A History of Dry Cleaning Chemicals
Dry cleaning has been around since Roman times when ammonia was used to clean woolen togas to prevent any shrinking that happens when wool is exposed to hot water. Next, cleaners moved to petroleum-based solvents like gasoline and kerosene which proved to be highly flammable and dangerous to use. By the 1930s cleaners began using perchloroethylene, commonly called “perc.” This chlorinated solvent is highly effective and still used by many commercial cleaners today. Perc has a distinctive chemical odor, and is classified as carcinogenic to humans. In the 1990s the United States Environmental Protection Agency began to regulate dry cleaning chemicals and encourage commercial cleaners to use safer, more environmentally friendly solvents.
The Commercial Dry Cleaning Process
The commercial dry cleaning process is safer than its ever been. Dry cleaning isn’t better or worse than washing your clothing, but it depends on the garment’s fabric and if it needs a dry cleaning to preserve its look and shape. It begins in your local dry cleaning storefront when you drop off your dirty clothes. Today, most dry cleaners do not have the very large and expensive cleaning equipment on-site; many will transport your laundry to a central cleaning facility. This is more cost-efficient than having machines at every drop-off location. There are several steps for each item cleaned:
Environmentally Friendly Dry Cleaning Options
If you want to bypass traditional dry cleaning chemicals, look for a green dry cleaner who can offer you one of the following services, but make sure you feel comfortable with any of these processes:
How to Get the Best Results From Your Dry Cleaner
Wet cleaning: Water, special detergents, and high-tech washers and dryers remove stains and clean your garments, but it may not be appropriate for all fabrics.Liquid carbon dioxide cleaning: Liquid and gas forms of carbon dioxide are used as non-toxic solvents in complex (and costly) cleaning machines that apply pressure to draw the carbon dioxide through fabrics to remove soil. There is no heat involved which also makes the process more gentle to fabrics.Silicon-based solvent: This solvent, also known as siloxane, is a chemical-free type of liquified sand that removes stains from fabrics. However, the manufacturing of the product may not be so green because it involves chlorine.DF-2000 hydrocarbon solvent: Though this method is touted as organic because the solvent is extracted from the earth, it is a petroleum-based product and may not be as green as you’d prefer.
