Here's another reason to hate on wire hangers: These annoying objects are driving up dry cleaning prices, CNN Money reports.
Wire hangers earned infamy in "Mommie Dearest," the 1981 biopic of film legend Joan Crawford in which the actress, played by Faye Dunaway, is shown beating her daughter with a hanger, exhorting: "No Wire Hangers Ever!" While we, of course, abhor child abuse (though love campy '80s films), HuffPost Money agrees with Dunaway/Crawford. No wire hangers, please! We take care to recycle each and every annoying hanger that our dry cleaner provides. They waste our time and, apparently, cost us extra money.
CNNMoney reports that hanger costs are rising because of new trade penalties imposed on Vietnam, the leading manufacturer of wire hangers. Dry cleaners are planning on passing on those costs to customers. One California dry cleaner operator estimates that that she will add $.30-.55 to the bill for cleaning a suit, pants or a shirt.
According to CNNMoney, the U.S. imported $31 million worth of Vietnamese hangers last year and an average dry cleaner goes through an eye-popping 1,500 hangers every two to three weeks.
To be sure, hangers come in handy for industrial use. Check out United Wire Hanger Corp. for examples of the various types of hangers.
And some dry cleaners are making an effort to reduce wire hanger waste. According to this website, the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute's recycling campaign resulted in 10 million fewer new hangers in 2012.