The dry-cleaning industry has been hit hard over the years, what with our tendency to want to buy only machine-washable items combined with stricter environmental laws. Dry-cleaners have spent thousands of dollars deferring to these rulings by doing such things as installing containment tanks so no leaks of chemicals would ever get into our sewer systems and doubly treating water for the same reason – and the costs don’t end there.

Now, so as to avoid excess waste of polyethylene consumption of dry-cleaning bags, new bagging machines with robotic arms and a magic eye have been designed which are able to size up a garment and cut the bag off 2″ below the garment.

These businesses are lucky that they can recoup their costs more easily here in Canada; since we have such sloppy winters, we desperately need our dry-cleaners. Their busiest season starts now, as we switch over to Spring mode and start bringing in bundles of winter coats, heavy blankets, bedspreads, throw pillows, duvets, feather pillows and draperies.

I was surprised to learn that suede and leather coats are now washed rather than dry-cleaned. Since hides are tanned these days with water-proof dyes, this method is less harsh on the skins, and the jackets come out less stiff.

Dry cleaners offer all sorts of services that you might not know about. The two high-end ones below, Miss Brown and Bellingham Cleaners and Tailors, can both take an old feather pillow and refresh it. The pillow is emptied, sanitized and deodorized and the ticking is replaced with a new one. A good dry-cleaning can also help remove dust mites from area rugs.

Perhaps you didn’t realize that dry-cleaning removes the water repellence of raincoats. You can have them re-coated, though. The coats are placed in a spray booth and get a water repellant shower. If you didn’t know how to properly stash away your wedding gown, these cleaners can do an expert cleaning job and then pack the gown in an acid-free box for storage.

But I can ‘t leave you without offering up a dry-cleaning bargain: check out the bulk cleaning at Western Cleaners below.

Western Cleaners, 4460 Ste-Catherine St. West at Metcalfe St., Westmount. Phone: 514-935-2000. Hours: Monday to Friday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Even with a 10 lb. minimum for clothes, the bulk dry cleaning done here at $1.89 per lb. is a great deal. Sweaters are the most popular, but blankets, coats and even suits can be cleaned this way. They have been open since 1927, with only a second owner since then – one of the workers who had taken over. Knitters like to bring their sweaters here to be blocked, or to get holes repaired or sleeves shortened. Another inexpensive service for suits is the while-you-wait “spot, sponge and press”, where you can quickly have a stain removed, have it refreshed and get it back in under ten minutes.

Bellingham Cleaners and Tailors 2655 Bates Rd. at Wilderton Ave. Phone: 514-733-4444. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Since 1940, they’ve been well-known for their cleaning, especially of the more challenging suedes, leathers, wedding gowns, silk clothes, feather pillows and duvets. Their Deluxe Service handles delicate garments individually by hand. For garment repairs (even suede and leather), every day there are seamstresses and a changing room, so quick fixes can be managed while you wait. This location has Quebec’s first drive-thru service and a 24-hour night deposit box using VIP bags. You may want to be one of the first to experience their new shirt pressing machine that will reduce 75% of the manual touch-ups, giving shirts a crisp finished look. Home or office pick-up service is available all over the island. Other location: 1 Westmount Square (514-934-3353).

Miss Brown, 4930 Sherbrooke St. West at Claremont Ave., Westmount. Phone: 514-489-7669. Hours: Monday to Friday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Since 1928, this family business has been one of “the” places to have delicate garments, suede and leather goods cleaned. For your home send over feather duvets, verticals, blinds, carpets, upholstery and draperies. Wedding gowns can be boxed for storage, and feather pillows can be refreshed. If you have a fire or flood, they can do restoration work, and if you are so unlucky – they can even get skunk odors out of your house. Other locations: Lachine, 67 Provost St. (514-637-6741); 950 St. Jean Blvd. (514-697-0297).

When I first planned this column I was thinking about helping out the boomer generation who, while getting older and more worn out, are not accepting it lightly. As in every other facet of that generation’s needs, the retail industry has scratched their heads to come up with products that make their lives more comfortable and productive.

I searched out stores that sell products for aching backs, ones that have specialized beds and others for vision and hearing loss. Having visited them, I realized that these stores are not just for older people, but for everyone. Injuries are not age related – anyone can hurt themselves in sports or in an accident and wind up with a painful back.

The idea in my mind, and I’m guessing yours too, is that the only time you’d think about buying an electric bed is when you need one for convalescing elders. Boy, was I wrong. Anyone who watches television in bed or who likes to nest and read would really enjoy a bed that sits up with them.

The last store at first specialized in people with vision problems (and again that can affect people of all ages), and then added things to help with hearing difficulties. How many Generation Xers who have used earphones for listening to loud music for most of their lives are starting to need help here?

Boutique Tout pour le Dos, 8780 St.Laurent Blvd at Cremazie Blvd. Phone: 514-383-1582 or 800-268-1582. Hours: Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The salespeople at this shop work on finding the right product to fit your back needs. Yes, there are those comfy desk chairs, but also massaging lounge chairs, memory foam mattresses, belts, portable footrests and seats, adjustable keyboards, exercise devices and lots of advice. A new product is the Bedlounger, which is a cushion with head rests and armrests for comfortable reading in bed. www.toutpourledos.com

Sommeil Davantage, 3555 St. Charles Blvd. at Place Grilli, Kirkland. Phone: 514-322-7777 or 888-744-2878.Monday to Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Electric beds are no longer being bought for bed-ridden patients. Everyone who reads or watches TV in bed would enjoy one that can, with a push of a button, sit up. The 40 models (widths 30″, 39″, 54″or 60″) include some that give massages, others that hug the wall or ones that can go back down if there is a loss of electricity. The showroom also features water beds, air beds and lifting chairs. You must try the massage chairs by Interactive Health and Panasonic. Other locations: 3830 Henri Bourassa Blvd. East. (514-852-2222); Greenfield Park, 2924 Taschereau Blvd.(450-466-6060). www.sommeildavantage.com

Ultravision, 5645 Cote des Neiges Rd. at Cote Ste. Catherine Rd. Phone: 514-344-3988. Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Maybe a store specializing in low vision (and hearing impaired) products doesn’t sound like a place you want to browse through, but some of the gadgets are truly cool. How about a phone with giant numbers or one that amplifies voices to 50 decibels, a talking clock or watch, larger computer letters for your keyboard? Some people might appreciate night driving glasses, a TV screen enlarger or TV ears for personal amplifying. Gift ideas might include a vibrating clock, wearable binoculars or magnifying makeup mirrors. Specialized Fresnel lenses are sold here to help cut computer glare, and video magnifiers (CCTV) can be bought too . www.ultravisionmontreal.com

Full-figured women have a hard time finding really nice clothing in this city. Though the newspapers and television keep telling us that so many people are overweight and are getting larger, the fashion stores are hardly keeping up with the trend. Two of the stores below, though, have gone through renovations in the last two months to make them bigger – so at least they realize what is happening and are responding to it.

I scour the city looking for all kinds of stores and I am still surprised that it is hard to find ones dedicated to the plus size woman (or the plus size man, for that matter). We have a couple of well known chain stores, Additionelle and Pennington’s, but when you want to go up a notch and find really classy stuff, designer names or more exclusive lines, you have to search all around the town.

So I’ve done your foraging for the moment and come up with a few that perhaps you didn’t know about. When you are looking for special sizing, you have to forget about bargains and just bite the bullet and pay the price to find fashionable clothes that fit.

Oppen’s, 4828 St. Laurent Blvd. at Villeneuve Ave. Phone: 514-844-9159. Hours: Tuesday to Friday 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Women with larger needs (sizes 14-24) are lucky when they shop here, for they get personal service with wardrobe coordination. You can expect to be offered lots of mix and match possibilities in washable fabrics, and even jewelry and purses to finish off the look. Well known labels such as Jones NY, Linda Lundstrom, Simon Chang, Conrad C, Conrad C Petite, Spanner, slinky knits and their own Beverly shirts are here. You will enjoy the newly updated facility with more room for fashions, including coats.

Jeannine Julien, 1330 Beaubien St. East at De Lanaudiere St. Phone: 514-277-2779 or 800-361-2779. Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is the ultimate one-stop shopping for the full-figured woman’s needs in undergarments and day wear (Lucia, Doris Streich, Eugen Klein, Rabe, in sizes 16 to 30). The beautifully appointed premises are full of feminine nightgowns, bathing suits (18 to 30), teddies, slips, body suits, pj’s, merry widows, corselets, bras (to 56I) and panties (10X). Full breasted women love the Prima Donna line of bras from Belgium. They are pricey but very lacy and gorgeous and cover the gamut from size 32 to 46 right up to an H cup. The gracious owner knows just how to find the right fit for this special woman.

Boutique Claudia, 150 Ste. Catherine St. West at Jeanne Mance St. in Complexe Desjardins. Phone: 514-282-0476. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Right in the heart of downtown, here’s a spot for full-figured ladies (8 to 20), full-figured petites (8 to18) and some things for regular petites too. The shop has been around for thirty years, and is now in a bigger store with more to choose from. Service has kept everyone coming back all these years, as well as their lines of well-known brand names like Conrad C, Lucien Danois, Apropos, Vex, Hilary Radley, Jones NY and Novelti.

Claire France, 7275 Sherbrooke St. East at Autoroute 25 in Place Versailles. Phone: 514-355-3374. Hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You might not see this small chain of stores in your mall, so I thought you might not know about them. Women searching out sportswear, casual clothing and coats in sizes 12 to 24 will be happy to find them here in labels such as: Juste pour moi, Loes, Magnifica and their own Claire France. Other locations: Les Galeries d’Anjou, Place Desjardins, Carrefour Angrignon, Centre Boulevard, Place Bourassa.

In the cold of winter, it’s a good moment to look for some stick-to-your ribs hearty food.

Part of my background is Polish, and I never realized how influenced you are by your taste genes until I wound up with my husband on a business trip in Mississauga. We had landed in Little Poland, and we wound up eating all of our meals in Polish restaurants and smacking our lips. We just could not get enough of the flavors.

When I returned and tried to find those kind of dishes here, I couldn’t. In Montreal, the restaurants that are Polish-like are more North Americanized for the Canadian palate. I keep pining for the tastes I found there, so I have rounded up a grocery/café that comes closest and two bakeries for some traditional desserts.

The other odd Polish connection is that I don’t bake a lot, but I have one favorite – a much admired and requested dessert recipe for New York Cheesecake. It wasn’t until I walked into Rosemont Bakery that I realized that cheesecake is a staple of a Polish bakery – my taste buds had searched for their roots and found them.

Battory Euro-Deli, 115 St.Viateur Ave. West at St. Urbain St. Phone: 514-948-2161. Hours: Tuesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you have a hankering for hearty Polish delicacies, head over here for the national dish of bigos, and then have some kielbasa and throw in those pierogi stuffed with meat, cheese and potato, cabbage and mushrooms or blueberry. You can buy them cooked to eat on the spot or take them home frozen by the bag. For the winter you can stoke up on some hearty soups in the café. See if you can survive tripe (cow’s stomach) soup or go for the popular Ukrainian borscht (a vegetable soup with beets), clear borsht (just beets), spinach soup or “zurek”, a sour soup with sausage. Stuffed cabbage is on the menu, so are potato pancakes and stuffed crepes – meat or mushroom with cabbage. Cold cuts can be bought too, along with groceries: Winiary dried soups, Tenczywek plum butter, Develey mustard or Kamis and Prymott gravy, Tymbark soda, dumpling mix, horseradish cream, sour cherry syrup and six kinds of sauerkraut or mustards. For dessert look at the counter for cheese, poppy and apple strudel. Prices would please starving artists.

Rosemont Bakery, 2894 Rosemont Blvd. at 6th Avenue. Phone: 514-728-7711. Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Your basic Polish bakery staples are sold by this bakery to many charcuteries and family tables around town. The trays of apple cake come in sweet or not-so-sweet, and there are trays of cheesecake (regular, chocolate on top or peach) and cherry cake. The machovietz loaf has poppy seeds and chocolate on top, and the piernik is a honey cake, while the babka comes in marble or fruit. Donuts are famous in Polish bakeries, so these paczek come with plums inside, vanilla cream or strawberry. The hearty breads are black bread, regular rye and round ryes that have no yeast. To put between the bread slices, there’s country sausage, ham sausage and Polish ham. Some staples fill the wall – Winiary and Prymat sauces, thick “beety” horseradish, candy, Placki mixes, Tymbark juices (carrot, cherry, white grape) and don’t leave without the sour pickles from the fridge.

Patisserie Danka, 15450 Pierrefonds Blvd. at Jacques Bizard. Phone: 514-620-1253. Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A Polish bakery on the West Island is a find. Very traditional babkas, chocolate babkas, cheesecakes (raisins, chocolate covered or poppy seed) and apple cakes are lined up. Authentic strudels in poppy seed, chocolate, vanilla, walnut, lemon and orange are baked, and stefanka, the 7-layer cake, is here along with honey cake made with cream or plums. Roulades come in chocolate or mocha, vanilla and walnut, and you can buy meringues or rum balls. “Drajdushka” are a kind of a brioche with raisins, and those delectable plum donuts are here if you get in early enough. Some groceries (cookies, candies, jams, teas, syrups) and a few videos line the shelves.