Saving green and going green with Morningside dry cleaning offerings

As spring approaches, students may want to dry clean all of their heavy winter coats before they pack them up for storage. After all, who would want to discover a ketchup-stained white peacoat right before next year’s first snowstorm hits, right? Luckily, Morningside Heights has a variety of dry cleaning and alteration services for the student budget.

Ye Olde Cleaning Shop (Amsterdam Avenue between 119th and 120th streets) offers a 10 percent discount for Columbia students on the condition that they spend $10 or more. Dry cleaning on a button-up shirt costs $6. Wash-and-fold service, a handy alternative to those unreliable laundry machines in the residence hall basements, is $1.25 per pound. Tailoring is also available at a minimum charge of $16.

For slightly cheaper tailoring, the minimum charge for alterations on a piece of clothing is $12 at Bon French Cleaners (Broadway between 112th and 113th streets). Additionally, wash-and-fold service is offered for the cheaper value of $1 per pound.

For the eco-friendly at heart, Cleanport (Broadway between 98th and 99th streets) offers organic dry cleaning services in addition to tailoring. Wash-and-fold service, like at Bon French Cleaners, runs at $1 per pound—although the walk to get there is a few blocks farther. Women’s shirts cost $7 per piece to dry clean, while there are two options for men’s shirts: traditional wash-and-press at $2.25 per shirt, and hand-wash and press at $6 per shirt. To hem a pair of jeans, the regular price is $12, but it’ll cost students $20 if they want the original hemming.

Budget-wary students may wonder if organic dry cleaning is worth the extra money. It is important to note that the use of the word “organic” in terms of dry cleaning is not regulated. Organic can mean one of two things: Either the dry cleaner doesn’t use the common chemical perchloroethylene, or the dry cleaner operates in an environmentally responsible manner. Cleanport claims to use both biodegradable organic solvent and to have no risk of ground contamination.

So for wash-and-fold service, the budget-friendly and environment-friendly option is Cleanport at $1 per pound. For bulk dry cleaning, students should venture to Ye Olde Cleaning Shop for the 10 percent discount. For cheap alterations, Bon French Cleaners is the most affordable option.