GLENFOREST Cleaners · Est. 1960s

Yonge and Lawrence · Toronto

The house that keepsToronto’s wardrobes.

Family run for over sixty years, Glenforest is Toronto’s first wet cleaning specialist: Miele certified, entirely toxic free, and quietly exacting about a proper press.

See our standard of care, further down the page.

Book a Pickup

Valet routes: Tuesday and Friday

“May your worst problem be a stain on your clothes.”

The tailor at work over a garment in the warm light of the workroom
The workroom: every garment is looked over by hand before anything else happens to it.

Family run over 60 years Toronto’s first wet cleaning specialist Miele certified Valet routes Tuesday and Friday Entirely toxic free · No PERC

Our Services

Every garment in this house has its own protocol.

Wet Cleaning

The house signature

Pure water and Miele precision in place of solvents: gentler on fibre, truer to colour, and a Toronto first.

Wash and Fold

Everyday laundry

Everyday laundry returned folded to a standard your dresser drawers will notice.

Executive Shirt Service

For the boardroom

Collars, cuffs, and plackets finished properly, pressed and presented ready for the boardroom.

Alterations and Repairs

The tailor’s bench

Hems, buttons, zippers, and small rescues from the tailor’s bench at the back of the shop.

Household and Linens

Duvets to drapery

Duvets, drapery, and table linens treated with the same regard we give a good suit.

Wedding Gowns and Delicates

Preservation grade

Preservation-grade care for the garments you intend to keep for the rest of your life.

Full price list at the counter, 3309 Yonge Street.

A needle and thread held mid stitch over a garment
Bench repairs: a button set right, a hem taken back to true.

The Tailor’s Bench

Mended by hand.

Repairs here are sewn, never glued: needle and thread at the back of the shop, so a favourite jacket goes back on the rail ready for another decade.

See the full ledger of services

Leave the bag. We attend to the rest.

  1. Set out your bag

    Fill your personalized Glenforest garment bag and leave it out on the morning of your route day.

  2. We call for it

    Our valet collects on Tuesday and Friday routes through the neighbourhood. No appointment required.

  3. Returned, pressed

    Everything comes back on your route day: cleaned, finished, and hanging ready for the closet.

New to the route? Telephone the counter and we will bring a personalized garment bag with our compliments.

Book a Pickup

The Order of the House

The daily round.

The same four motions since the 1960s.

  • A tailor's hands measuring a length of fabric Inspect
  • Fresh laundry laid out on the wooden counter Clean
  • Hands guiding an iron across a garment Press
  • A row of pressed shirts hanging ready for delivery Deliver

Our Care

Dry cleaning was never actually dry.

Conventional dry cleaning bathes your clothes in petroleum solvents, most often perchloroethylene, a chemical you would not knowingly bring near your skin. It cleans, after a fashion. It also dulls colour, stiffens fibre, and leaves its signature on everything it touches.

Wet cleaning is the older, wiser idea done with modern precision: pure water, biodegradable detergents, and Miele machines that measure temperature and movement to the degree. It is gentler on wool, truer to silk, and completely toxic free. No PERC, no harsh chemicals, no chemical smell hanging in the closet.

Wool comes back softer and silk keeps its colour: water and skill, not perchloroethylene.

Glenforest was the first house in Toronto to commit to it entirely. Sixty years at the pressing table teaches you the difference between cleaning a garment and caring for one.

A cleaner at work among hanging garments behind the counter
Behind the counter at 3309 Yonge: pure water, Miele machines, and an unhurried press.

Yonge Street, since the 1960s

Sixty years, one counter.

  1. 1960s

    The Zachos family hangs the Glenforest sign at Yonge and Lawrence and begins pressing for the neighbourhood.

    A red Toronto streetcar rolling past shopfronts

  2. A city first

    Glenforest retires harsh solvents and becomes Toronto’s first wet cleaning specialist, trading chemistry for water and skill.

    Garments and pressing equipment inside the cleaning shop

  3. Miele certified

    The house earns its Miele certification, the exacting European standard for professional garment care.

    Folded shirts stacked square on a wooden shelf

  4. Today

    Over sixty years on: still family run, still toxic free, still the same counter at 3309 Yonge Street.

    Rails of finished garments hanging in the shop

Sixty years on Yonge Street, and a proper press still cannot be hurried.

The counter’s own tools, for keeping at home.

Glenforest Reserve is the kit we reach for ourselves: the solution, the brush, and the spotting bone, sold over the counter.

Reserve Stain Treatment Solution

The counter formula for treating a spill at home before it thinks about setting.

$35

Soft Spotting Brush

A gentle brush for working treatment into fabric without bruising the weave.

$35

Reserve Starter Kit

The solution, brush, and spotting bone together, boxed for the hall closet.

$110

Spotting Bone

The old professional’s tool for lifting a fresh spill instead of spreading it.

$25

Available at the counter, 3309 Yonge Street.

Kind words from up and down Yonge Street.

A silk blouse I had given up on came back looking like the day I bought it. They never made a fuss about it, either.
Margaret · Lawrence Park