Blue Orchid Cleaners

Stay away, they messed up our Down jackets, they don’t know what they are doing, they charged us special price since these items were down and messed up the fluff! We won’t go there any more!

My new dry cleaner, for sure.
I took a stained sweater here after a previous store in the area had failed to remove it… They took care of it no problem!
The visual esthetic of the place is so much brighter, cleaner, happier, enjoyable than other cleaners. Made the stress of the whole experience (almost) worth it.

First off they are expensive as hell. I normally don’t do the dry cleaning but was happy when I dropped it of and it looked affordable. The receipt said $ 21 when I got there they charged me $ 48 and got offended when I asked about the discreperancy. Sending the wife from now on

Best place in Arlington, hands down. I have tried them all.

After trying many DC area dry cleaners I found Blue Orchid and have been going there for years. First, the staff is great. Friendly, helpful and easy to work with. I travel for work a lot and often need my clothes back quickly and they are very accommodating.
The quality of the work is good as well. After several years, I have never had any clothes damaged or lost.
The only downside is that they are not very attentive to little details. At my old dry cleaner, if they saw a button was missing or broken they would automatically replace it. Or if a hem was coming undone they would repair. Blue Orchid only does this if you specifically ask. I have had a few shirts come back with broken buttons (very normal after a few cleanings) and I have had to take them back to have the buttons replaced (they have never charged me for that). This seems pretty normal for DC area dry cleaners, very few go above and beyond.
Overall, I think they do a great job and I trust them very much. I will continue using them and enjoying my chats with the wonderful folks who own the store.

First off, Blue Orchid isn’t exactly cheap. For me though it’s near home and convenient to be able to walk there. I have a cleaners I like a couple of miles away, but have ended up coming to this one several times and hoped to build a relationship there and support a neighborhood business. Then, this happens…
My girlfriend and I brought about a hundred dollars worth of clothes there a few months back. When we went to retrieve them my girlfriend went in while I waited in the car, and because she didn’t have cash we were up charge 10% on the bill. So after waiting awhile, I came in to resolve the situation.
The first thing I noticed was that two of the shirts that I sent in we’re not cleaned. They have some sort of soap marks that another cleaner was able to handle in the past. I explained it to her when I dropped them off, that if they have a problem with cleaning them don’t bother, and at one point I actually told her I didn’t want them cleaned and will just take them home or to the other cleaners. The owner told me no don’t worry, we’ll do our best and told me to leave them with her.
Now I found that they were not cleaned yet they were on the bill that we’re having such trouble paying. I told her the shirts were worth $ 20 and she’s charging me 5 dollars each for something she was not able to accomplish and that I’d have to go somewhere else and pay again to get them cleaned. She got very irritated and started to talk loudly.
When I said I’d refuse to pay for that part (and reminder this is on about $ 100 bill,) she got a very irate and started yelling at us and telling us we’re making up stories. I had told her we’d gone there several times in the past and she said we were liars because there is no records (when my girlfriend had mentioned in the beginning that we’d been good customers there, she had apparently checked her records and not found my girlfriends name… Really, she checked on this big story of ours. Really?). I explained that the record would be under my name and not my girlfriends and that I’m not lying and that she could check.
There was no apology there was no resolution she just told me to pay and it seemed as if she was going to call the police if we didn’t pay the full amount, even though as I pointed out again she had failed at her task to clean something, which I thought was what I was paying her to do.
After more agitation from her i said we were leaving and never coming back and I’ll give her the money. Because I was now angry and wanting to leave, I ended up using a credit card even though she added the 10 percent on top of the entire bill (including the items that were not cleaned). I know this is very drawn out but I wanted to explain the situation. There were more details and more calling us a liars about 4 times, but it’s just too upsetting to try to remember everything about it. Again, this was a few months back. All of this on top of being about 10 to 20 percent more expensive than other comparable cleaners in the neighborhood, and I don’t see why anyone would go here. My recommendation: avoid!

I’ve been going here for a few months now. I rarely write bad reviews, but do not go here. Twice I have had my favorite shirts destroyed without an apology or anyone taking responsibility. Their claim both times (by the same lady) was «your shirts are old». Do they offer to fix it? No. Do they offer to pay for it? No. Do they offer to even give you a discount on dry cleaning? Ha! No. I’ve been dry cleaning for ten years and never had a shirt damaged until it happened TWICE in a few months at this place. I gave them a second chance after the first one, but what irks me most is that NO responsibility is taken of any kind and they simply put all the blame on you by saying «your shirt is old!!!» (Even though it’s not!). You’ve been warned. Don’t go here. They destroy clothes, take no responsibility for their actions, then are rude about it. Others have experienced the same — see the photos.

My husband and I have been going to Blue Orchid since it opened, so this review is for a sustained period of going to Blue Orchid.
My husband drops off his shirts on the average of once every two weeks and Jenny has always taken great care with getting them clean and starched. I really appreciate the attention to detail, looking at each shirt and finding the stain spots, which we don’t always remember about. We’ve not had any problems with missing buttons or ruined shirts, every one has been ready-​to-​wear when we pick them up!
Blue Orchid has also tackled some of the most difficult items for me.
My pink wool coat: I have had this coat for 5 or 6 years and never dared to get it cleaned because it has faux fur on the cuffs and the wool was so soft and nice. I didn’t trust anyone to clean it. After 4 winters, it was time to get it cleaned… it was not pink anymore. I took it to Jenny and a week later, that coat was pink again, like new. And better yet, the faux fur and the wool was still soft. (Yeay!)
My sister’s wedding dress: my sister’s wedding dress was never cleaned after her wedding, where someone spilled beef au jus all over the front…10 years ago. Now my other sister wanted to use it for her wedding. I brought it to Blue Orchid, and, two weeks later, it came back completely cleaned. It is completely white, pressed and perfect. I don’t know how you get out a 10-​year beef juice stain, but Blue Orchid was able to do it.
I also want to say, «Thank you» to Jenny (the owner) because during those 2 weeks, she kept me updated on the progress. Originally, she estimated it may take 1 week, but, since the stain needed extra love, it took a little longer. I appreciated her keeping me up to date, so I could plan accordingly.
I have also gotten tailoring done… just dropped off my bridesmaid gown and in the past I have brought in several pairs of slacks… always great results!
Blue Orchid Cleaners is a great addition to our Rosslyn neighborhood. I highly recommend going to them!

I have been using Blue Orchard since 1990. They are the best. Friendly. Reliable. Extremely pleasant. Jenny the owner is wonderful.

Maybe it was just me but I had a really bad experience. I took a few clothes for tailoring and dry cleaning. When I took more clothes I was happy to see some of the tailoring was done ahead of time. They told me to come the next day for the rest. I went the next day and they did not have it. They said come tomorrow and this went on for a few days. I finally got my clothes but they made me waste so much time! They did not do the best job in the world either on the tailoring. It was uneven. The dry cleaning was perfectly fine though.

My first time visiting Blue Orchid Cleaners I needed a dress altered ASAP and they came to my rescue. Not only did they turnaround my request so quickly but they were very nice and accommodating! I didn’t realize this place existed by my office until I searched for a cleaners on Unilocal.Will definitely be coming back.

Blue dye rubbed off of my blue leather purse onto my linen dress :(
I was walking around the city for a few hours on a warm day, holding the purse on my shoulder, so the great combo of sweat and blue dye was a death sentence to the dress, I was afraid… but Blue Orchid got it out :)

I used to come here all the time because it was in my ex’s neighborhood and it was super convenient for both of us to come here. I overlooked the poor cleaning service for the convenience. The lost buttons, the damaged zippers, the snagged sweaters. But when a shirt came back with two significant tears and NO apology, I vowed never to come back. If you’re looking for a new dry cleaner, do NOT come here!

I’ve just moved to the area and am trying to find a good tailor/​cleaner. I’m short so I get all of my pants/​skirts/​dresses hemmed.
To start, they had my 3 items for a full week. 1 dress to get hemmed, a shirt that had a small hole had to get fixed and cleaned, and a pair of jeans to get hemmed. When I went to pick them up on the agreed upon date, they weren’t ready. While I looked on, they searched through a bag of clothes to find my dress all crumpled in the bottom. They hung it and gave it to me to take home. Gross.
I took in an expensive pair of jeans and said that I’m happy to pay for the original hem to be re-​attached ($ 3 more) but I wasn’t too picky as long as the pants don’t look hemmed. When I picked them up, she had hemmed them but hadn’t pressed them at all, creating a bubble at the bottom. Typically, a tailor will press the hem until it looks like an original hem or at least until there’s a sharp crease. She took an iron to it for about a minute after I complained but basically said that I needed to wear the jeans a couple of times and it’ll start to look normal. She also blamed the bubble on the length of the hem. It’s all crap really, I’ve had the same hem (pretty much the same exact jean) done before in Chicago and was happy with the end product.
She still charged me full price ($ 65) for the above mentioned 3 items. I would say poor customer service but more importantly, below average tailoring skills. I won’t be taking any more of my clothes here.

I love BOC. The owner, Jenny, is wonderful, kind, and will go the extra mile to accommodate any request within reason, and let you know when it can’t be done. The prices are reasonable to market, clothes always returned in tip top shape, but the customer service seals the experience: a few months ago, I had a troublesome button on my trousers that kept popping. I brought it in to have sewed back on. Before leaving, Jenny’s seamstress, asked me to wait while she fixed it in 2 min. at no charge. Just a smile. This is why I will only go to BOC. A small business that goes that extra step.

Pros: Clothes are always returned on time. Tailoring is generally high quality and they are good at accommodating emergency requests. Customer service is typically average to good, unless you raise a problem like the ones described below.
Cons: Dry cleaning and tailoring seem considerably more expensive than other cleaners. I’ve experienced damage to shirts (typically lost buttons), inconsistent pressing (I occasionally have to re-​iron clothes certain areas of clothes), and strange dirt spots (not stains) that must be scraped off.
Less than 30 minutes after picking up four shirts and discovering the dirt spots, I brought them back to show them the problem. They said that it couldn’t possibly be their fault and seemed very annoyed when I asked for them to be cleaned again. Ultimately they accepted and a receipt was printed and handed to me without eye contact or a single word. I had to ask if I was done and when the shirts would be ready.

I went to Blue Orchid because it was the only cleaners in my neighborhood with more than 3 stars (that didn’t have reviews from the owner). I like the idea of an environmentally responsible cleaner who goes the extra distance to make sure your clothes are clean and stain-​free. I had high expectations but in the end I don’t feel like the service lived up to the hype on Unilocal.
A few weeks ago, I dropped off a peacoat at Blue Orchid. The woman running the shop was kind and quickly took my coat and ran up my receipt. The receipt was for $ 20 which seemed a little excessive to me. I later found out online that the shop offers a 10% discount if you pay upfront in cash and supposedly, according to their website, 20% off your first month of dry cleaning. Neither offer was made me. When I arrived to pickup the peacoat, I asked about the deal and was told that i should mention the deal in advance next time… Anyway, the coat itself was actually cleaned very well. However, I feel like $ 20 for a coat cleaning is a little excessive. I may give this place one more shot.

I’m disappointed in this establishment. I am constantly out of the country so its difficult to go back and forth with complaints. The staff is extremely friendly but here are my qualms:
Out of 30 or so shirts I have taken here:
Four have come back with several missing buttons. Two which were special material and I was charged $ 7 for came back wrinkled and totally out of shape. I don’t have time to inspect every piece of clothing that I get from a dry cleaner, I expect the dry cleaner to do this.
Out of 10 or so pairs of pants I have taken there for hemming:
3 pairs of jeans, the hems came out. 2 pairs of pants, the hems are bubbled so it looks very unprofessional.
And my pet peeve is as follows:
Inconsistent prices that made me feel like I was being taken advantage of. I took 4 pairs of Lucky jeans there, same material same style a few weeks apart each. I was charged different amounts each time for the hemming.
I took several pairs of slacks there to have them hemmed, I got a different price every time. Whats with this? I never asked for a rush on the tailoring except for once which was fine and understandable.
Although I understand that dry cleaners have to adjust prices, I don’t like to argue when I’m paying (this is a common practice with dry cleaner in NYC, they wait till it’s time to pay and expect you to not say anything) and I’d rather not return to an establishment that I don’t trust.
Stick with Bergmanns or New Members cleaners for your dry cleaning– they are up the street, always consistent and probably ¹⁄₃ of the price for laundering/​dry cleaning. I understand that we live in a high rent area, but service should be directly proportional to prices.
The owner, or whatever she is «Jenny» just straight out lies to you through her teeth. Go elsewhere, plenty of good businesses in the area.
I’d only recommend this place if you were in a rush or needed overnight cleaning.

Thus far, I’ve been impressed. Love the same day service, and they’re close to me, which is great.
I look forward to testing them out on their alterations, which they seem to tout for doing well.
More to report later, but otherwise, they do a good job on the dry clean and getting stains out. I’m a messy eater. Those damn salad dressings.

8:00am, wife has an interview at 2:00pm. Her pants are too long. Walk into Blue Orchid Cleaners at 8:10am and ask for a rush hem. Her response, «of course». Pants were done by 10am and perfect.
This is a new business hidden on Clarendon Blvd between N Quinn and N Rhodes. They are super friendly and great at what they do. I really recommend them to anyone in the area, especially if you live in Colonial Village and other buildings so close to this place. It is certainly our new local. Their dry cleaning is also a breeze.