How to Grow Your Dry Cleaning Business

Dry cleaning businesses often experience major swings — from busy seasons filled with weddings and proms to slow months where foot traffic dwindles.

But what if there was a way to stabilize revenue and grow steadily year-round? This article will teach you how to grow your dry cleaning business by joining the textile restoration industry.

By partnering with the restoration industry, dry cleaners can tap into a recession-proof revenue stream: insurance textile recovery.

Let’s explain exactly how you can grow your business by becoming the go-to expert for textile restoration services after fires, floods, and disasters.

Why the Restoration Industry Needs Dry Cleaners

When disaster strikes, homeowners turn to insurance carriers for help restoring their lives — including their textiles.

Most restoration contractors are excellent at rebuilding structures but need trusted textile experts to handle clothing, bedding, drapes, and soft goods.

Dry cleaners already have:

• Specialized cleaning equipment
• Fabric care knowledge
• Stain removal expertise
• Customer Service expertise

By adjusting a few processes and adding restoration protocols, dry cleaners can become vital partners to restoration contractors and insurance carriers.

New Revenue Streams from Restoration Work

Restoration referrals can fuel consistent income in multiple ways:

• Bulk orders: Instead of a few garments, you process dozens — sometimes hundreds — per job.
• Insurance billing: Restoration jobs are often covered by insurance, meaning less price resistance.
• Year-round demand: Disasters happen every season, providing steady workflow.

Instead of waiting for prom season or wedding traffic, restoration can help level your revenue all year long.

What It Takes to Succeed in Textile Restoration

Transitioning into restoration work doesn’t require an overhaul, but it does require intentional steps:

1. Restoration-Specific Training

Understanding contamination risks (e.g., soot, mold, sewage) is critical. Your team should be trained on:

• Handling Category 1, 2, and 3 water-damaged textiles
• Working with items exposed to smoke and fire residues
• Maintaining detailed chain-of-custody protocols

Many organizations, including Renewal Claim Solutions, offer partnerships that include training resources.

2. Documentation and Reporting

Restoration is insurance-driven. You’ll need to provide:

• Itemized inventories
• Before-and-after photos
• Condition reports
• Restoration vs. non-restoration justifications

Solid paperwork makes your services indispensable to insurance adjusters.

How to Start Taking Restoration Jobs

Here’s the blueprint for success:

• Network with local restoration contractors: Introduce your services as a textile specialist.
• Get listed with insurance vendor programs: Some carriers prefer to work with pre-approved service providers.
• Partner with a national textile restoration company: Renewal Claim Solutions helps cleaners expand into restoration quickly with referral jobs, training, and operational support.

Explore how our partnerships help dry cleaners succeed.

Success Story: A Cleaner’s Expansion into Restoration

One dry cleaner in Texas partnered with local contractors for textile recovery after a major storm season.
Within 18 months:

• Restoration accounted for 35% of their revenue.
• They expanded to offer restoration services on-site.
• New insurance referrals generated consistent off-season work.

Instead of laying off staff during slow months, they hired additional team members to keep up with restoration demand.

Challenges to Expect (and How to Overcome Them)

Growing into restoration work isn’t without obstacles:

• Insurance paperwork can be time-consuming — Solution: Standardize your templates and use digital inventory systems.
• Handling contaminated textiles requires caution — Solution: Invest in proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and training.
• Scheduling emergencies alongside regular orders — Solution: Build flexible capacity for rush orders.

With proper preparation, these challenges become opportunities for growth.

Restoration = Growth and Stability

Partnering with the restoration industry isn’t just a side hustle for dry cleaners — it’s a transformational opportunity.

It stabilizes cash flow, fills slow seasons, and builds a stronger, more diversified business.

Insurance carriers, restoration contractors, and policyholders need skilled textile recovery services. Dry cleaners who step up can own this niche — and thrive.

Contact Renewal Claim Solutions today to start growing your restoration business.