Where I get my suits dry cleaned in Toronto

There is a popular menswear adage that you shouldn’t get your suits dry cleaned very often. You’ll hear that the harsh chemicals (often re-used many times) will break down the fibres of your suits. Plus, poor quality pressing will flatten the 3 dimensional shape out of your suit and leave it shiny. But what if there are no harsh chemicals? What if the pressing is done carefully and correctly?

I’ll admit that I don’t dry clean my suits much. Partially, I’m concerned about their longevity, but also, since I regularly brush and rotate my suits, they don’t seem to need it. Until I decide to wear one while pouring gravy from a saucepan into a serving dish.

Because I am so stingy with dry cleaning, I haven’t tried every single place in my neighbourhood, much less every place in Toronto. I did immediately rule out anyone that charges too little for a suit (hey $9.99 special, I’m looking at you). A super low price means they have to squeeze the profit out where they can, like re-using cleaning solvents and doing as little hand work as possible.

I used to have a trusted and much loved dry cleaner, Boyd’s, a family-run business that was around for over 6 decades. They took care of my clothes as if they were their own. But they retired and our city lost another connection to small, family-run, quality service.

I decided to try out a new company based on some glowing online reviews: Careful Hand Laundry and Dry Cleaners. They are also family-run, founded in 1929. Right up my alley. So I brought in two pieces: a linen sport jacket and my very best 3-piece bespoke suit. The linen jacket was returned smelling… like nothing, which is what I want. It was also pressed perfectly back into shape.

I was much more concerned about my bespoke suit because it’s the best thing in my wardrobe. I’m very pleased with the results. The suit wasn’t dirty, per se, so I didn’t notice a difference in that department. What I was most interested in was the pressing – I’ve taken a few suits to cheap dry cleaners in the past which came back shiny and flat. My bespoke suit came back shaped beautifully. I always look for the roll of the lapels and as as you can see, they stand out beautifully. There were also little touches I appreciate: Careful insures that your suit is returned on the same hanger you brought it in on. And they don’t staple any tags to your clothes – an absurd and dangerous practice – but instead find an innocuous spot on or off your garment. I have to admit that there was a slight indentation on the front of the ticket pocket. I didn’t notice this when I picked up the suit so didn’t mention it. But I will make sure to ask for extra care next time. I feel assured I’ll get it because after these pieces were cleaned, I interviewed the company’s owner, Brian Chelsky who told me a lot more about the company and their process.

Brian is extremely warm and gracious. He took me through the entire process they use as a way of explaining why you’ll pay more for cleaning at Careful than at your corner shop. He switched over some months ago from the traditional “dry” cleaning chemicals to a more environmentally-friendly “wet” process. This is much gentler than home washing machines, and Brian assured me that garments go in dry and come out dry, despite the wet phase. They are actually put into a dryer that dries to a certain percentage of humidity. The suits then pass through tensioning equipment and are lastly hand-pressed into shape. This is key to me as it insures the proper shape is returned to the suit.

All of this explains the higher cost – a lot more technology and time are invested in each garment. Cleaning of a 2-piece suit starts at $46. While Careful Cleaners have a few locations around the city, I use the one at 206 Dupont Street.