Macon Reporter

A year after the pandemic began, dry cleaning businesses have adapted to keep their businesses afloat.

“I preach the gospel of reinvention,” Dawn Avery, director of media relations for the National Cleaners Association, said, The Center Square reported. “I tell them ... if you haven’t offered pick-up and delivery before, consider doing it now. What about folded laundry service? Do you do that?”

Some are even offering services you wouldn’t expect from a dry cleaning business, Avery told the Center Square.

“We’ve got cleaners who now offer disinfecting services for the home, which is not the usual purview of dry cleaners,” Avery said, the Center Square reported.

Bill Waite, the owner of Waite’s Cleaners in Decatur, said that business is down, but that they expect to see it start going up soon.

“It’ll be May, at least, before we expect to see any kind of uptick. Businesses are starting to reopen, and schools are coming back soon. That will help,” Waite told The Center Square.

Waite said his business was tied to other businesses, like hospitality, which the pandemic has hit hard.

“But it’s the average Joe we cater to,” Waite said, the news media reported. “Those are a lot of the people who got up every day, got dressed up, and went into work, and then they had their clothes cleaned because they wanted to look good.”

Waite said they were deemed essential when the pandemic struck so he never had to close down.

“We’re lucky that way,” Waite said, the news media reported. “And I’m grateful. No matter how bad it is, there’s always someone who’s worse off.”

The National Cleaners Association recently reported that there was a 50 percent decline in Illinois members, the Center Square reported.