Frequently asked questions

Clothes go into water with a biodegradable detergent rather than the solvent a traditional dry cleaner would use. We press the piece afterwards and hand it back on a hanger.

We look at each garment with you and note stains before we start. If a fabric needs a different method, or if it is leather or suede we have not agreed to take, we will tell you at drop-off.

We are at Unit 2a, The Boathouse, Ocean Drive, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1FT, on the waterfront side of town near The Strand. There is parking at the Boathouse.

Call 01634 577066 if you are unsure which unit door to use. You can drop garments in during opening hours, or book a collection if you would rather not drive over.

We are open Monday to Saturday, 08:30 to 18:00, and closed on Sunday.

Drop garments in any time during those hours, and if you ring after we shut you can still book a collection for the next working day.

Yes. We inspect the jacket and trousers, clean them, and press them back onto a hanger.

Tell us about stains and previous repairs when you leave the suit. Leather and suede go through a different process, which we set with you at the counter.

No. We clean with water and biodegradable detergent at The Boathouse, so perchloroethylene stays out of the machines and so does silicone solvent.

Traditional dry cleaning often uses perc, and some methods sold as eco still run a silicone solvent, so we built a water-based shop instead. If a fabric cannot go through that method, we will tell you at drop-off rather than put it through anyway.

Yes. Coats and everyday jackets go through eco dry cleaning, then back on a hanger. Most are back within 48 hours of when we have them.

When you hand the coat over, tell us if the lining has started to come away or if somebody has repaired it before. Marks too. Leather and suede wait for a conversation before we agree to take them.

Empty the pockets, then point out the stains when you hand the garments over and flag anything delicate or already repaired. Nothing starts before we have been through the piece with you.

If we are collecting, leave the bag ready on the day we confirm. Wedding dresses and beaded pieces are better brought in so we can look at them on the table before we agree a method.

Yes. Wash, dry and fold is the weekly bag: household laundry done here and returned folded, not on hangers. A single load is £21.50 for the first 5kg, then £3 a kilo.

Use it for clothes, towels and everyday linen. Separate anything that must not go in a mixed wash, and tell us if a piece should be dry cleaned instead; we will move that item rather than risk it.

Yes. Chatham is on the collection round, and we do the work here in Gillingham, a short run along the waterfront.

Book with a Chatham postcode, or drop the bag in at The Boathouse if that is easier on the day. We confirm the collection day when you book.

Yes, on orders of £45 or more, and there is no charge to book.

Tell us what is in the bag when you book and we can say whether it clears £45. If you would rather not wait for a collection, the counter at The Boathouse takes drop-offs.

Most cleaning is back within 48 hours of when we have the garments. That clock starts when you drop them in or when we collect, not when you submit the booking form.

Same-day work is possible when we can take it; ask when you book. Wedding dresses get their own timescale, agreed when we see the dress.

Fill in the schedule a collection form: name, address, postcode, phone number, the day that suits you and which service you need. Or call 01634 577066.

Leave the bag ready on the day we confirm. We will give you the next collection day for your postcode; published days per town are still being agreed.

A shirt starts at £6.99 and a 2-piece suit at £21.50. Bundles bring those down: 10 shirts for £45, which is the threshold for free collection and drop-back. The full list is on the prices page.

A quote given in person or by phone is the price for that job. If something we could not see turns up, we tell you before we start on it.

Bring us the suit, the coat or the dress you cannot put through a home wash. Those pieces need a clean set for the fabric, then a press back onto a hanger.

A home cycle is one temperature and one spin for the whole load. Call 01634 577066 with the item in front of you if you want a figure before you decide.

You pay when the work is done, not when you drop off. Drop in and you settle at the counter when you pick up; if we collect, you pay when we bring the bag back.

There is no deposit and nothing to pay to book a collection. Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay are all fine, and cash is welcome at the shop.

We take Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and cash is welcome at the shop if you are collecting from The Boathouse.

You pay when the work is done, not when you drop off. There is no deposit and nothing to pay to book a collection.

Yes, for common items: a suit, a coat, a bag of service wash. Call 01634 577066 and we will give you a guide price on the spot.

Wedding dresses, beaded pieces and anything with a previous repair need to be seen before we will give a firm figure. Bring those in, or we can look at them when we collect.

Yes. We collect bed linen and towels after checkout and return them ready for the next guest, on a repeating round if you want one.

Send us your changeover days and collection fits round them. Clothes a guest leaves behind are not part of this; uniforms for cleaners can go on the same account.

Yes. Small hotels and bed and breakfasts can put bedsheets, towels and staff uniforms on a regular account, with linen counted out and counted back.

You get a named contact and a round of your own. Ring us with rough volumes before the first week and we will size it properly.

Commercial linen is usually back within 48 hours of collection, so if you have a same-day changeover, say so when you book.

Either way you get an answer that week, because the round is built around your changeover days, so tell us what they are.

We agree collection days and a site contact, and linen is counted out and counted back. This round is separate from household collections, so changeover days stay predictable.

Missed bags delay that property's turnaround, so a call to 01634 577066 on the morning of the round is enough to skip a week.

Yes. We clean and press service dress, mess kit and everyday working uniform at The Boathouse in Gillingham. Barracks across Medway are on the collection round, and the kit comes back the same way.

Repairs, fittings and alterations can go on the same ticket as the clean. Call 01634 577066 with your unit and what you need back by when.

Yes. We collect from Medway hospital sites and return your personal dry cleaning and laundry. You get a named bag; we bring it back to the same drop point.

Most garments are back within 24 hours of collection when we can take the job that week, and alterations and repairs go on the same account. Call 01634 577066 to set up your first collection.

No. There is no chemical smell on the hanger because we do not use perc or other dry-cleaning solvents.

Clothes come back softer than a solvent clean, and there is nothing to air out before you hang them.

Yes. We set the detergent, movement and temperature for that fabric, not a one-size clean. Silk and suits are the pieces a home wash would ruin.

We look at the garment with you first, and if the fibre, lining or trim needs a different method, we say so then.

Usually, and the fresher it is the better it lifts. Do not wash it and do not iron it first, because heat sets a stain for good.

Tell us what caused the mark when you drop the garment in. We go through every stain with you before we start and say which ones we expect to shift.

Yes. Trainers are cleaned by hand, with the uppers, midsoles, laces and linings treated separately so a canvas panel is not scrubbed like a rubber sole.

Bring them in and we will show you what will lift before we start. Marks that have set into a suede or a knit sometimes stay, and we say so first rather than after.

Yes, by hand, working around the hardware rather than scrubbing over it and doing the lining on its own. What we use depends on whether the bag is leather, canvas or fabric.

Come in with it first. Worn corners and designer finishes change the method, and we agree that with you rather than guess from a description over the phone.

Yes, and it goes through a different process from a coat or a suit, so bring the piece in rather than booking it online.

The hide, the colour and the finish all set the method, and we agree a date with you once we have seen it.

Bring it straight back to The Boathouse, and we will go through the garment with you and agree what happens next.

It does not happen often. We check stains, trims and previous repairs with you before anything goes in, and if a fabric needs a different method we say so at the counter rather than after the event.

We clean in water with biodegradable detergent rather than perc, so clothes come back softer to wear, with no solvent smell in the fabric.

If a particular fabric or detergent is a concern, bring the garment in and we will go through it with you before we start.

Yes, once we have looked at it with you. We check hem dirt, champagne marks and veil fabric first, and because some beads and trims cannot be wet, the quote follows from that.

We agree the timescale then, so the hand finishing has the time it needs. Structured occasion wear waits for that look before we start.

Yes. We wash duvets, pillows and bedding, including king and super-king sizes that will not fit a domestic machine. A plain single is £23.50 and a plain king is £29.50, with feather more than that and super-king priced when you ask. The full list is on the prices page.

Tell us the filling if you know it (down, feather or synthetic) so we choose the right cycle. We cannot safely tumble a duvet with broken baffles; we will tell you if that is the case when we see it.

Yes. We take up hems, close split seams, replace buttons and zips, and take garments in or let them out, all in the same building as the cleaning. A button starts at £5.50, a standard zip at £21.50 and trouser shortening at £21.50, with 10% off when you have three things done. The full list is on the prices page.

We agree the work with you first and clean the garment afterwards, so a new hem comes back properly finished instead of pressed over the old crease. Making a garment from scratch is the one thing we do not do.

Yes. Bring the garment in so we can match the zip and tell you the turnaround before we start.

If the piece also needs a clean, we can do both as one job. You approve the work and the price before anything starts.

Yes. Blazers are usually dry cleaned; shirts and PE kit are usually laundered as a labelled bundle so the set comes back together.

We leave name tapes in place. Tell us the school if you want the bundle kept together through the term, and ask if you want tapes sewn on: we will add them to the same ticket.

Yes, and you can bring in shirts, trousers or linen that are already clean and just need a proper finish. Drop them off in the morning and they are often ready the same day.

If something still needs a wash before it is pressed, we will tell you when you drop it in, because pressing over a mark tends to set it.

Yes. Silk saree, cotton saree, Banarasi saree and Kanchipuram saree all come through here. We open the piece out with you and look at the zari, the beadwork and the way the pleats are set.

We clean in water with biodegradable detergent rather than perc, then finish the pallu and pleats by hand. Blouse and dupatta can go on the same ticket. Walk in at The Boathouse or book a collection across Medway.

Yes, all of them: wedding lehenga, lehenga choli, anarkali, salwar kameez, sherwani. Heavy embroidery, sequins and a layered skirt change the method, and they change the date we agree with you.

Bring the full set in if you can, or tell us what is in the bag when you book a collection. Call 01634 577066 with the event date and we will say when you can have it back.

Yes. Tartan kilt, Prince Charlie jacket, waistcoat and the rest of a Highland outfit are cleaned and pressed so the pleats sit correctly. We look at the fabric and any hire pleats with you before we start.

Academic gown, Irish dance dress and other traditional or ceremonial pieces go through the same way. Drop in at The Boathouse on Ocean Drive, or book a collection across Medway.