We are the oldest family owned and operated cleaners in Mobile.

Taylor Waite founded Waite’s Cleaners in Mobile, Alabama in 1952. Mr. Waite began his career in dry-cleaning while in the army. Once Taylor Waite returned to civilian life, the idea of Waite’s Cleaners began to spring up. It all started as a simple neighborhood dry-cleaners at the end of World War II. Taylor Waite wanted to help out his neighbors by doing a simple service for them during this rough economic time. With many families having both spouses working, Taylor Waite would pick up their dry-cleaning and laundry and would return their clean clothes back to them. Soon there after, many people began to hear of Mr. Waite’s excellent work and business started to boom. Mr. and Mrs. Waite moved out of their home to a new location and built on to their first home, which became Waite’s Cleaners. As the years passed by and Leland Waite, their youngest son, began to learn the business, Mr. and Mrs. Waite passed the ownership to him.

In 1976 Leland Waite focused on building the over-the-counter business by doing quality dry-cleaning. He had the best customer relations personnel in town with his mother Sara Waite and her sisters Ann and Zeda, along with his sister Mary. In 1994, Waite’s Cleaners began bursting at the seams of their 3600sq building, so Leland decided to build across the street a 10,000sq building and was dubbed “the new cleaners in town”, but in all actuality, Waite’s had been around for 44 years at the time. Waite’s Cleaners went from a small 3-5 employee business to 21 employees over night. Leland Waite has been the past president of the South Eastern Fabricare Association and is currently still serving on the board of directors. He is also currently serving as a member of the Dry-Cleaning & Laundry Institute district committee.

Clifford, Leland’s youngest son, joined the family business after graduating from Auburn University in 2010. He has restarted the routes that helped Waite’s become so successful.  Now, homes and offices all across the city of Mobile are able to erase the errand run to the Dry-Cleaner because the Dry-Cleaner is coming to them for free!