revenue.

 

[dgl]

We have one in Morrison's in Weymouth (par of timpson, with there own machines) and a couple of places do collection for a local laundry company. I believe there is also a laundrette that does DIY dry cleaning.

 

[gazthomas]

As others have said, they're often outside (typically Timpson) or inside (Johnson) at supermarkets.

 

[PeterC]

We still have 2 in our small town, what is vanishing are launderettes. When my washing machine broke down over 20 years ago it was inconvenient but no big deal. When the last one broke down 2 years ago I had to replace it PDQ as there was no alternative way to get my clothes clean short of hand washing.

 

[Bletchleyite]

We still have 2 in our small town, what is vanishing are launderettes. When my washing machine broke down over 20 years ago it was inconvenient but no big deal. When the last one broke down 2 years ago I had to replace it PDQ as there was no alternative way to get my clothes clean short of hand washing.

No online/app based service near you?

 

[urpert]

Still on every street corner in suburban London.

 

[Bald Rick]

Has anyone else noticed how difficult it is to find a dry-cleaners these days ?

Leeds is supposedly a major city, yet the last one I used to use seems to have shut up shop. A few years ago there used to be at least five !

Oddly enough there is a drive-thru dry cleaners (Johnsons) on Headingley Lane just after the
Hyde Park. I went past it last year and thought it a bit strange! (I’m sure you don’t have to be in a car to use it).

There’s also a dry cleaners on Wellington St, about 5 minutes from the back of the station. Which has the benefit of the West Riding PH en route.

 

[gazthomas]

We still have 2 in our small town, what is vanishing are launderettes. When my washing machine broke down over 20 years ago it was inconvenient but no big deal. When the last one broke down 2 years ago I had to replace it PDQ as there was no alternative way to get my clothes clean short of hand washing.

Interestingly, I've got a couple of launderettes near my house. Essential for spring cleaning duvets!

 

[yorksrob]

There’s also a dry cleaners on Wellington St, about 5 minutes from the back of the station. Which has the benefit of the West Riding PH en route.

I think that's the one I tried this morning. They seem to have shut up shop !

 

[Busaholic]

We've got three launderettes in Penzance: I take my bedding to one for a service wash. There is, or rather was, a local connection to UK launderette history as the late 4th St Levan, whose family occupied St Michael's Mount, as a businessman in London opened the first chain of coin-operated laundries in the country shortly after World War 2.

 

[Condor7]

I stopped using them because of the amount of chemicals used. I have seen some recently that are more environmentally friendly but not near me I’m afraid.

 

[whhistle]

I don't really get the 'convenience' of on line, given that you have to wait around for the garment to be collected and delivered.

Because I can order it on the way home?
Means I don't have to make an extra journey to the shop, check to see if they have my size, check the garment to make sure it's the same size as the hanger, have a short discussion on whether I want a carrier bag (if it's free and I need one, yes. If they're charging, no thanks), then travel back home.

Or potentially drive 40 minute round trip to find out the shop doesn't have the item in stock!
Not all places have some sort of online checking facility.

Even worse is they say "yes, there's a few left" but when I get there, they've all gone.

Sorry, I see you meant in the specifics of dry cleaning...

 

[yorksrob]

Because I can order it on the way home?
Means I don't have to make an extra journey to the shop, check to see if they have my size, check the garment to make sure it's the same size as the hanger, have a short discussion on whether I want a carrier bag (if it's free and I need one, yes. If they're charging, no thanks), then travel back home.

Or potentially drive 40 minute round trip to find out the shop doesn't have the item in stock!
Not all places have some sort of online checking facility.

Even worse is they say "yes, there's a few left" but when I get there, they've all gone.

Sorry, I see you meant in the specifics of dry cleaning...

I did.

Although to be fair, ordering something on line just doesn't have the same instant gratification of walking into a shop and buying it.

 

[VauxhallandI]

Plenty of dry cleaners here, in fact I was only discussing it with one of the owners the other day about how there are too many about to survive.

Maybe they don't call Leeds, Dirty Leeds for nothing!