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Now, here's your choice this week.

7:38 a.m. -- Bolt out of bed, realizing alarm wasn't set last night! 9 a.m. meeting looming large. Rummage in closet for passably ironed shirt. None! Slap wrinkled shirt on ironing board, scortch back right shoulder! Note to self: Keep jacket on all day!

Alternate Universe
7:38 a.m. -- Bolt out of bed, realizing alarm wasn't set. Reach into closet and extract perfectly finished shirt. Slip it on and forego jacket -- shirt looks too nice to cover up. Not only get back on schedule, but begin to enjoy day, despite rude awakening.

Which universe do you live in? Which would you LIKE to live in? We've got equipment like you wouldn't believe -- and it ain't your mama's ironing board. Read on to find out more. Incidently, who is your mamma? Pedro wants to know.

We've also got a link to an outrageous site about Extreme Ironing! This is one of those things you won't believe until you see it... and even then, you're going to wonder about it.

See you soon!
Jim Nixon
The Cleaners 

Definition of the Week

Extreme Ironing (n.) -- The latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity
with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt.
-- From the Extreme Ironing website.

Extremely Nice Coupon!

This week, treat yourself to the treat of properly finished trousers -- casual or dress -- and remind yourself why there's space in your closet for that iron and ironing board. Have $10 in regular drycleaning done, and we'll clean and professionally finish a pair of trousers at no charge.
(Include first page of this e-mail, including coupon, with your incoming order. Offer expires 10/30/04. Cannot be combined with other offers.)

Extreme
Ironing

A sport you
won't believe!

When is the last time you came across something on the internet that made your jaw drop and your eyes bug out in surprise? For us, it was coming across the site devoted to the sport of Extreme Ironing. Just so you KNOW we aren't making it up, you can click the cartoon at right and go look for yourself. The cartoon is crazy -- but it doesn't hold a candle to the actual photos of people doing Extreme Ironing all over the world!

Extreme Ironing is for extremely... interesting... people. Dare devils have long tried to up the ante with the sports they take part in. But after awhile, it's not enough of a rush to jump out of a plane, vault off a cliff, scale a mountain, or kyack in the open ocean. The thrill is gone.

Enter Extreme Ironing! These folks do their "normal" dangerous sports, and add on the idea of doing it while ironing. Seriously. The goal seems to be to find the most extreme environment in which to press a shirt. We're not sure how they transported the ironing board out to the buoy on the kyack, and we know there's no electricity out there (they bring along a blow torch to heat the iron) but this isn't even the most extreme example from the site. You'll have to see the photo of the guy ironing while sky diving to believe it.

Our Version of Extreme Finishing

There's really no comparison between "ironing" and professional finishing. That's because equipment to properly finish any garment has evolved over time to include myriad intricate and specialized pieces to handle each nuance of a garment.

Sometimes Tension is a Good Thing!

These days, a shirt, dress, jacket or blouse may be processed using gentle tension and warm air blown through the garment to carefully steam out the creases. Don't try that one at home! Manypresses include a vacuum that holds the garment firmly against the all-important pads while the head is lowered to put a perfect crease in a pant leg. (When is the last time you changed the padding on your ironing board? We thought so.)

It's the little things that count.

Almost anybody can iron the smooth back of a shirt. But what about when it's got one of those pleats in the middle of the back? How long are the creases? How do you get them straight?

What about the sleeves and collar? If you wear a jacket over your shirt, those are the areas that will show -- and show any lingering wrinkles. But they refuse to lay flat on your ironing board, don't they? That's why we have machines shaped to handle these difficult areas. A state-of-the-art machine like the one at right can properly press both cuffs AND the collar at the same time. A nice trick, if you can pull it off!

The finishing department of our plant is one of the busiest areas, and also one that requires a great deal of skill. You can see from these sample pieces of equipment that it's not as easy as you might think to work in this department. Our finishers spend a lot of time learning our equipment, getting down the techniques, and then increasing their speed so that they can keep up with the pace required in order to have your garments ready when you need them -- without sacrificing quality.

You might see something in our plant that looks like an iron, but it's not like the one your mama taught you to use. Our equipment blends a precise combination of heat, moisture and pressure, with careful positioning of the garments by the trained staff member operating the equipment.

We invest in our plant, and we're proud of the product we turn out -- garments that make you look good, effortlessly. We'd be pleased to show you around, if you'd like to see what goes on behind the scenes. It's no mystery... just expertise in action.