Celebrating 35 Years with Pride and Gratitude

Harris Family

In 1990, the Internet, hip hop and the sitcom Friends were on their way in, the Soviet Union and South African apartheid were on their way out, and Oceanside Cleaners opened its first location on Southside Boulevard in Jacksonville. A lot has changed since then, but as Oceanside celebrates 35 years of business on March 12, one thing remains the same: our dedication to providing blue ribbon service to the residents of Jacksonville and the beaches.

“Oceanside staff feel that their work is a direct reflection of themselves,” Owner Mike Harris says. “We really care about what we do and the people we serve. That’s why we go the extra mile, every day, to anticipate—and exceed—our customers’ expectations.”

A family-owned business, Oceanside’s approach has led to extraordinary growth that includes an 8,000-square-foot plant, two drop stores (Southside Boulevard in Jacksonville and Solana Road in Ponte Vedra), 81 employees, 24/7 self-service kiosks and a fleet of delivery vehicles.

The company has built a reputation for award-winning cleaning, eco-friendly equipment and low environmental impact. In addition to standard dry cleaning and laundry services, Oceanside offers specialty services for wedding gowns (alterations, cleaning and preservation) and designer garments.

Giving Back through Customer Service and Community Investment

Oceanside goes above and beyond customary service standards to delight customers at every turn. For instance, Oceanside offers free pick up and delivery in the communities it serves. We were an early adopter of earth-friendly practices, including using organic, Earth-friendly solvents and reusable garment bags. We have been Green-Council Certified since 2013 and earned an international CINET Global Best Practices Award in 2020.

Oceanside also supports a multitude of local charities, including McKenzie Wilson Foundation, The Pink Ribbon Golf Classic, The Daniel Foundation, Ponte Vedra High School, Rotary Club, Christ Episcopal Church, Boys & Girls Club, Children’s Home Society, Mission House, Amelia Island Book Festival, Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival and the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Sky-High Reviews Lead to Awards and Recognition

Our dedication to service excellence has earned Oceanside more than 500 stellar Google reviews averaging 4.8 stars. Positive reviews can be seen on Google, WeddingWire, Facebook and ReviewMyDryCleaner.

We recently received our eighth “Best of Weddings” award from The Knot, an online wedding planning resource, all due to consistent, 5-star reviews by brides on The Knot.

Oceanside was also one of 70 small businesses selected for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 America’s Top Small Business Awards. We were one of 10 awardees in the Southeast, chosen from a field of 15,000 applicants.

Thank you for being an important part of our success. To learn more about our 35-year history, check out this YouTube video.

Professional Golfers Turn to Oceanside Cleaners to Look Their Best in The Players Tournament

Golf Image

Ever wonder why professional golfers look perfectly dressed each day of a grueling tournament, come rain or shine, whether blasting out of a sandtrap or fishing their ball out of the water?

It’s not by chance. Professional golfers are treated to daily concierge services, including laundering. Almost all the professional golfers in The Players Tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, March 13-16, rely on local Oceanside Cleaners to launder and press outfits between rounds—every day! (We say Oceanside Cleaners cleans the garb of “almost all” golfers, because some, like Tiger Woods, wear a new outfit each day.)

The Players Tournament features 144 of the world’s best golfers, with a purse of $25 million. That’s a lot of golf attire.

Tournament Cleaning Services Extend Beyond the Professional Golfers

Professional golf has long honored and established customs around looking professional and polished. No wonder The Players has relied on Oceanside Cleaners since the mid 1990s and not just for the professional golfers.

“Oceanside has a huge role in the meticulous look of the tournament,” says Oceanside’s Mark Harris, owner. “We also clean and press most caddies’ clothes, the clothes of food and beverage staff serving special guests in the clubhouse, all locker room staff and the garments worn by the upper clubhouse management.”

After the tournament, Oceanside’s work is not done. We clean tablecloths that were in the hospitality tents, volunteer tents, chalets and other venues when the golfers go home.

A Year-Round Reputation for Professionally Cleaning Golf Attire—for Amateurs, too

Oceanside serves every-day golfers, too, with the same attention they give the pros. “Our solid reputation has led to a robust business in the laundering of golf polos, skirts and pants,” adds Harris. “Our customers who golf say they feel better when they wear quality golf clothing that has been professionally laundered.”

The golf apparel market is big and getting bigger, with North American sales at $2.8 billion and growing 4.4% a year. And more people are golfing. In 2024, a record 532 million rounds of golf were played in the U.S., exceeding the 2023 record of 531 million rounds, marking the third time in four years that a record number of rounds have been played, according to the National Golf Foundation.

Golf apparel has become complex in design, construction, colors and materials. New fabrics have been created to provide freedom of movement, to give protection from weather conditions and to enhance overall performance. Harris adds, “Golf attire has, of course, evolved over the years. These days, clothing often helps with blocking UV rays, provides anti-odor protection and has a look that appeals to different fashion tastes.

“We think the surge in bringing in golf apparel to our cleaners is not only about looking good on the links. It’s also all about protecting an investment,” Harris says.

For Best Results, Leave Stain Removal to the Experts

Women with stain on shirt

Fabric stains are hard to avoid, whether from grass, blood, ink, wine, coffee or dozens of other possibilities. (We think it’s a sign that you’re living an active, vibrant life!)

But before you turn to the internet for ideas on how to remove a stain, why not let Oceanside Cleaners take a look? “Many stain removal ideas people hear about can actually permanently set the stain rather than remove it,” says Mike Harris, owner, Oceanside Cleaners. “It’s much easier for us to remove a stain when the person hasn’t tried a home remedy first.”

Three “Don’ts” for Successful Stain Removal

Based on 35 years of expertise, Harris shares three rules of thumb for dealing with fabric stains:

  1. Don’t try it yourself. Often when our customers come in, they have tried all the so-called remedies: Rinse with cold water or warm water. Dab with vinegar, baking soda or hydrogen peroxide. Spray it with WD-40. Rub it with polishing paste. Unfortunately, most will leave you with a worse mess than when you started.
  2. Don’t despair. The other extreme is to admit defeat and trash the item. Customers particularly give up on stains from peanut butter, mustard, berry juice, tomato sauce, red wine, cooking grease or butter. But most of these stains can be removed by our professionals at Oceanside Cleaners.
  3. Don’t wait. The longer you wait, the more time the stain has to set—to weld itself to the fabric, destroying or distorting fibers and becoming impossible to remove. Bring the item to us as soon as you can to improve the chance of complete stain removal.

We’re Professional Stain Removers—Try Us

Oceanside’s process of fabric stain removal is not magic. We rely on extensive experience, access to specialized spotting agents and the careful application of heat and steam, depending on the stain. We always assess the stain and fabric first, then apply spotting solutions and enzymes to break down the stain, adding more spotting agents as necessary. Finally, we may use tools and vacuums to remove any remnants of the stain.

Our stain removal expertise is not limited to clothing. We’ve removed stains from bedding, tablecloths and patio cushions, among other items.

“We love seeing customers’ surprise and delight when they discover the item they thought was hopelessly stained looking like new,” Harris says. “The next time you have an ’oops,’ get that item to us soon for the best possible outcome.”

Oceanside was named one of America’s top 70 small businesses in 2023 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and has been named “Best of Weddings” by The Knot every year since 2019 for wedding-wear treatment.

Ahead of the Times, Oceanside Cleaners Has Used Environmentally Safe Solvents for Decades

Worker at Oceanside

In 2001, Oceanside Cleaners was one of the first dry cleaners in the U.S. to stop the use of harmful cleaning agents. That was a progressive move at the time given that these chemicals were not officially banned until late 2024 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

On Dec. 9, 2024, the EPA officially prohibited trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PERC), two widely used dry cleaning industrial solvents associated with significant health risks, including cancer and neurological damage. Oceanside is proud to share that we have never used either of these ingredients in our current plant, which we moved into in 2001.

Oceanside Cleaners Was an Early Adopter of Environmentally Safe Cleaning

Green Cleaner CouncilOceanside Cleaners has always put customer and employee health first, refusing to use harmful dry cleaning solvents and being Green-Council Certified since 2013. “For over two decades, we’ve used cleaning processes that are 100% eco-friendly according to the EPA of the state of Florida, with cleaning systems and equipment that conserve water use,” says Mike Harris, owner of the family-run cleaners. “On top of this, we recycle hangers, offer reusable garment bags and use a barcode system rather than paper tickets for tracking customer items.”

Instead of harmful chemicals, Oceanside uses liquid carbon dioxide (CO2), silicone-based solvents and hydrocarbon solvents as more environmentally friendly alternatives for cleaning clothes. These methods are often referred to as “green dry cleaning” and are considered less toxic to both people and the environment.

The use of safe chemicals is just one reason why in November of 2020, Oceanside took first place in an international competition for the CINET Global Best Practices Awards, announced in Amsterdam. Oceanside was the first North America company to win the top prize and was selected from 120 businesses in 36 countries.

As a leader making innovations that benefit the communities served by Oceanside, our 35-year-old, family-owned cleaners has grown to 81 employees with an 8,000-square-foot plant.

Oceanside Wins Wedding Dress Care Award for 8th Straight Year

8 years of Best of weddings awards

Oceanside Cleaners is proud to have received a “Best of Weddings 2025 Award.” from The Knot, a leading all-in-one wedding planning resource offering a comprehensive suite of digital tools to help couples throughout their planning journey.

Claire Bobbitt
Clare Bobbitt, Wedding Manager

Having won the Best of Weddings Award for eight straight years, Oceanside also has been inducted into “The Knot Hall of Fame.” These distinctions are a result of online reviews, with Oceanside being rated “5 Stars” after receiving 125 reviews on The Knot.

“The award means Oceanside received outstanding reviews from wedding planners and brides,” says Clare Bobbitt, Oceanside wedding manager. “For 35 years, we’ve gone the extra mile to anticipate—and meet—our customers’ bridal expectations. We proudly provide exquisite care for a bride’s wedding gown, before, during and after the big day.”

For brides looking for top-notch wedding gown services, Oceanside provides these bridal gown services:

    • Pre-wedding alterations
    • Pressing and finishing
    • Delivery to the venue
    • Post-wedding cleaning and preservation
    • Wedding party alterations

Oceanside is the only cleaner in Jacksonville that doesn’t ship wedding gowns out of town for cleaning. That eliminates the risk of a gown being lost, delayed or damaged during shipping.

On its website, The Knot captures praise from reviewers about Oceanside’s exceptional bridal alterations and gown cleaning services. Among them:

    • Alterations are performed quickly and beautifully. “I came in with a wedding dress three sizes too big for me, and a ton of work to be done. The seamstress was so kind, creative, and patient throughout the entire process. She saw my vision and made it come true.” (Morgan V.)
    • Fast turnaround before the ceremony. “Oceanside was so helpful and wonderful to work with. They understood the time crunch and my stress and got the alterations perfect! I would recommend them to anyone. They know what they’re doing!” (Lauren C.)
    • After-wedding cleaning. “Oceanside was so great when it came to cleaning and preserving my wedding gown! They are so kind and a pleasure to work with. The process was so smooth and was much faster than I anticipated. It’s so great to have my dress taken care of for the future!” (Maury H.)

The Knot Best of Weddings is an annual award that recognizes the top wedding vendors across the country. This prestigious honor represents the highest-rated vendors on The Knot, who are trusted and dependable and deliver quality service.

A Guide to How Often Clothing Should be Dry Cleaned

Man with Dry Cleaners

Customers at Oceanside Cleaners often ask us how often items should be dry cleaned. Customers want to keep their clothing clean and fresh, but they don’t want to “over” dry clean in case it could degrade the fabric.

Here are common questions we get, and our answers:

Is there a general rule of thumb as to how often to dry clean items?

Most items should be dry cleaned every three to four wears. That said, some should be dry cleaned more often and some less, depending on the fabric. Between dry cleaning, clothes should be hung up to reduce wrinkling and a lint roller can be used as necessary. If items have been worn, a hand steamer helps tackle stubborn wrinkles. We recommend you don’t use wire hangers as they can leave permanent horizontal creases on pants or shoulder dimples on tops. As an alternative, velvet hangers or wire hangers covered with cardboard reduce problems.

What is the advice on linen items?

We suggest you check the care label on linen items as some items are washable. Others are marked dry clean only. Our stance is that dry cleaning does the most thorough cleaning job and protects linen items that have shape or structure to them such as blouses.

What is the advice on silk items?

Dry cleaning is the preferred way to clean silk, and most silk garments will have labels recommending dry cleaning. We even recommend dry cleaning washable silks. We’ve had many customers show us a hand-washed “washable” silk clothing item that, unfortunately, was ruined.

Do shirts and blouses demand the most dry-cleaning attention?

Yes! Anything worn close to the body—like shirts and blouses—absorbs sweat, creating stains and odors. These items may require dry cleaning after every use (unless you wear undergarments) and then we recommend dry cleaning every two uses.

What about wool sweaters?

Wool sweaters can go three to five wears, unless they get difficult stains such as those from chocolate, tomatoes, wine, or permanent markers. The good news: wool fibers have a natural waxy coating that protects them from absorbing many stains. Cashmere is more fragile and often requires cleaning every two wears.

How often should outerwear be dry cleaned?

Usually, it’s okay to dry clean outerwear once a season, which you can do at the end of the season. You don’t want to wait until the next season because that lets stains set in the fabric over many months. Mid-season dry cleaning is necessary if items start to smell musty.

Is there a difference around dry cleaning needs for formal wear vs. owned dress clothes?

There is. Formal wear, including evening dresses, often is made from more fragile material and should be dry cleaned every one or two wears. The dress clothes that are in your closet are sturdier. Typical men’s suits can go every three or four wears and the same rule applies to women’s dresses.

We’re here to answer questions about any of your garments. If we can safely save you the cost of dry cleaning, we’ll recommend home care. But dry cleaning often is the safest bet.

Eight Top 2024 Men’s Fashion Trends

Two men wearing stylish clothes

This year’s men’s fashion trends include big and comfy cuts, western and athletic wear, and the relaxed and natural look.

Here’s a recap from top fashion design houses:

  1. Big and comfy
    While the super-slim suit tops and slacks remain popular, we’re also seeing tops and pants oversized, with wide lapels, including baggy double-breasted suits. Billowy pants are popular and pointed collars on shirts are the look. The idea is to flaunt fabric. Yet for summer, the tight short-shorts are back.
  2. Throwbacks to the 1980s
    Men’s popular clothiers, like L.L.Bean, never change the cuts of their shirts, pants and jackets. This is paying dividends for them as they revert to styles of the 1980s simply by changing fabric colors and designs. Ralph Lauren’s polo shirts have never changed, either, so now they are back and popular, as is anything with a big logo on it! New colors: bright orange, lively green and vibrant blue.
  3. Western wear
    The tough look is back, with cowboy fashion leading the way. Remember the jean jacket? It’s back. Same with cowboy boots, chaps, snap pockets, fringe, tassels and lots of contrasting stitching. Doubled or tripled denim tops and bottoms are again fashionable.
  4. Classics
    Wide-leg, cuffed chino pants, chunky loafers or combat boots, all fashion classics, remain strong for 2024. V-neck sweater vests are back, too. Earth tones and olives never go out of fashion.
  5. Fashionable athletic wear
    Thank the pandemic for bringing back sweatshirts and sweatpants, a common outfit while working from home. Now that some workers are back in the office, at least some days, this casual look has gone more upscale. Crewneck sweaters mimic the sweatshirt look while being more appropriate for office wear.
  6. Linen and cotton
    Classy beige linen suits, green seersucker suits, pink coral suits, with linen shirts or relaxed cotton shirts are always classy. For the hotter climates, lighter and breathable fabrics keep you cool and stylish.
  7. Bare chests
    Suits worn shirtless or at least flashing bare chests are the 2024 look for men (thanks, Lenny Kravitz). Some suits have big gaps or slashes to show off skin. Others have slightly sunken waists to expose bare torsos.
  8. Leather
    Leather is back. That includes leather blazers, a belted leather jumpsuit, leather chore jackets, leather trench coats, leather vests and, of course, leather bomber jackets. All can be complemented with a pair of calfskin micro-shorts and a cashmere sweater.

Designer clothes require special cleaning and care

Oceanside Cleaners offers special cleaning for high-end and designer garments. This includes inspection of the garment, which includes establishing photographic documentation. These garments are cleaned by specialists who use precise solutions and techniques, and high-quality finishing and bagging extends the life of your garment.

High-end garments are eye-catching, lasting and meant to be just the right fit. Make sure the cleaning process preserves these special garments so that each time they are worn, they will feel like the first time.

Storing Clothes in Plastic Bags Harms Them

clothes on hangers in plastic bags

Customers often ask us if it is best to store their dry-cleaning items or laundered clothes in the plastic bags we send them home in.

The answer is: No! Long term, plastic harms the clothes.

This surprises many customers, who then ask why we use the plastic. The plastic is meant to protect the clothes on the journey home. Then it should be removed and, if possible, recycled. Our plastic poly is 100% recyclable. If you’d prefer to return the used plastic to us, we’ll happily recycle it for you.

How is plastic harmful to newly cleaned clothing?

Dry cleaner plastic bags are meant to protect items during the trip home. Remove and recycle them to prevent damage to fabric. 

Plastic prevents fabric from breathing, as it naturally is made to do, and leads to yellowing, weakening of fibers and mildew. Yes, mildew! Even though our process is called dry cleaning, there is a little moisture involved, which is why a plastic covering can cause mildew.

The discoloring culprit is a chemical called BHT, which is used in the manufacture of the plastic. BHT breaks down over time, causing yellow pigments that attach to the cloth.

We have other concerns about leaving the plastic in your closet, and that is printed right on the plastic. Thin plastic is a risk to children. If children play in the closet, the plastic can be dangerous.

Cotton is a better clothing protector than plastic

With the season changing, you may have items you want to store until next year. We do recommend covering newly cleaned clothing, table linens and other keepsakes that are stored for any length of time. Covering keeps off dust, especially on the shoulders of garments or the folds over hangers.

What should you use instead of plastic? The ideal covering is a white cotton sheet. Just fold the sheet and cut a hole for the hanger. You can sew the covering into a pouch, but it’s not necessary. Cotton lets the cleaned items breathe while keeping out dirt or stains from items nearby.

How to clean garments stained by plastic coverings

If your yellowed item was originally dry cleaned, and you’re ready to use it again, bring it into us and we’ll dry clean it again. This often removes the yellowing. In general, we’re always happy to give you advice on removing specific stains. Stop by any time with the stained item, and we’ll share our experience as to what should be effective.

Dry Cleaning or Washing? The Answer: It Depends

There are arguments to be made for both dry cleaning and washing a clothing item. Which process is best depends on the item and how you use it.

Dry cleaning and washing are different and yet similar. Dry cleaning uses solvents (and sometimes detergents) removed during the drying phase. Washing uses a combination of water and detergents. Aside from that, the process is similar since both dry cleaning and washing are done in a tumbling drum of some sort.

When is dry cleaning the best choice?
For absolute cleanliness and minimal (to no) damage to the fabric or clothing item, dry cleaning is tops.

Dry cleaning (as its name indicates) doesn’t use water. Water can be harmful, as it alters certain fabrics. For instance, it shrinks wool fibers and fades wool colors. Water is also rough on silk, bleeding silk colors and shrinking and wrinkling silk fibers that often are coated with an anti-wrinkle treatment that water removes.

What’s more, dry cleaning uses less agitation than washing. During the wash cycle, sloshing and spinning twists and tears at fabric, wearing it out. In addition, washing doesn’t always remove all the detergent. When detergent remains in clothes, it attracts rather than repels stains and odors. It’s ironic, but true.

On the other hand, the dry cleaning process removes the solvent as well as the dirt.

When is washing the best choice?
It sometimes makes sense to wash items instead of dry cleaning them. Some everyday clothes and certain fabrics that aren’t harmed by washing can be cleaned at home or at Oceanside by our “wash and fold” service. Fabrics most appropriate for washing are some every-day cotton, cotton-blend and polyester clothes where longevity of the fabric, fading and the “look” of the item are not as important.

In fact, certain fabrics cannot be dry cleaned. These include fabrics containing or made up of plastic, PVC, or polyurethane. Fabrics composed of these materials deteriorate during the dry-cleaning process.

Always check the care label on your clothes. That label will give an accurate description of the type of fabric and the ideal care instructions.

Oceanside will help you decide on dry cleaning vs. washing
If you aren’t sure whether to dry clean or wash an item, bring it into Oceanside. We’ll look it over and help you decide the best course of action.

Stain Removal Tips from the Professionals

All of us have to deal with stains on our clothes: grass stains, grease stains, tomato stains, coffee stains, ink stains…the list is never-ending.

There is no avoiding occasional stains, no matter how careful we are. In fact, simple spaghetti dinners are the most searched stain on the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) website! More research by ACI found that:

  • Men are more likely to have sports, wine and food-related stains
  • Women are more likely to have food incidents and bloodstains
  • Kids are more likely to have grass stains and marker and paint stains

Thankfully, Oceanside Cleaners has 30-plus years of experience successfully removing stains from every type of garment, from work clothes to wedding dresses. And, because stains are so common, we’d like to share a few professional tips you can use at home to either remove common stains or keep them from setting before you get garments to the cleaners.

  1. Use detergent sparingly. Many customers think the more detergent they use on a stain, the better the removal. It’s the most common error we see. When it comes to detergent, more is not better. Too much detergent can linger in a garment for a long time and even attract dirt and dust. We advise our customers to do the opposite: use just a teaspoon or two of detergent on a stain and then soak the garment in a bucket of water. Pre-soaking can keep the stain from setting before bringing it to us. The more rinsing, the better the stain removal.
  2. Some special cleaning compounds work on specific types of stains. We recommend Dawn dish soap for grease and oil. Hydrogen peroxide often removes yellowing stains on whites. Neutral detergents help prevent color fade when soaking out everyday dirt. Sometimes, vinegar works on tomato stains. At Oceanside, we also have several professional-grade and targeted stain removers that have proven successful over time.
  3. Sometimes it’s better to remove stains by laundry; other times dry cleaning is best. Whether to choose the laundry or dry cleaning for stain removal depends on the stain. Because dry cleaning uses solvents, it can attack petroleum and oil stains. Dry cleaning is the best way to prevent or remove color bleeding stains. Dry cleaning also works on sweat stains. The laundry process works on most of the other stains. We have a complete line of professional-grade laundry stain removers that often work better than any home remedy. We’ve even found a way to remove a red Gatorade stain, known as one of the most stubborn stains.
  4. Know when to use hot water and when to use cold water. This is a complex question we often get from a customer trying to remove a stain at home. What makes it complex is that the answer is sometimes to use both water temperatures! Many stains respond to a cold-water soak followed by a warm or hot water wash! However, in general, our rule of thumb is to use cold water to remove stains on natural fabrics like wool, satin and silk and to use cold water on food stains. But for coffee, chocolate and wine stains, hot water works best.

As we remove stains, Oceanside Cleaners is committed to green cleaning as recommended by the Green Cleaners Council. On a side note, we were recently awarded “Best of Weddings” from The Knot for the fifth year running. If we can successfully clean something as complex and important as a wedding dress, we can tackle the more common stains you experience in your life.

So, the next time you or your family has a fabric stain, do what you can to stabilize it and then bring in the garment so we can do our best to restore it to like new!