Alumnus Zach Pozniak ‘15, a professional dry cleaner, released a book on Oct. 15, sharing his laundry tips and tricks.

Pozniak is a fourth-generation dry cleaner who works with his father at the New York branch of Jeeves — a luxury dry cleaning, alteration and repair service. He co-wrote “The Laundry Book: The Definitive Guide to Caring for Your Clothes and Linens” with his father Jerry — who has over 40 years of experience in the business — giving readers a comprehensive guide to clothing care. From the chemistry behind effective stain removal and tips on caring for delicate fabrics to the basics of washing machine operation, the book offers a wide variety of knowledge for anyone looking to better care for their garments.

Pozniak joined the dry-cleaning business six years ago after his father approached him. He majored in mechanical engineering at BU, initially working in construction after graduating, and described how his mechanical engineering background has helped him in his career.

“I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Pozniak said in an interview. “All engineers, and especially mechanical engineers, are just taught for four to six years of how to solve problems and just get to the answer. That can be applied to just about any industry, even something like dry cleaning and laundry or writing a book.”

Jeeves was founded in 1969 in London’s Belgravia district and has reached more than 40 locations around the globe. They advertise quality of care, sustainable practices and discretion on their website, attending to high-profile clients like The Prince of Wales since 1980. The company has a Royal Warrant.

Pozniak began creating content for the @jeeves_ny TikTok page in 2020, amassing nearly 650,000 followers and 17.6 million likes. The page was started not only to advertise the business but to share important information with audiences outside of their usual clientele — with Pozniak saying that “all education should be free and accessible.”

“I really just want to convey a sense of ease and comfort, and that everything’s going to be okay when it comes to laundry,” Pozniak said. “It’s just such a weird chore, you know, it never ends. Usually, it’s a spoken education, there isn’t really anything written and definitive and scientifically proven about laundry. Usually, it’s someone in your family or a friend teaching you, and if they weren’t taught correctly, then you’re not going to be taught correctly.”

“The Laundry Book” is not Pozniak’s first foray into writing. He began a New York Magazine column about his favorite laundry products in 2023. The Quarto Group, the leading publisher for illustrated books, then reached out to him with an idea to write an informational guide to laundry through their publishing house.

Pozniak shared that washing clothes in the cold setting “can save up to 90 percent of the energy used during the wash cycle.” While it might be beneficial to wash heavily stained clothes with hot water, it can cause colors to fade, break down fabrics over time and is less sustainable, making it better for occasional use.

“When I was at Binghamton, I literally was sent away with a box of Tide Pods, and I’d throw it in there, and I wouldn’t sort and I wouldn’t air dry, and I don’t know what water temperature I’d pick,” Pozniak said. “But what you do is what I do now. I wash everything that I can on cold. Modern machines, modern products are more than enough paired with cold water to get your clothes to, I think, what’s a really wonderful clean. I think people think they’re way dirtier than they are, so you don’t need that crazy cleaning power of hot water.”

Pozniak and his father made an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America this week to promote the book, demonstrating stain removal tips and busting laundry myths. Pozniak told Pipe Dream that he encourages people to visit their local dry cleaners and ask questions about treating certain stains or caring for specific fabrics.

“I would view the dry cleaner also as a resource in your neighborhood to bring it in and ask for advice,” Pozniak said. “Or maybe you have a rug, and you could ask them to be like, ‘hey where should I get this clean?’ because they probably have that information. But, you know, I like to think of a dry cleaner as kind of the mechanic for your clothes. They got a lot of different tools and different abilities to fix things, whether it’s pressing, repairing, cleaning. So, there might be more to the dry cleaner than you may think and all you have to do is ask.”