(1) DRY CLEANING COMPLAINTS ANALYSED UP TO 6^th MAY 2010
Summary of Problems -

• Irregular light streaking down both sides of both legs in a pair of lady’s fuchsia pink silk trousers, labelled Tengdahl, and care labelled effectively Dry Clean Only (P), but with an incorrect Do Not Tumble Dry instruction, following a recommended first dry cleaning [More]
   
• Enhanced whiteness in a lady’s metal-buttoned white cotton corduroy jacket, labelled Harry Who, care labelled both Cold Machine Washable and Dry Cleanable (P), following a wet cleaning treatment, so that it no longer matches the skirt after the customer also submitted the unwashed matching skirt for comparison – however, the jacket was care labelled both washable and dry cleanable, whereas the skirt was labelled dry clean only and the skirt cannot be washed to be made to match, nor does the customer want this [More]
   
• Apparent very small black marks in various parts of a white silk wedding dress, labelled Brides by Mancini, and care labelled Professionally Dry Clean Only (P), following a recommended dry cleaning treatment and unsuccessful stain removal procedures [More]
   
• Blue discolouration under the arms and low down on both the front and rear of the skirt of a lady’s turquoise silk dress labelled pingpong and care labelled Dry Clean Only, following recommended dry cleaning [More]
   
• Extensive loss of gold glitter from a lady’s chocolate brown silk camisole and jacket (Prism Set), labelled Liz Davenport, and effectively care labelled Dry Clean Only (P), but including an illegal Do Not Tumble Dry instruction, following recommended dry cleaning – the customer brought in the matching uncleaned skirt to show the degree of loss of gold glitter – the whole ensemble was then sent to Liz Davenport in WA where the skirt was ‘test’ dry cleaned by Liz Davenport’s dry cleaner, which was claimed by the WA dry cleaner not to have caused any loss of gold glitter but which the customer disputes and has not accepted and considers that there has been significant loss of glitter in the skirt [More]
   
• Pink discolouration in both underarms and running down the length of the back of a lady’s grey cotton/spandex dress, labelled Farage, and care labelled Cold Hand Wash and Drycleanable (P), following dry cleaning which had been carried out previously without any damage [More]
   
•  Failure of the acrylic backing on an unlabelled cream curtain following dry cleaning – the curtains were care labelled Dry Clean Only but had very stringent requirements specified on a standard, detailed S.F.A.A. care label (shown in full in a previous edition of these reports), including a solvent temperature of 18-20⁰C and drying at 55⁰C followed by drying at 35⁰C [More]
   
• Various press marks clearly caused by their appearance to the incorrect use of an electric hand iron, set too hot and without a press cloth, throughout a Da Vinci UOMO suit jacket but particularly noticeable on the left pocket flap and other areas [More]
   
• Various sized holes on the lower front centre of a lady’s black viscose rayon dress, labelled BCBGMAXAZRIA, and care labelled Dry Clean (sic), following dry cleaning using the Green Earth process [More]
   
• Large blotchy areas of lighter, almost yellowish, discolouration running down the front of a lady’s blue silk dress, labelled Satch, and care labelled Dry Clean Only (P), following an illegal (P) dry cleaning treatment - but using a net bag – the dry cleaner also attempted to remove the discolouration by an illegal and unsuccessful washing treatment [More]
   
• Areas of severe colour loss on the bottom of the left leg near the hem of a pair of men’s brown cotton/elastane trousers, labelled Rodd & Gunn, and care labelled both machine washable and dry cleanable (P), but with a recommendation that dry cleaning be used, following recommended dry cleaning [More]
   
• Black dye run from the black areas into the white areas in a lady’s black and white silk skirt, labelled Manningcartell, and care labelled Dry Clean Only (P), following an illegal (P) dry cleaning treatment [More]
   
• A rectangular-shaped hole surrounded by yellow staining in the middle of the right leg in a pair of men’s light green woollen suit trousers, labelled Helios Homme, and care labelled Dry Clean Only (P), following recommended dry cleaning– the jacket had not been submitted for cleaning but when examined, it also had similar yellow marks [More]
   
• Areas of dark discolouration in the white panels at the top of a lady’s black and white viscose/nylon/spandex/polyester ‘bubble’ dress, labelled S & B – Sass & Bide, care labelled Dry Clean Only (P), following recommended dry cleaning [More]
   
• Shrinkage in a lady’s knitted black rayon/spandex, labelled ella moss, and care labelled Dry Clean Only, following its third dry cleaning treatment, which has been successfully eased out by the dry cleaner to the customer’s satisfaction, but which the customer now considers may recur with future dry cleaning treatments [More]

(2) DRY CLEANING COMPLAINTS ANALYSED UP TO 26th NOVEMBER 2009
Summary of Problems -

• Areas of discolouration on the rear centre of the lining of a man’s grey cotton/silk jacket, labelled Boss/Hugo Boss, care labelled Dry Clean Only (P) following recommended dry cleaning [More]
   

• Shrinkage due to metallic yarn distortion in a lady’s cotton/INOX/silk top and skirt, labelled Lisa Law, care labelled both Hand Washable and Dry Clean Only (P), following a dry cleaning treatment in hydrocarbon [More]
   
• Glue staining damage to the fabric covering the metal buttons, forming part of the neckline trim, as well as to several other parts of a lady’s red cotton/nylon top, labelled Gitane, and care labelled Professionally Dry Clean Only (P), following two recommended dry cleaning treatments [More]
   
• Loss of metallic coating in a lady’s oatmeal-coloured cotton/linen suit, labelled Tuzzi, and care labelled Washable at 30⁰C/Do Not Dry Clean, following a recommended wet care treatment [More]
   
• Severe change of colour from bright white to cream/off-white in the silk bodice of a wedding dress, labelled Pallas, and care labelled Dry Clean Only (P) (30), following unspecified treatment(s) by the dry cleaner – there was also a dark mark on the front of the dress and the crystal trim had been damaged/removed [More]

• Overall whitening and loss of sheen in a lady’s blue silk dress, labelled 'Roula Sarkis', care labelled Dry Clean Only (P) (30), following the second dry cleaning treatment by DC – although the problem was evident over the whole dress, it was particularly visible in the stiffened bodice and the two dress waist ties [More]

• Loss of fur in two particular areas low down on each side near the hem after only light wear in a 'Luisa Cerano' long haired rabbit fur jacket and general ease of fur removal from the whole jacket [More]

• Cracking of the black vinyl piping trim on a lady’s black wool/nylon jacket, labelled 'Sandro-Paris/Unique' and care labelled Dry Clean Only (P), following recommended dry cleaning [More]

• The second case of light brown discolouration on the edges of the bodice lace trim of an 'A R Exclusives, Designers Antulov Raphal' (Perth) cream silk wedding dress labelled Dry Clean Only (P) (40), following recommended DC by a professional cleaner in Perth  [More]

• Localised and geometrical shaped areas of colour loss in a man’s mink brown napped cotton jacket, labelled 'Sportscraft' and care labelled Dry Clean Only (P), following recommended dry cleaning [More]

• Localised and geometrical shaped areas of colour loss in a pair of men’s olive woollen Navigator-style trousers, labelled 'Rembrandt' and care labelled Dry Clean Only (P), following recommended dry cleaning [More]

• Severe bubbling and purple colour run in a lady’s white cotton/nylon/polyurethane jacket, labelled 'Cue', and care labelled Drycleanable (P) and hand washable, following both DC and wet cleaning [More]

(7) DRY CLEANING COMPLAINTS ANALYSED UP TO 29th MAY, 2008:
Summary of Complaints -

• Severe creasing in the skirt of a two-part cream silk wedding dress, labelled 'Vivienne Westwood', labelled Specialist Dry Clean Only, following treatment by DC – examination under UV revealed that the skirt had been either soaked or laundered in a product containing optical brightening agents (OBAs), in clear contravention of the care labelling [More]

• Apparent colour loss particularly along the creases of both legs of a pair of men’s dark blue/grey pinstripe polyester/viscose trousers, labelled 'Matrix', following DC – the problem is caused by an unusual optical effect called bronzing which usually occurs in dark dyed fabrics and varies by angle of view – it is usually more visible from the sides [More]

• Loss of colour on the breast pocket of a man’s soft textured fawn coloured jacket labelled 'You and Me/Uomo', following correct DC, where there had apparently been a food stain – the appearance of the area suggested that it had received rubbing which had damaged the delicate napped surface [More]

• Areas of bright yellow colour loss in both parts of a lady’s orange acetate/viscose suit, labelled 'Saint Germain', following correct DC – some of the areas were geometric in shape and the effect very unusual and it was not possible to determine a clear cause except that dry cleaning is highly unlikely to have been the primary cause [More]

(8) DRY CLEANING COMPLAINTS ANALYSED UP TO 3rd APRIL 2008:
Summary of Complaints -

• Various problems, including stitching breakdown, stickiness in the plastic internal bodice strips (designed to keep the bodice in place?) and shrinkage in the silk outer shell fabric, in a lady’s cream silk dress labelled 'rockchic' following correct DC – there was no evidence that the dress was ever wet cleaned [More]

• Development of small holes in various parts of a man’s black woollen jacket labelled 'Studio Italia' following correct DC, that were clearly caused by insect attack [More]

• Staining/swale marks along the upper front edge of the bodice of a lady’s white silk wedding dress labelled 'Brides Desire' following DC – the affected area fluoresced under UV conditions indicating that it had been treated with a product containing OBAs at some stage, possibly as a pre-spotting treatment, as there was also residual soiling in this area [More]

• Brittleness and blistering in the outer shell of a lady’s black synthetic all-weather coat, labelled 'Steven Kole' following correct DC (coat labelled Drycleanable) – the coating on the underside of the outer shell fabric was severely affected by contact with perchlorethylene solvent [More]

• Severe change of colour in the main outer shell fabric from bright white to cream in a lady’s white floral printed cotton dress labelled 'Bang' after correct DC (garment labelled Drycleanable) – the change of appearance is almost certainly due to loss of optical brightening agent (OBAS) during DC [More]

• Severe damage in the form of two holes near the hem of a lady’s silk skirt with a multi-coloured floral print, labelled 'Milly of New York', following DC.  One of the holes was rectangular (25 mm x 15 mm) and the other was square (2 mm x 2 mm) and both had been cut out so that a possible previous cause of damage was not apparent – the garment had been collected by the customer and then returned with the complaint [More]

(9) DRY CLEANING COMPLAINTS ANALYSED UP TO 28th FEBRUARY 2008:
Summary of Complaints -

• Small dark blue ink-like spots on the shoulder area of an orange lady’s 'Willow' silk/spandex dress developing following correct DC (WA problem) [More]

• Extensive areas of apparent colour loss in a pair of olive-green men’s 'Façonnable' cotton trousers following correct DC [More]

• Development of a yellow tinge in a white lady’s silk 'Matthew Eager' dress following correct DC [More]

• Holes in the seat area and next to the rear hip pocket in a pair of grey men’s 'Boss/Hugo Boss' woollen trousers following correct DC [More]

• Claimed stretching of the bodice of a blue lady’s 'Wayne Cooper' silk dress following correct DC (which the customer ‘fixed’ by sewing in a dart) - appears to be a manufacturer’s problem since DC was correct [More]

•  Stretching/bubbling of the fabric on the left chest/shoulder of a black lady’s 'George Gross' triacetate/polyester dress following correct DC [More]

• Blistering of the fabric and melting damage to the black plastic toggles of a beige and dark grey lady’s 'O’Neil' all-weather style nylon jacket following correct DC (DC Only) [More]

• Loss of brightness and loss of softness in a white lady’s 'Country Road' cotton knitted dress following correct DC [More]

• Claimed fading in the grey lady’s 'G2000' wool/polyester jacket following correct DC. Jacket part of a suit but trousers not cleaned. Trousers submitted for visual comparison with jacket but no discernible difference in shade [More]

• Area of severe pilling on the upper right rear of the right leg of a pair of black 'Boss/Hugo Boss' woollen trousers following correct DC - impossible to determine or even suggest what has caused this damage but highly unlikely to have been caused by DC [More]

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