Laundry & Dry Cleaning at Citymax Hotel Ras Al Khaimah.

The cheapest way to stay clean on the road. Everything casual goes in one sack and is weighed: up to six kilos is sixty dirhams, up to twelve is ninety-nine, then twelve per extra kilo. Two people sharing a room usually fit the larger bag and halve the cost each.

Save dry cleaning for the clothes that truly need it: a wool blazer at forty, smart trousers at eighteen, a blouse or shirt at fifteen, a basic abaya at eighteen. Pieces handed over before midday can be back the same evening.

If clothes are clean but crumpled from the suitcase, skip the wash. A T-shirt or shirt on a hanger costs nine dirhams, a skirt twelve and a dress twenty-five, and the pressed pile is at reception again the next day.

Hotel bedding is the hotel's business. This card is for people who have moved on to a shared flat in Dafan Al Nakheel: sheets cost eighteen dirhams, towels six, pillowcases seven and a duvet fifty, washed within a day.

City breaks mean miles on foot. Sneakers and smart shoes cost fifty-five dirhams to clean, sandals and espadrilles forty-five and children's pairs thirty-five; budget two to four days before you need them again.

The backpack that has been everywhere with you, or a canvas tote from the souq. Backpacks and totes cost forty-five dirhams, a school bag forty and a gym duffel sixty-five, with three to five days needed.

A missing button, a split seam or jeans that are too long. A single shirt button is fifteen dirhams, a seam repair forty and a trouser hem forty, returned within two or three days; cheaper than buying the item again.

For anyone moving from the hotel into a flat nearby and inheriting a dusty rug. Regular carpet costs twenty dirhams a square metre, wool twenty-six and curtains twenty to twenty-five, finished in three days.

For families staying in the city for a celebration. Simple bridal dresses start at two hundred and fifty dirhams, beaded ones at four hundred and fifty, and a bridesmaid dress costs thirty-five. Allow up to two weeks.

For promoters working mall events at Al Naeem Mall and around town who need a character costume fresh again. Costumes cost two hundred, two hundred and thirty or two hundred and fifty dirhams by size, plus thirty per accessory.

Visiting families often bring one beloved soft toy that ends up grubby. A small one is fifty-five dirhams, medium seventy and large one hundred and twenty, washed gently and returned in two to three days.

Tenants leaving a furnished flat nearby often need sofa covers clean before handing back the keys. Standard covers are thirty-five dirhams, large forty, cushion covers ten to twenty, done in two to three days.

A good leather jacket costs far more to replace than to clean. Cleaning one is one hundred and fifty dirhams, a coat or blazer one hundred and thirty, a wallet or belt one hundred, over three to five days.