The giant machine bubbles deep inside a maze of squeaking tram rails which carries translucent bags slowly towards the light of day.
No, this isn't a line from a sci-fi novel. It's the day-to-day operations at Custom Care Valet Dry Cleaning, where Mark Ickert takes garments from dirty to clean – and always lets the customers know how grateful he is for their business.
For instance, on a Tuesday afternoon last week, a Custom Care customer remarked that Ickert always greeted him by name, despite the fact that he came in only four or five times a year.
"We are so grateful to this community and for their loyalty," Ickert said. "For nearly 22 years they have taken care of us … and we try to take care of them."
Ickert and his wife, Pamela, have lived in Clark County since 1970. Ickert eventually found employment at Nordstrom in Portland as a men's garment purchaser, a job that involved learning a lot about fabrics.
Although his life was comfortable, Ickert says he felt like he was ready to take another step. "The more I thought about starting my own business, the more my life started making sense," he said.
Ickert purchased his Mill Plain Boulevard location in 1988, hoping to focus on professionalism – something he said was lacking at some dry cleaners.
To that end, Ickert said he focused on creating a friendly, clean environment at the 6,000-square-foot Vancouver facility, as well as adding a pick-up and drop-off service at no additional charge. Drivers make rounds weekly, a routine that Ickert says many customers rely on.
Once the garments arrive in-store, they are subjected to the rigors of the modern dry-cleaning process, involving gigantic washing and drying machines, a number of chemicals with polysyllabic names and a large group of "European finishing" machines.
"The steam technology we use is ‘European-style,' which reduces creases and shine. We were the first on the West Coast to implement it," he said.
Custom Care's cleaning services cost on average $6 per garment, 5 percent of which is donated to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Southwest Washington, according to Ickert.
Ickert also sponsors a program with the Vancouver School District called Operation Fairy Godmother, which allows economically-disadvantaged young women to have access to free prom dresses.
According to Jan Redding, assistant director of the Vancouver School District Foundation, Ickert has cleaned thousands of dresses at no cost and continues to be a major part of the program.
Ickert says giving back comes naturally to him. After 22 years of cleaning, delivering and injecting a little magic into the lives of those less fortunate, Ickert claims his good fortune is not just of his own making, but comes from a higher place – his Christian faith.
"I don't lose a lot of sleep about the future," he said. "Since everything is held together by a divine hand, I don't get anxious."
