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Dry cleaning is expensive 鈥� and it鈥檚 going to get worse, according to CNN. The reason?听Not the chemicals. It鈥檚 the hangers. They鈥檙e mostly imported from Vietnam, and the United States recently set up trade penalties on these imports. Not surprisingly, dry-cleaners are passing on that cost to their customers.

If I were an entrepreneur instead of a waiter, I鈥檇 open a dry-cleaning store called BYOH 鈥� Bring Your Own Hangers. You鈥檇 not only save money, you鈥檇 save metal and the planet. But until that happens, try these tips鈥�

1. Decide if your clothes even need dry cleaning

Did you know that manufacturers are required by law to list 鈥渃are instructions鈥� on their clothing? That鈥檚 why you sometimes see the words,听鈥滷or best results, dry clean鈥� on some garments.

But what does that really mean?听鈥漈his tells consumers that the garment can be washed without damage, but dry cleaning may be better for appearance and durability,鈥� the听Federal Trade Commission听says.

If you鈥檙e afraid of losing color in the garment, do the Q-Tip Test: Wet a cotton swab and dab an area no one can see, like the armpit. If color comes off, take it to the dry cleaners.

2. Keep your clothes neat and clean

The best way to avoid the dry cleaner is to keep your clothes from getting dirty for as long as possible鈥�

• Apply all makeup and fragrance on your skin before you dress.
• Clean stains immediately with stain-remover pens or at least warm water.
• Keep clothes folded or hanging up. Don鈥檛 throw them in a pile, and don鈥檛 keep them in plastic bags.
• Don鈥檛 hang pants on a normal hanger where you need to fold the pants over. Instead, get a smaller clip hanger (about a buck a piece at听Target), smooth out the legs, and clip them to the hanger upside down. This way, you avoid wrinkles.

3. Bargain, but have something to offer

If you鈥檙e a loyal customer, it鈥檚 acceptable to ask for a deal, even if one鈥檚 not advertised. Many dry cleaners also offer tailoring, so if you鈥檙e in need of that service, suggest you鈥檇 like to make this place your one-stop shop for a simple 10 or 20 percent discount.

4. Comparison shop

Competition drives down prices, and now you can do the legwork without getting up from your computer鈥�

• FindADryCleaner.net, for example, gave me 10 places less than 2 miles away from where I live. The site is free to use, and lets you choose the services you want in the dry cleaners, from comforter cleaning to shoe repair.
• Drycleanersindex.com听touts more than 80,000 listings and links to news articles pertaining to dry cleaners. I checked it for Dallas, where my brother is soon to be a father and will probably need to use cleaners often. The site spat out 79 listings for the city.

听Gideon Grudo is a writer for听Money Talks News, a consumer/personal finance TV news feature that airs in about 80 cities as well as around the Web. This column first appeared in Money Talks News.