Dry cleaners in DubaiPicked up free, back on a hanger within 24 hours

What Dubai sends us to dry clean

Meeting suits from the towers, abayas in crepe and georgette, kanduras white for summer and wool for winter, sherwanis after a wedding and coats packed for a trip. Open any piece to see what we check on it and what to do before it's bagged.

Office tower wardrobe · Two-piece meeting suits

A suit for the DIFC desk

The pair goes through together for AED 75. Walk from a car park at 43°C into an office kept cold, and the lining soaks up sweat that dries in, so a suit can smell tired before it looks it.

We go to the armholes, the inside of the collar and the back of the trousers before anything else. Through June to September, a clean every few wearings stops that salt from stiffening the cloth.

• Both pieces cleaned as a set
• Lining and armholes looked at first
• A clean every few wears in summer

Office tower wardrobe · Blazers and odd jackets

Just the jacket

Send a jacket without its trousers and it's AED 52. The chest and shoulder canvas keep their build because the jacket is never wrung or thrown about in a hot drum.

Pat every pocket. A fountain pen or a lip balm left in the breast pocket can melt in a parked car and come through to the front.

• One line on the list
• Shoulders keep their build
• Lip balm and pens out

Office tower wardrobe · Work trousers

Trousers on their own

Trousers by themselves are AED 23. The centre line goes back in razor sharp, or not at all if that's how you wear them.

Turn the turn-ups out over the kitchen bin first. A Friday on the sand at La Mer leaves more in there than you'd think.

• Centre line or none
• Turn-ups emptied first
• Hung by the cuff

Office tower wardrobe · Ties, plus waistcoats

Waistcoats, ties and the small things

A waistcoat costs AED 16 and a tie AED 16. Both catch a drip of karak at a working lunch, and dabbing silk with a wet tissue only drives the ring wider.

Leave it alone and tell us what landed on it. Slip the knot out of a tie before it goes in the bag, or the fold sets like a crease.

• Waistcoat and tie each priced
• Don't dab the silk
• Untie before bagging

Kanduras and ghutras · White summer kanduras

Keeping the white bright

Each kandura is AED 15. Emirati kanduras have no collar, so the work goes into the neckline, the cuffs and the long tassel, which picks up perfume oil and the odd drop of coffee.

Yellowing at the neck builds slowly through a hot summer. Send them while the mark is new rather than after months in the cupboard.

• Neckline and cuffs first
• Tassel checked for oil
• Send before yellow sets

Kanduras and ghutras · Winter wool kanduras

The darker wool ones

Coloured wool kanduras come out when the evenings cool, and they're on the same line at AED 15. Wool doesn't like heat and friction, which is why it goes to dry cleaning, not a hot wash.

At the end of the cool season, have them cleaned before they're put away. Sweat and food left on wool through a humid summer is what moths and mildew go for.

• Same kandura price
• No hot wash for wool
• Clean before you store

Kanduras and ghutras · Ghutras and shemaghs

Ghutras and head cloths

A ghutra is AED 10. The band that sits against the forehead takes the sweat and hair oil, so that strip is worked on before the rest of the cloth.

Fold it in four and lay it flat on top of the bag. Crushed under heavier pieces, it needs a lot more finishing.

• Forehead band treated first
• Folded flat on top
• Finished crisp

Kanduras and ghutras · Sirwal and men's kurtas

What goes under, and alongside

A sirwal is AED 40 and a men's kurta AED 15. Bag a sirwal with the kandura it's worn under and they come home as a set.

Pull the drawstring out of its knot first. A tight knot left in during cleaning is a pain to undo after.

• Each on its own line
• Bagged with the kandura
• Drawstring loosened

Abayas and jalabiyas · Crepe and nida abayas

The everyday abaya

A plain abaya is AED 18. Foundation at the neck, perfume under the arms and a dusty bottom edge from the walk across a mall car park are what we usually find.

Black that's scrubbed hard turns rusty. We clean gently so the colour stays deep and the drape still swings.

• Neck, arms and edge checked
• Black kept black
• On a hanger, not folded

Abayas and jalabiyas · Light-coloured abayas

Beige, white and pastel abayas

Pale abayas in cream, sand or white sit on the same plain line at AED 18 unless they're embellished.

Pale georgette shows every make-up smudge and sand mark. Point to them when you book so they're worked on first.

• Same price as plain black
• Make-up marks flagged
• Treated before the clean

Abayas and jalabiyas · Abayas with stones or lace

Beading, crystals and embroidery

An abaya with crystals, lace panels or embroidery is priced as delicate at AED 45. It takes longer, and the trim is shielded while it's cleaned.

If a stone is hanging by a thread, say so on WhatsApp so it's noted on the ticket before anyone touches it.

• Delicate price line
• Trim shielded
• Any loose stone logged

Abayas and jalabiyas · Jalabiyas and women's kurtas

Jalabiyas, women's kurtas

A jalabiya is AED 26 and a women's kurta AED 31. Embroidered necklines and printed cotton that might run are what we look at first.

Henna on a sleeve after a gathering? Tell us. It's a different mark from food and is treated differently.

• A figure for each
• Necklines looked at
• Henna marks: tell us

Weddings, Eid and evenings · Gala and brunch dresses

After the gala or the brunch

A formal evening dress is AED 75. A hotel dinner in Downtown or a long Friday brunch tends to send it back with something spilled down the skirt.

Lay it over its hanger loosely in the bag. Squashed under a coat, a long skirt arrives with creases it never needed.

• Spills treated first
• Lay it loosely
• Finished under a cover

Weddings, Eid and evenings · Beaded and layered gowns

Sequins, tulle and heavy beading

Gowns in complex material, with sequins, beading or layers of tulle, are AED 95 and can take longer than 24 hours, depending on the gown.

Wedding gowns have no line on the list. Send a photo on WhatsApp and you'll have a price before it's booked.

• Own price line
• Can need longer
• Wedding gowns: photo first

Weddings, Eid and evenings · Silk saris

Silk saris with zari

A sari is AED 61. Several metres of silk or georgette with a metallic border, so it's kept flat and never twisted.

Strong dyes on silk can move if water reaches them. If you've already dabbed at a mark, say what with.

• Kept flat
• Zari border protected
• Tell us what you tried

Weddings, Eid and evenings · Wedding sherwanis

The groom's or the guest's sherwani

A sherwani is AED 61. Most come in the week after a wedding, with a food mark on the front and a damp collar from a long night of dancing.

Heavy thread work is finished around, not flattened. Show us any loose stitching when you book.

• Thread work protected
• Party marks lifted
• Loose stitching noted

Dresses and work separates · Workday dresses

Viscose and crepe day dresses

An everyday dress is AED 45. Viscose and crepe can shrink a size in a home machine, and the label usually knows it.

Sunscreen leaves a greasy grey line along straps and necklines. Flag it and it's treated before the clean.

• Priced per dress
• Sunscreen lines treated
• Belt stays with it

Dresses and work separates · Blouses in silk or chiffon

Blouses that say dry clean

A blouse is AED 18. Silk soaks up sweat, skin oil and perfume, and in a humid August the underarm marks deepen quickly.

Mention them when you book. They're worked on by hand before the main clean, which is when they shift best.

• Per blouse
• Underarms worked first
• Hung to finish

Dresses and work separates · Pleated and lined skirts

Pleated and lined skirts

A skirt is AED 23. Pleats take the time, and each one is set back into its line by hand.

Keep lined skirts out of the washing machine. The lining and the outer cloth rarely shrink at the same rate.

• Pleats reset by hand
• Lined skirts belong here
• Hung up again

Dresses and work separates · One-piece jumpsuits

One-piece jumpsuits

A jumpsuit has its own line at AED 36, not a dress price. It's cleaned whole and finished top and bottom.

Close the zip before bagging so the teeth don't snag the silk next to it.

• Its own price
• Cleaned whole
• Zip closed to bag

Coats for travel and winter · Wool coats, long and short

Before or after the trip abroad

A coat is AED 66 and a longer overcoat AED 76. In Dubai they mostly come out for a trip to colder places, then go straight back into the wardrobe.

Have them cleaned before they go away. Food and sweat left on wool through months of heat invite moths.

• Clean, then cupboard
• Cuffs and collar checked
• Returned hung

Coats for travel and winter · Padded and heavyweight coats

Padded jackets and heavy overcoats

A heavy winter overcoat is AED 251 and a padded winter jacket AED 181. Both carry plenty of wadding and yardage.

Read the care label. Some padded jackets are made to be dry cleaned and some to be machine washed, and we follow the label.

• Own price lines
• Care label checked
• Ready for the next flight

Coats for travel and winter · Lightweight jackets

Light jackets for desert nights

A jacket that isn't part of a suit is AED 74. Think of the layer you throw on for a cool January evening at a desert camp.

Leather and suede need a different process. Message us before one goes in the bag.

• Non-suit jackets
• Suede or leather? Message us
• Covered on its hanger

Coats for travel and winter · Wool jumpers and hoodies

Knits that shrink

A sweater is AED 35, a pullover AED 45 and a sweater or hoodie AED 38. Heat and rubbing felt wool, which is why the label asks for dry cleaning.

Fold knits into the bag. On a hanger their shoulders stretch.

• Three knit lines
• Wool stays soft
• Folded to bag