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Steamboat Springs — Locals have another spot to take clothes with "dry clean only" labels.

Resort Dry Cleaning has opened in Steamboat Springs to compete with Natural Cleaners. Resort Dry Cleaning is in Riverside Plaza in western Steamboat. Shawn and Rhonda Graham own the new operation, which opened Jan. 19.

"It's slowly building steam," Shawn Graham said. "We're real happy with it. It allowed us to make sure we were doing a good job and getting everything done and doing it right. We didn't want to make a bad impression. You can only make one first impression."

Resort uses DrySolv's environmentally friendly chemicals and Trevil's tensioning equipment. Shawn Graham said tensioning machines perform better than traditional presses. They clamp down on the waist and cuffs of pants, for example, and pull them taut, removing wrinkles with steam, tension and air. To touch up clothes, his employees use irons on boards that push out or pull in air.

Connie Linnemeyer works at the cleaners and has been in the dry-cleaning business since 1986. The tensioning equipment, which is new to her, prevents clothes from getting shiny marks or unwanted creases, Linnemeyer said.

"It doesn't get the hot crease from the hot head coming down on it," she said. "It's all done with steam."

She said she enjoyed the new machines.

"I'm having fun," Linnemeyer said Tuesday afternoon.

Natural Cleaners also uses "green" products such as its GreenEarth dry-cleaning machine. Owner Donald Oswald took charge of Steamboat Cleaners in August. His shop has a location in Central Park Plaza and a satellite operation in western Steamboat. Oswald did not return a call Tuesday seeking comment about his competitor.

Graham was born and raised in Steamboat, and he and Rhonda have owned American Carpet and Floor Care for 10 years.

Graham said he entered the dry-cleaning field to create competition in town. His prices aren't much different from other dry cleaners', he said.

"It's something I've been kicking around for a few years," Graham said. "This spring, I decided to go ahead and go for it."

The learning curve wasn't steep, he said.

"In a lot of ways, it's the same as carpet cleaning," Graham said. "You're just cleaning textiles. They're different textiles, but basically the chemistry's the same."