A collection of dry cleaners’ interesting finds

Dry cleaning 101 – always check a garment’s pockets. A forgotten lipstick or tissue can wreak havoc on an entire load, resulting in dollars of damages in claims. American Dry Cleaner polled its readers in 2015 on their most common ‘pocket finds’, and found the most common items to be things like pens, food and money.

An ‘Other’ category was also named and popular among the respondents. So, what kinds of items fall into this ‘other’ category? Well, as owner operators, I’m sure you have a few ideas.

The stories below were taken from industry friends and unique Reddit finds. While reading, it was hard not to think, “Who are these customers?”

(Names of customers and cleaners withheld to protect the guilty.)

Pickup for Mr. & Mrs. Clyde

While it isn’t uncommon to find a few dollars left in the pocket of a pair of pants, many dry cleaners have experienced windfalls of cash or luxury jewellery.

“I remember when I ran Careful Cleaners in the Kingsway, I found money hidden between the lining of an order of drapes.”

“In the 1980s, my friend and I found $1,200 in cash in the seams of draperies. I guess the dryer shook the bills loose, because when we opened the dryer, there was money everywhere! It felt like one of those game shows where you win what you can catch.”

“One day a woman came into our store and dropped off her clothes for cleaning. When she left, we didn’t notice that she had also left a suitcase on the front counter. Though we tried to get in touch with her, we had little information. Instead, we called the police, and when they opened the suitcase, it was full of jewelry.”

Here’s to You, Mrs. Robinson

When it comes to adultery, it’s likely a dry cleaner will find out about an affair before the spouse.

“I returned a rosary that was in the pocket of one of our male customers. His wife came to the plant and wanted to know why we sent it to her as they were not Catholic. I apologized for my possible mistake. Her husband came in the following day and complained that the rosary belonged to his girlfriend. From then on, he set up a separate account for his girlfriend.”

“I’ve found panties in men’s pants pockets a few times.”

“Before a neighbouring grocery store moved in across the street from our plant, there was a popular tavern/strip club. One of the girls there brought in her leather G-string … nothing in the pockets, but a challenging piece just the same.”

From Mr. Escobar to 007

There’s never a shortage of taboo or illegal substances.

“I found hashish.”

“Cocaine, lots of cocaine.”

“At our Avenue Road location, I found a bullet that fell out of the pocket of one of our valet orders from the hotels we were servicing. The G20 conference was being held at that time and I thought best to report it.”   

“I found a few hollow point bullets in a banker’s jacket pocket. I also found an FBI badge and ID wallet, resulting in getting a frantic call before closing.”

The Tooth Fairy, a Soap Addict, and Mall Cop

And finally, there’s the downright weird.

“I found a small box once with two teeth in it. Apparently the garment’s owner was the Tooth Fairy!”

“Maybe the weirdest thing overall was a receipt for $3,000 worth of soap, just because it was so unexpected compared to what we normally find.”

“The weirdest and funniest thing I ever found was an entire burger in a cop’s uniform pocket. Guess it was a snack for later?”

Can you top these?

Do you have an interesting story? Tell us what you’ve found in your customers’ pockets in the comments below.