Phillip’s Cleaners

Phil himself runs the business — I’ve been taking my clothes to him for over four years and he’s always the one there. Amazing job, clothes come back like new. He even takes the time to clip pills off of wool sweaters! Definitely the best in the Capitol Hill area.

DO NOT GO HERE FOR TAILORING EVER! RUINED MY DESIGNER CLOTHES. I’ve been going to Phillip for years, I put up with him berating me about how poorly I took care of my clothes etc. (which I always thought was sort of funny because I take exceptionally good care of my things) and the expensive rates because he did, what I believed was a phenomenal job CLEANING my designer clothes. However, when I recently (against my better judgement) took some minor alterations to him I had a terrible experience. He was gruff as usual, pushed me around while pinning etc. and was SO cavalier about the pinning that I started to doubt his skills. How could he accurately tailor from those pins I wondered? I left them anyway, he had always been so meticulous with cleaning so I hoped for the best. I returned to a Junya Watanabe skirt and Prada dress essentially destroyed. Ill-​fitting, not only was the tailoring request not achieved by they had completely altered the design such that it was unrecognizable. It was poorly sewn, zipper sewn back in off sink so it broke after a few tugs up and down, the entire design of the skirt altered and destroyed when bringing in the waist an inch was what was asked for. Very disappointed and frankly devastated that these pieces are ruined. All the good cleaning in the world doesn’t make up for the horrible alterations and total lack of ownership from Phillip about how badly they turned out. I would never recommend him for tailoring. Phillip continued to tell me straight to my face they were the same, everything was fine etc. but if I was unhappy he would fix it. I left quietly in tears, after a full week he called me, I came in and they were moderately improved but still horrible craft-​personship on the tailoring overall… hem and lining still hanging down and unattached etc. and if to make it worse, the skirt was pilling for all the alterations work they had been attempting… a brand new wool skirt now RUINED! Phillip pressed the silk dress, making the fabric stiff and with a stress crease… it was awful. Again, he sat there insisting the lining was hanging out when I brought it to him (which it was not, it was a brand new skirt handmade in Japan meticulously) and that I was wrong about the errors I was seeing. Again, I left in tears but not after he charged me over $ 100 for all of this horrifically bad work. Looking back I see how unsatisfactory my experience has been all along, I must have drank the kool-​aid before believing he was good but he is actually terrible. DO NOT GO HERE FOR TAILORING or cleaning if you want to be treated nicely. I absolutely recommend against his services.

Beware of PRICE SCAM. Phillip does not post prices. I dropped off 3 pairs of slacks and 4 polo shirts. In San Francisco I would pay $ 35 – 40. Phillip charged me $ 75.

I dropped off clothes that I needed done in two days. I said I’d come Saturday to pick them up before closing time (5 pm). I was told that sometimes they close early on Saturday, like 4 or 4:30 pm, so I made a note of that and told him I would be sure to come BEFORE 4 pm. I got there by 3:45 pm. My clothes weren’t ready and I was told that they’d be ready at 4:30 pm. I reminded the man (Philip?) what he told me, and he denied having said that.
I had taken an über to pick them up and had nothing to do for 45 mins while I waited. When I did get them at 4:30, they were done, and the price was $ 39 for two suits. I requested a discount for the hassle. He was reluctant and clearly irritated, but gave me a 10% discount.

HORRIBLE. I attempted to get pants hemmed and went home to look for someone else. This man is incredibly rude. I explained exactly what needed to be cut and hemmed yet he was was rude and condescending
I don’t expect anyone to be ridiculously nice but at least be respectful! This was incredibly unprofessional and I left disgusted.
On a side note, he could barely understand my perfect American English so beware of getting your instructions lost in translation.

I first came to Phillip for help with a designer leather purse. I somehow managed to melt a hard candy inside the bag and when it rehardened it created quite the uncleanable mess. I first thought it would have to be sent out at significant cost, but Phillip thought he could take care of it in house. And that he did, at a fraction of what it would have cost to send out for specialized care; my bag looked like new when he handed it back to me.
Since then I have gone to Phillip for all of my dry cleaning needs. I had one blouse with a lot of bead work that started to fall apart. Without my even asking him to he resewed/​reinforced all of the beads. I brought my husband’s coat in just for cleaning with the belief that this next year would be its last due to intense pilling, and he told me he needed an extra day with it and he would take care of the pilling. I trust this man to truly care for my valued garments.

I dropped off a couple of shirts and some pants and asked for a «rush job» which I guess means a week. I had to come back a 2^nd time for a pair of pants they didn’t wash with the others. So overpriced. And the entire time he kept talking about how difficult everything I asked him was. This is your job. I don’t mind paying extra for a rush job, but you should be able to do it. Will never go back again.

I brought in a dark blue shirt, and the owner spent several minutes explaining why it should be dry cleaned instead of laundered. Repeatedly explaining how laundering will fade the shirt. Fine, I’m okay with that. The next time I bring in the shirt, I ask to dry clean. He gives me this look like I just told Michelangelo his mural needs more green and says «I will decide what is best for your shirt.» Then why the hell did you waste my time «teaching» me how to care for my clothes? I will get my shirts «dry cleaned» somewhere else, thanks.

Great dry cleaner and great service. I’ve had dresses, suits, and even a quilt dry cleaned with high quality and reasonable prices. I’ve tried a few other dry cleaners in the area and have not had near to the quality that I have had here. Clothes were well ironed, tailoring was spot on, and the dry cleaning is organic, so its better for the environment too.

Good for middle of the road clothes, but will destroy delicate fabrics. You’ve been warned.

Clothes were ready when they said they’d be, but were ridiculously overpriced! Won’t be going here again.

Called for a quick last minute alteration. The man who answered was rude and short on the phone. If you don’t want business, don’t answer your phone.

Philip is the best! In addition to regular dry cleaning, he has saved me from horribly frumpy and ill-​fitting bridesmaid dresses, tailored my rehearsal dinner dress so that it fit perfectly, repaired various rips and holes, and re-​sized my husband’s wool coat so that it doesn’t look like a riding cape.

Over priced. Rude service. Items were not ready when they said they would be. No apologies. No discount. Going elsewhere.

Phillip is my go-​to dry cleaner. I can always count on him for speedy, yet good quality service. I had quite a bit of alterations done on some wardrobe staples after I lost some weight, and they all fit beautifully and were cleaned and pressed at pickup less than a week later. Phillip is always there in the shop, a true awesome small business owner that I am proud to support, much more than some big ol chain/​franchise cleaner. He’s also super personable, lives locally, and always remembers my name and the little details about my travels and hobbies (which is awesome considering he’s probably got so many clients!) You can tell that he truly loves his work, and is passionate about clothes and style and fit. I don’t go anywhere else.

I have mixed feelings about the dry cleaning I got back. While everything looked well ironed, the stains on my silk shirt were still there. My husband’s sweater still smells of his aftershave.
Also, I ran into condescension & rudeness at the front desk while I was dropping off the stuff & asked how much dry cleaning 10 items was likely to cost me. ‘Call us back later & we’ll tell you’ is what the dude at the front said. When I said I needed to know right away it took him less than 30 seconds to run up a quote. The cost of dry cleaning 10 items was $ 95 & it take 4 – 5 days before you can pick them up.
This seems like a mediocre dry cleaner’s with the attitude & prices of a French haute couturier & the back bone of an eel. I’ll be exploring other options.

I had a problem with an outfit where the fabric had become stretched out where it met another type of fabric along the seam lines. This meant that the fabric bunched up and looked «lumpy» where it wasn’t sewed down.
I was afraid it was hopeless, but Phillip diagnosed the problem. He suggested that everyone steams when they see what looks like «wrinkles,» but that just makes things worse. He cleaned it, hand pressed it, rested the fabric for a day, and repeated. Although I didn’t realize at the start that it would take almost 2 weeks, the results were FANTASTIC– the problem was substantially improved. Had I gone elsewhere, I’m sure they either wouldn’t have bothered trying, or would have washed and pressed it once and called it a day. Phillip was persistent.
Even though I didn’t know how long it would take, I got the «vibe» early on that this was someone who knew his trade and to give him my trust and a wide berth. I don’t think someone with Phillip’s experience wants or needs an excessive amount of direction, multiple phone calls harassing him, etc. In other words, if you’re in a rush and someone who needs to «drive the bus» on exactly what, exactly how, exactly when, etc., it might not be a good match. However, if you don’t mind deferring to experience, are collaborative, and appreciate someone who is thoughtful and methodical, work with Phillip. He’s a skilled problem solver.

I get a lot of things tailored (one of the perks of being 4’11″) and this was one of the more annoying experiences I’ve had. All I wanted was for a pair of jeans to be hemmed and the legs slimmed a little. Simple, no?
No.
Originally Phillip only pinned one hem, and when I asked him to do both he got huffy and told me it wasn’t necessary. Uhm, sorry Phillip, but it’s very necessary when one of your legs is longer than the other. I can’t be the only person with this quirk, right? RIGHT? Please don’t make me feel like a freak AND a nag.
But even worse was his response when I explained that I wanted the legs slimmed. He told me it wasn’t possible, just flat out couldn’t be done. Wait, what? I hate to make a liar out of you Philip, but… you’re wrong. In fact, I’ve since taken the jeans elsewhere and had them slimmed and I’M WEARING THEM RIGHT NOW. They look fabulous, thanks for asking.
Maybe this place is a decent option for dry cleaning, but if it’s alterations you need then I’d recommend taking your clothing to a tailor with more experience and less attitude.

I went here a while back to dry clean some suit trousers. I got the dry cleaning back on time. The pants look like they were clean. The cost was $ 16 and it was pretty reasonable. The gentleman working the counter was nice enough. Everything seems pretty standard, so perhaps I need to come back with some ultra difficult stain and see Phillip works his magic to fully appreciate this place.
Either way, I tried to drop off some dry clean here this past Monday at 12, only to find the place closed. It said it’s open Mon-​Sat 7 – 7 and I saw no explanation anywhere on the door that the place was going to be closed. I was a bit disappointed. If they take off for lunch, perhaps the business hours should reflect this.

My go to dry cleaner! It’s close, convenient, and the service is the best! I’m so happy I’ve found Phillip’s Cleaners because I always leave satisfied with the service. The owner is always here and is super nice and friendly.
I’ve had a variety of clothes cleaned here — dresses, blouses, dress pants, jackets, coats, synethetic down comforter, and even a racing suit. The owner pays attention to special fabrics and talks me through how he plans to clean my stuff. When I brought my comforter, he explained how it’ll take a long time to dry, so he’ll lay it out, and carefully looked at the fabric, and felt the stuffing. Another time, I brought in a silk dress that had ketchup stains… he analyzed it and talked to me about the different ways he could clean it and how it would affect the vibrant teal color of the dress. He pays special attention and shows that he cares about how well I take care of my clothes (he scolded me for the ketchup stain… nicely of course) and how he’ll treat my clothes. I would recommend this place to anyone in the First Hill /​Capitol Hill area seeking a reliable dry cleaner.