Cardinal Cleaners

It is important that you know that the clothing is not cleaned on the premises and it is actually sent out. I found this out the hard way, when I dropped off a very nice laces dress. I asked if she would be able to dry clean without damaging it and she assured me that they would. When I got it back it was snagged in several places and had not been steamed.
The women would not refund my money and thought that it was funny that I wasn’t happy.
Bad service, no value for delicate items, and very unpleasant to deal with.

I rarely leave poor reviews, even after having semi-​unpleasant experiences — I refuse to be ‘that guy.’ But this experience is a special exception. Here’s the gist:
I live in the Eclipse condos (same complex as Cardinal Cleaners), so it’s convenient. I recently purchased a nice suit from J. Crew and needed it tailored, so wallah, I chose Cardinal. Bad decision on my part.
The lady who works there is quite pleasant and very nice. But nice-​ness doesn’t correlate with the ability to properly tailor the sleeves of a suit jacket. When I brought it in, she measured it, marked it, and charged me $ 32.00 (about average pricing).
I returned, tried the suit on, and yep — you guessed it – the sleeves were too long by any standards. Anyone who knows anything about suiting would confirm this. I pointed this out and requested that she fix it. Her answer: 15 dollar fee. Mind blowing — if it’s the tailors error, then the tailor should fix it free of price. But this concept seemed foreign to her, as she persisted to claim that I would still have to pay regardless.
I decided to pay the 15 bucks and get it fixed — paying a total of $ 47.00 simply for sleeve alterations.
Nonetheless, if you are looking to get something tailored/​altered, I suggest going elsewhere. I’ve never had anything dry-​cleaned here, so I can’t offer any suggestions in that regard.
But again, I’ll leave you with this: IF YOU NEED TAILORING, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

I took a women’s suit to be dry cleaned and when I got it back there was a rip in the middle of the skirt that looks like it was actually cut with a razor or a scissors. When I took the skirt back the woman was extremely rude and said that I must have done it myself and would not reimburse me at all.

BEWARE of the EVIL full-​time lady (not the seamstress)! She is very rude — I actually can’t stand going in there anymore.
The location is perfect — right above Harris Teeter and the Eclipse Condo. The ValPack coupon WAS the only reason I used to go; $ 1.10 for mens shirt is not bad (womens prices suck, though).
I just want a simple exchange — I pay money for some clean shirts; instead, I get attitude from this lady. There was one time she told me to «Stop Eating Food» b/​c my coupon expired and I asked her if I could use it. I told her I would come back when the new coupon came in (which happened to be the next day). Even on regular days when I pay for the pickup, she always has something smart to say to me. I dunno why?
The lady is really negative and there are other places which I have used that are much better around Crystal City.
Stay away from here!!!

I am updating my review of Cardinal Cleaners, specifically for their alteration services. I brought in a very simple tank top for them to take up the straps about an inch (which I even pre-​pinned for them, myself), and take 3 inches off of a dress (basic hem). I should have been instantly suspicious when they did not provide me an up-​front estimate of the cost, but since I have used them for years, I did not think much of it. Huge lesson learned for me. Upon picking up my items, I learned that they were charging me $ 22 for the tank top and $ 35 for the dress. This seems egregiously overpriced to me and I will never go back here for alterations. I feel like I have been been fleeced. I do not recommend this place for alterations; if you do, make sure you get an estimate up front and keep the receipt. Buyer beware.
Original Review, ²⁄₂₀₁₀:
I used Cardinal Cleaners for the first time this week, and I had a great experience. All of my clothes were neat, pressed, and well cleaned. They were able to get all stains out of my garments, including deoderant, coffee, and wax (don’t ask). It is simply amazing to me that they were able to get white wax out of a black cashmere dress.
Additionally, I had them fix the hem on a satin Theory blouse, and they did an excellent job — I would argue that the hem is better quality now than when I originally got it ;)
Finally, the customer service was great; the staff seem friendly and competent. Great service

Wow! I thought I was just being picky myself. I too went here as I got the ValPak coupons in the mail. $ 1.10 a shirt laundered isn’t bad.
I wear button up mens shirts daily. I’m very type A and have my closet color coded and like clean and freshly pressed clothes. Just over a buck didn’t sound bad. Well — believe me when I say you get what you pay for. I’ve found the same as the previous poster. My collars have been crinkled up and came back with more wrinkles than when I brought them in.
I have a Rowenta Advancer Iron and Rowenta professional garment steamer but I don’t always have time to precision press everything I wash. I’ve taken items to them 6 different times and it’s getting worse. It took me over an hour to touch up and remove wrinkles from the last 10 shirts I picked up.
I’ve dry cleaned items there as well. Even with a 25% off coupon I was still paying more than many places charge.

Long story short, now I go to the place across from Costco on S. Fern.
I think it should be tough to get a bad rating as a dry cleaning business. I expect:
1) Clean and pressed clothes
2) A little friendly customer service. I mean, besides location/​price, what makes any cleaners or depot special?
I thought this place had the perfect location, being upstairs from the Harris Teeter I frequent. I wear clothes every day that need that professional touch so was taking a large load one or two weeks at a time, picking up the previous load when I got there. I was dropping some serious coin as one of their first few customers after opening the business. I brought coupons that I found in the ValPak that gets mailed out to us urban dwellers once a month.
I know this place outsources the dry cleaning and pressing bit. The lady who works there full-​time is a seamstress and has pointed out when I had lost buttons and needed them sewn back on. But I regularly received back presed shirts that had jacked up collars or uneven pressing across the breast. The first time it happened, the woman took back the shirt for no charge. But the second time, she actually argued with me, saying I didn’t need to look «that nice.» My jaw dropped and I opened up my coat to show her that coming from work, yeah, I looked THAT nice. She snached the shirt from my hands. I’m not making this up!
The very next time I was there, the same woman, taking my coupon with a load going in and coming back to me, pointed out that the coupon was one day expired. It was the first of the month and my coupon had expired on the 31^st. She wouldn’t take it. So I simply took my clothes back, paid and left to her vocal «harumph.»