Clean As A Whistle Cleaners

It is with mixed emotions that I write this review. From 2011 through 2013 I lived next door to this business and I thought they were the best dry cleaners I’ve used. Grace and her husband provided excellent service. Upon moving to Streeterville in 2013, I still drove back to the West Loop to use them. That’s how much I liked them.
About a year ago was when the problems started. First, clothes started coming back with really bad chemical odors, like they were cleaned in dirty solution. Then Grace has been absent for some time. I heard rumors of health problems and I hope that isn’t true. Since she has been gone, the quality of service has gone downhill significantly. Now, when you bring in clothes for «same day service» you get bitched out, even though it’s a service that they advertise. They’ve also screwed up basic alterations like hemming a pair of pants. I’ve moved back to the West Loop and will be finding a new cleaner.

Just an update. I received my credit card statement and was overcharged by $ 85 for the awful alterations that ruined my pants. This place is truly terrible please avoid it.

This business was a good find. The staff was very friendly, respectful and patient.
I liked how she gave me a 10% coupon for my drop off.
When I received the clothes back they were clean and pressed nicely. They even used collar stays on my dress shirts.
Living near the united center this is the only cleaner in the neighborhood I would trust.

It’s a Greektown Gem. Super friendly owner, we had great conversation about life. You can see the postcards and memorabilia from the patrons and their families on the wall.
The white jacket I sent for dry cleaning had lacquer stains from a cathedral! She removed it flawlessly, and it came back good as new,
Cash only below a certain dollar amount. Very reasonable prices.

I am amending my original review. The quality of alterations at Clean as a Whistle is actually quite good. Although previously I had an issue with the alternation of my daughter’s school choir dress in which I asked for a temporary hem and that it not be cut in length, I have to say that even with the mistake the quality of that alteration was good. While they did cut the dress, despite my request that it not be cut, the quality of the hemming was good. The choir teacher was not mad about the permanent alteration, probably because the quality was good. So I am rescinding my prior 1 star review. Also I had two skirts altered at Clean as a Whistle and I can attest that the quality was very good. I still wish that she had not charged me for the choir dress alteration since it caused us distress that it was mistakenly cut. But I am willing to give Clean as a Whistle another try since the quality of the work they do is good. You just have to be careful in giving special instructions.

Grace does excellent work and is always friendly and professional. Thanks!

I’ve been using Clean As A Whistle Cleaners for the last 6+ months and have been nothing but pleased with their service and customer care. They are very accommodating with same day requests and all of our laundry (except for one instance, which Grace handled professionally and quickly) has come back looking great, pressed the way we like, creased the way we like, etc. Absolutely no complaints!
I, like another reviewer, was unaware of the $ 15 minimum for credit card use, and when the issue came up for the first time, Grace was very understanding, accepted my credit card payment and asked that I remember their policy in the future. Makes sense.
As to some of the comments regarding the owners being rude or distant, I can only say that I haven’t experienced that personally. Both owners have always greeted me in a pleasant manner and remain professional at all times.

Giving this place a star is being generous. The people were rude and distant. A famous person once said «If a person shows you who they are, you should believe them». They were unprofessional when I dropped off my suit and that attitude continued when I showed up to pick it up. You must bring cash if your bill is under $ 15. They should tell you when you drop of your garments. In any case, they told me to bring cash next time… This is one place that never has to worry about me bringing cash to them since I’ll NEVER go back. My cleaning bill is usually $ 150 a month. I was trying them out since they’re close to where I park for work. Not recommended if you’re any race other than Caucasian. Trust me on this!

I recently moved to the West Loop and sought out a new dry cleaner. Most of the reviews for Clean as a Whistle seemed promising and it was close to my place so I tried it. I was happy with it until they recently lost a $ 200 Theory suit skirt. I brought it to her attention and she checked her records and at first, seemed very concerned. Then when she couldn’t find the skirt, she told ME that I was the one who lost my own skirt and I should be more careful. I should also not blame her for such things, because «that’s not right.» I’m beyond furious and without a very expensive suit skirt. She did not offer any sort of recourse, there was no customer service whatsoever, and am appalled that she had the nerve to tell me that I lost my own clothes. I will never go to this dry cleaners again and I highly recommend that you do not either if you’d actually like to keep your clothes.

Grace is a miracle worker. She’s been my go-​to tailor and dry cleaner for the past 3+ years.
She can be a bit expensive, but she always does a great job. Recently, I tested her super powers on my favorite white silk dress. I managed to get a massive black ink stain on the front and thought it was a goner.
Lo and behold, when I picked the dress up, there was no sign of the stain. Amen, Grace.

I went to this cleaners yesterday. The woman was rude to me. My husband has been going there for several years. She is always nice to him and willing to do complicated last minute jobs. I went in for the first time to drop off a cashmere and alpaca winter long coat — I thought, no problem. It had been in the back of the closet and had spider webs on it, perhaps a few moth holes. She called her husband over; they spoke about it in Chinese — I’ve taken Chinese classes for two years. Suffice to say that which they were saying was not nice, nor was it professional.
After making me wait for ten minutes, she refuses to clean it and tells me to get out because my clothes have bugs. She does this in front of two other customers. I told my husband; he was shocked. He said she is so nice to him.
I should mention that my husband is big blonde, Nordic type; I am African American. What they were saying about my coat had less to do with «bugs» and more to do with that fact that I am black and they think blacks are dirty. I have never been treated with such disdain. I took my coat and three pairs of Uggs to a nearby cleaners; no problem. We will never frequent this cleaners. People who speak languages other than English in front of their predominantly English-​speaking customers should be careful — English-​speaking Americans learn other languages, too, even black people.

I used this cleaners for the past 4 years but will not be using them going forward. The laundering service here used to be very good but has significantly declined. A husband and wife run this shop and if you deal with the wife you generally get excellent service but if you have to deal with the husband you will generally receive very poor service. Everytime I drop off my shirts I ask for heavy starch. If the wife is there she punches it into the computer and I get heavy starch. The husband on the other hand not only seems at though he has difficulty working their computer system but he gives you the feeling as though taking your business is a terrible hassle for him. For the past 4 weeks the wife has not been in the shop in the evenings when I have went to drop off/​pick up my shirts. I have asked the husband for heavy starch each week and each week my shirts have come back with no starch. Everytime I ask the husband for heavy starch, he says something to the effect of «yeah, yeah, yeah», but when he hands me the ticket for my order it doesn’t say any starch on the ticket. So a couple days after the last time that I dropped off my shirts I decided to call during the day in hopes of getting the wife on the phone. I was able to get the wife on the phone I told her that the past few weeks I have been asking for heavy starch and my shirts have come back with no starch. She says OK they’ll take care of it. I go in to pick up my shirts last night and of course the shirts have no starch. The wife was there last night so I tell her that whenever she isnt there I dont end up getting any starch in my shirts and I point out that on the ticket her husband gave me it says no starch, even though I told him (and have always asked for) heavy starch. As apposed to apologizing and saying they will get it right next time, to the detriment of her business, she decides to stand by her husbands poor service and yells at me. I tell her that I will gladly take my business elsewhere.

I took a tuxedo that had been a choir uniform, more or less, to Clean as a Whistle for top-​to-​bottom tailoring. I wasn’t sure if I should take it to them or get a new suit. Well, I pretty much got both. It was as if I brought Grace material and she made a new suit. I got more compliments on this suit than I have ever received on a suit. I can’t even believe what they managed to do. They took nothing and made it look like a million bucks.

I’ve been taking my clothing to Clean as a Whistle for a little over a year now, & I’m always pleased with their service.
I’ve taken a dress to be tailored, & everything from sweaters to dress pants to a homemade quilt to be cleaned. Everything always comes back in great shape & in a timely fashion. The owners are friendly, & the shop is decorated with community posts & family holiday cards which I think is an awesome touch — it really shows how much they value their clients. Prices are reasonable, but I never come out of here with less than a $ 50.00 tab due to the number of items I drop off at a time (usually at least a couple of sweaters & dresses or shirts).
What would bring this place to 5 stars is a loyalty program. I would love to have an item cleaned for ½ price or free every 10 visits — not even every 10 pieces. But every 10 visits it would be awesome to receive a little token of thanks for my business!

The first time I went here I had a fur collar re-​attached to a coat. It was so lop-​sided I could swear they gave it to a hom-​ec student. I took it back and they fixed it, no questions asked. I worked on the same block so I gave them a second chance with same day dry cleaning. I dropped off my wool coat first thing in the morning. I was told to pick it up at 4:30. When I arrived to pick up my coat, she put it in a plastic garment bag, I paid 20 bucks and I was out the door. Upon further inspection, I noticed strands of hair, a small feather, pilling on the lower arms, and something crusty on the collar. All of these inconsistencies were my doing, and I expected them to be taken care of. Then I began to think it was peculiar that she bagged my coat when I walked in the door. They do not do their dry cleaning on site. Like many dry cleaners, they have a local dry cleaning plant that picks-​up and drops-​off the BAGGED garments. Why would they un-​bag and re-​bag my coat? My guess is it never made it to the plant but that’s just speculation. I returned with my coat and suggested that they hadn’t sent it to the plant. The owner scolded me for saying such a thing but I really think she was pissed that she got caught — oops there goes my speculation again…

Grace is the owner. She is wonderful. There are so many places to bring clothes for dry cleaning in the West Loop, but this is hands down the best.
Any reviews you see here that are negative are obviously people who reviewed the wrong place. Typical. Not everyone on Unilocal is as smart as you and me.

The owner is so friendly and personable. She did a great job patching my husband’s suit and re hemming the cuff. They were pressed and looked fresh and sharp!

I am going to keep this review short.
We go to this place and they are awesome. The owners are members of the community and get to know their customers well. Their prices are more than fair and their services are always on par. Turn around times are great– and the very small alterations we have needed have been performed to a nice standard. I have literally no complaints. Recommended.

Anyone who has dutifully stalked my reviews long enough knows that I had a spat with the cleaners on the other side of the block after they put my comforter through the spin cycle with a pack of hungry piranhas.
I have since fallen for this place, and my last pickup cemented the relationship.
$ 20 was left in a pocket. I’m pretty sure at most places, it’d never even be noticed whether it fell out or not. Here, though, the $ 20 was clipped to the hanger and returned.
When I thanked her and commented that most people would have taken it, she responded that it wasn’t hers to take. She’s right, and it’s sad I’ve grown so skeptical of people’s honesty.

The service and attention to detail is why I keep going back to see Grace. I live in Avondale, and work right outside between the Loop and West Loop, so there are many other cleaners I can go to, but she always remembers my name.
I agree with Laura K, that Grace has that warm, personal greeting, and always cheerful demeanor that has me coming back.