Elite Earth-Friendly Cleaners
Location:
Hours of Business:
Phone:
Web Address:
1019 Cook Street (near Meares)
Mon - Fri 8am to 6pm, Sat 10am to 4pm
381-2221
www.greendrycleaner.com
Chosen for:
Award-winning Solvent-Free Cleaning
Specialists in Vintage Restorations
Generous Interaction with Charities
Grapeviners literally blew in from the rain and cold into Elite Earth-Friendly Cleaners on February 4, 2006. We were surprised by the pleasant aroma and warm, welcoming entry with its inviting burgundy chair and beautiful wool rug. Certainly not your usual drycleaner environment.
Following their Vision to "lead change to transform
a toxic industry", Elite Earth-Friendly Cleaners
has inspired five cruise ships to convert to this
gentle non-toxic method of dry cleaning.
Co-owner Rick Nathorst was helping a customer and seemed startled to have his small lobby suddenly filled with smiling strangers. When we explained that The Grapevine had chosen Elite Earth-Friendly Cleaners best-of-the-bunch for the month, Rick's customer told us: "Elite is a fabulous place. I bring all my cleaning here."
Rick graciously offered us a tour of the plant and boy, did we learn a lot of eye-opening stuff! Whereas regular dry cleaners wash clothes in solvent, toxic-free "wet cleaning" uses a small amount of water to ensure a deeper, gentler cleaning
that allows the garment to keep its shape more easily.
Elite uses a gentle bio-degradable soap that won't harm your clothing, your health or the environment.
Rick showed us the high-end German-made equipment, introducing us to an ironing board worth $15,000! There was also a Miele washer with 99 programs for different fabrics that leaves clothes soft and smooth, and a humidity-controlled dryer that is shrink-proof for woolens without linings.
Elite Earth-Friendly Cleaners provide quality work with lots of extras at a cost comparable to high-end regular dry cleaners. Got a full-length lined woolen coat? The cleaning process includes the use of a special brush that back-combs the wool inside and out to rid it of piling. For $27.50, your coat comes out soft and looking like new! Concerned about dust-mites and other bedding fungi? Elite's process will rid it of critters. Even a down quilt that goes through a 1 hour and 40 minute cycle costs only $27.50 for any size.
With only 1200 solvent-free cleaners world-wide and 15 across Canada,
Victoria is most fortunate to have Elite located in Victoria - the only "wet
cleaner"
on Vancouver Island
We loved Elite's annual Winter Warmth project in conjunction with SPUD (Small Potatoes Urban Delivery). Laurel collected 1.5 tons of good used winter clothing from customers, which was then cleaned in the plant prior to SPUD's distribution to homeless shelters between Victoria, Sooke, Sidney, and as far north as Gold River.
ELITE EARTH-FRIENDLY CLEANERS continues its affiliation with SPUD (www.spud.ca) by offering a free dry cleaning pick-up and delivery to your home (anywhere between Victoria, Sooke, Sidney and Gold River) with a minimum $30 cleaning order.
Wouldn't you like to head into spring with a quilt that smells sweet and is bug-free? Maybe have some restoration done on an heirloom item that's gathering dust in your attic but could be proudly displayed? Or perhaps clean that special dress or suit for an upcoming birthday or wedding...
Specialists in wedding gowns, vintage restoration and other difficult-to-clean garments, Elite Earth-Friendly Cleaners are so confident in their process that they never ask you to sign a waiver for beads, sequins or other delicate ornamentation. It's no wonder they have received an Ethics in Action for Environmental Excellence and a CRD EcoStar Award.