Family owned and operated since 1963
Crystal Cleaning Center was founded by Violet Janks in 1963. Violet emigrated from Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband, Cyril, and four children. With extensive sewing experience and comprehensive knowledge about fabrics and garment construction, entering the dry cleaning business seemed like a good choice for starting her own business.
Violet was a determined, tenacious woman who set out to establish a quality dry cleaning plant. Studying the necessary curriculum and obtaining mandated licensing, Violet opened the doors of Crystal Cleaning Center on July 12, 1963.
In December 1986, Lynnette Watterson, Violet’s youngest child, joined her at Crystal Cleaning Center. Lynnette now carries on Violet’s legacy of quality garment care from her San Mateo location.
I hired Lynette to press my daughter's very elaborate quinceanera dress. The dress had cascading layers of tulle and lot of detail/sequins. The dress was so big that it did not fit in the largest gown garment bag I could find.
I brought the dress to Lynette a week before my daughter's big event. The dress was ready for pick up right on time. When I picked it up, Lynette asked me to inspect the dress to make sure I was happy. I was ... the dress looked so beautiful! Because the dress was so big, Lynette and one of her employees built a garment out of a light, thin material that kept the dress from wrinkling while I transported it. She and her employee helped me carry it to my car and carefully lay it down in my SUV.
I am so glad I found Lynette, and I was right to trust her with my daughter's fancy, expensive dress. Lynette is meticulous, careful and it is no wonder she is an institution in the garment care world. The price was right around what I would have expected for such a monster project. If I ever have another fancy gown that I need to get pressed, I will absolutely use Lynette again. She is also a wonderful, pleasant lady.
Wedding dress experience with Crystal Cleaning Center- I took my 40 year old wedding dress in to be pressed. You can see, some of the lace yellowed. (It was preserved in a special packed box too!). They cleaned and pressed my dress so now my daughter can wear it and will look stunning.
I will be taking my dress back to be cleaned and packed away-the new way, so I'll update then.
This is a very knowledgeable cleaner. They have been in business for a very long time. I called a number of cleaners and got quite unsatisfactory answers to CAN YOU CLEAN/PRESS MY OLD WEDDING DRESS? - like "we can press it depending on how big it is"??? What!? This cleaner asked if it had oxidized? I didn't know oxidized meant yellowed. I was impressed from the start!I am so happy with my dress and how kind they were. Even got it to me a week early!
This is the best dry cleaner on the Peninsula. Lynette is a gracious and helpful owner. Every time I bring in a difficult cleaning job, it comes out perfect. Well worth the cost for the quality of the work and professional staff. Thank you for excellent work!
