SAN ANTONIO – At 2 a.m., Kirsten Thomas already is up to her elbows in the makings of a super-sized laundry day.
Before the sun came up, she already had loaded up several extra-large washing machines with piles of other people’s clothing.
“It just comes natural, I guess,” she said, referring to her ability to work the unusual schedule. “But I take a nap in the afternoons.”
Thomas is a longtime employee of Cowboy Cleaners, a family-owned San Antonio staple, itself, for more than 40 years.
She helps to take a load off for customers from its six different stores, as well as those who take advantage of the at-home pickup service.
Inside a building on the city’s North Side, she washes and dries dozens of loads of laundry during the overnight hours.
George Andrews, meanwhile, works next door, handling dry cleaning duties.
He arrives after 3 a.m. each day and often finds his work has piled up already.
Still, he said, he aims to treat each item of clothing as though it is the only one.
"It’s garment by garment, it’s day by day,” Andrews said. “It’s our goal to make them look as close to brand new as possible that very same day.”
Andrews has been working in the dry-cleaning industry for about three decades.
He said Cowboy Cleaners goes to great lengths to be as environmentally conscious as possible.
“We do reclaim the dry-cleaning solvent and reuse it,” he said. “It goes through a filtering process.”
It takes a human touch, though, to make sure the clothing comes out as clean as possible.
Both Andrews and Thomas spend time poring over each garment, looking for any areas that may require extra attention or treatment.
While spotting stains is a normal part of their job, they say they’ve often found surprises within the clothing.
“Credit cards, driver’s licenses, pocket knives,” Thomas said.
Andrews said his discoveries have included lipsticks, money and just about “anything you have in your pocket.”
Anything that is found is returned to the customers, he said.
Both say they feel lucky to have what they consider a dream job.
They also don’t mind doing it at an hour while other people are still in dreamland.