Gordon Shaw has been hanging the competition out to dry by combining quality service and a non-traditional method of cleaning his customers’ clothes. The owner of Downtown Hangers Cleaners uses pressurized carbon-dioxide washing machines rather than conventional machines that rely on the chemical solvent perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc.
According to a September 2006 issue of Professional Safety, the Environmental Protection Agency considers perc one of the 187 pollutants that poison the air, leading to serious health problems such as cancer. Carbon dioxide, however, is not only environmentally friendly, but is found in thousands of restaurants in San Diego, according to Shaw.
“[Co2] is the same stuff that’s in your Coke,” he said.
Shaw has been in the dry cleaning business for 28 years and first heard of using Co2 in 1995 while attending an industry trade show. He said he was the first to bring the new technology to San Diego when he opened the Hangers Cleaners in 2001.The benefits of using the Co2 method, according to Shaw, outweigh the extra costs of operating the more expensive machine.
Co2 becomes a liquid when pressurized between 750 and 850 pounds per square inch (psi). At this pressure, Shaw can clean garments at a lower temperature, 60 degrees, rather than a steaming 150 degrees with traditional machines. This difference in temperature is gentler on more sensitive fabric, such as sequence and cashmere, which keeps clothes looking newer, longer, said Shaw.
The new technology also reduces the inconvenience caused by using old perc machines.
“I had no idea how many people had sensitive skin,” he said. “One man spoke to me for an hour about how he had to hang his clothes in his garage for 2 weeks before he could wear them.”
This is part of the reason customers are willing to pay the extra cost, which is about 30 percent higher than a regular dry cleaner. A Co2 machine costs about $100,000 more than a perc machine, he said.
Shaw has opened locations in the Marina District, Mission Valley and Torrey Hills, where he says people are usually willing to pay for the extra care his 28 employees put into each cleaning.
“We’re handling something that means a lot to people. You think of your favorite shirt “” whoever has it better do a good job,” he said.
Since learning about and using the environmentally friendlier technology, Shaw has been an advocate for legislation benefiting dry cleaners who switch over to Co2 systems and he testified in front of a U.S. congressional subcommittee on the subject. Shaw has won numerous business awards, including San Diego County’s only 2001 Clean Air Award in “Recognition of his Outstanding Contribution Implementing Innovative Clean Air Technology,” according to his website www.hangerssandiego.com. For more information, visit the site or call the downtown store at (619) 233-5000.