CINCINNATI — Between pressing shirts, washing dresses and steaming blazers, Josh Pinkey and his team at ZIPS always make time to wash one special garment.

ZIPS cleans and mends American flags for free year-round — a small gesture that Pinkey said speaks volumes to him, both as a veteran and a small-business owner.

Before starting a ZIPS franchise in Cincinnati’s Oakley neighborhood, Pinkey served in the U.S. Army for 10 years. When he retired, he said he wanted his next career to offer a degree of independence, while also providing careers for others.

“It was never a dream to own a dry cleaner but it was to own a business, help others, employ others — so this helps me kind of do all those things,” he said. “There are some jobs that are still hard work and hard labor and take time and blood sweat and tears and this is one of them.”

Pinkey's business is four-years-old and has a team of 10 employees. Pinkey said he’s loved to see the business grow and find a niche in the community.

“A lot of Americans want to support small businesses and they want to support veteran-owned small businesses,” he said.

Pinkey also found many of those customers are either veterans or family of service members themselves; around Memorial Day, Veterans Day and the Fourth of July holidays, ZIPS gets the most requests for its flag cleaning service. Pinkey said his franchise cleans a few dozen every year.

“Just something that we’re honored to do,” he said. “I have a lot of pride in our country, as imperfect as it may be. I don’t think there’s a better one out there.”

Cleaning the U.S. Flag does not require dry cleaning, but there are many factors to consider to keep the colors bright and the fabric strong. The flag should be washed on its own, with mild detergent and no fabric softener. It should also be pressed or hang-dried, not tumble dried