No Scrubs with Suds

I was trying to think of a witty caption for this blog post and guess what popped into my head? 

No Scrubs. Only by the coolest R&B girl group of all time, TLC.

Because when it comes to doing laundry, I don't want no scrub. 

Grabe, I am laughing all by myself here. Am I the only one getting the reference?

Anyway, I was kind of getting asar with our neighborhood dry cleaning place because they didn't want to take in my embroidered Isabel Marant dress and my beaded Filip+Inna. They were scared to touch them daw, that I ended up taking my dresses to the dry cleaner in Rockwell Power Plant.

My friend Michelle aka My Mom Friday told us she'd brought her laundry to Suds a few weeks back, which had a shop near our place, and so I decided to try them out. 

I figured, if Suds could clean these stuffed blocks that belonged to Berry when she was a baby, my Madewell silk shirt, Uniqlo cashmere cardigan and Marc Jacobs winter coat that was never dry cleaned ever since we left the States, then they get the thumbs up.

Well, I got to hand it to them. I was pretty impressed with the pre-wash service from the get go. 

Their guy really took the time to count the items I bought in, measure the soft blocks, and even inspect each garment for holes, tears, stains and what not.

Unlike my regular dry cleaner who takes note of what I bring in using a checklist pad, everything was inputted into a system. Which was a relief, because soon enough I lost my copy of their service order receipt.

"May picture ako, gusto mo makita?", I asked the guy at the counter as I was about to pick up my dry cleaning.

He answered, "Wag na ma'am, pangalan nyo na lang po?". Naks.

And because I was happy with their service, I have since come back to have our towels washed and disinfected (their washing service includes anti-bacterial treatment), and our duvet covers laundered because it was impossible to get them dry fast enough with our wet season as of late. 

While most of my delicate clothes that don't require dry cleaning are still hand washed by our trusted yaya in charge of laundry, I wouldn't be afraid to bring them to Suds for their Special Wash service. They'd be happy take in delicate or expensive items for dry cleaning/hand washing.

My bill wasn't a shocker too. Total price for getting my top, cardigan, winter coat and soft blocks dry cleaned only cost me a little over Php800. Getting towels and sheets washed was only Php40 a kilo.

To give you a clearer picture on pricing, see here:

No scrubs na talaga with Suds.

Suds Laundry and Dry Cleaning Services is a full service, retail professional garment care and cleaning service company which caters to individuals and institutions. There are a total of 30 Suds stores all over Metro Manila, Cavite and Cebu.

For more on Suds services, click here. For franchising opportunities, click here. For up to date announcements, Like Suds Laundry on Facebook.

ColorWash: Now in The Philippines!

If you've been unable to use your favorite bags and shoes (yes, even athletic shoes) because they've been, well, loved too much, then ColorWash is the place to take them to.

I first stumbled upon ColorWash in Singapore, at Mandarin Gallery, and was impressed seeing all these nylon Prada bags they've cleaned on display, looking good as new. So I bookmarked the store in my head, just in case I had bags that needed to be revived and resuscitated.

Thankfully, now that we've moved back to Manila, I don't need to go back to Singapore to have that done. ColorWash was brought here by sisters Kate & Jen Osmena and they opened recently at the 2nd floor of Serendra (right on top of Mamou), after having spent some time in Singapore being professionally trained to clean and color designer bags and shoes. 

I attended the media launch a few days ago, and Gemma Gil, the founder and managing director of ColorWash, was there to personally talk about her company and their services.

She was also there to personally give consultations on what steps were needed to be done to give our bags and shoes a new lease on life. Daryl Chang of Preview, my cousin Mano's girlfriend, brought along some bags for cleaning and we were super impressed to see with our very own eyes how ColorWash managed to clean her precious bags.

Gemma explaining to Daryl what needs to be done to her Celine Luggage tote

Gemma did a demo on Daryl's Balenciaga Twiggy, cleaning a portion of the bag so we could see the difference. Notice the leather on the left side and how much brighter it looks?

White and cream bags can easily turn to gray with use, and Gemma cleaned a portion of Daryl's vinyl Gucci envelope bag so we could see how dirty it has become. She also pointed out some yellow stains that were a result of color transfer from the leather straps. This usually happens when you store a bag for too long and the straps have been rubbing into the bag.

Impressive huh? We can't wait to see the finished products! ColorWash's cleaning service not only removes the dirt, bacteria, fungus and oil accumulated through daily use and from humid weather, it also includes a disinfecting and deodorizing process to reduce unpleasant odors in bags and shoes. 

Here are more samples of bags they have cleaned, it is quite easy to spot the before and after:

Apart from cleaning, they also do coloring services - to refresh the look of discolored, scratched, and stained leather bags and shoes.

ColorWash also sells cleaning products, so you can continue to care for your bags and shoes at home.

Now, for the service guide and price list, because I know you want to know ;)

ColorWash started in 2003 in Singapore as a shoe care service provider, then called Shoe Wash and Care, offering professional shoe cleaning services. ColorWash has grown beyond Singapore to become a successful international franchise, with outlets also in Jakarta, Hong Kong, and now the Philippines.

ColorWash

2C-17 Level 2 Serendra
Bonifacio Global City
Taguig, Metro Manila
Tel: +632 625 2165

For more on ColorWash:

Visit their Facebook page: facebook.com/ColorWashPH or email hello@colorwash.com.ph