![]() ![]() When the dry cleaning cycle is finished, the garments are inspected again to make sure all stains have been removed from the garment. Dry cleaning machines can be set to spin much slower and have greater temperature control, too. These machines are much larger than the washing machines we have at home but work with the same basic spinning function. The organic solvent of choice (or water if your dry cleaner uses the wet cleaning method) is pumped into the machine while the clothing is agitated at a gentle pace. The soiled clothing is placed in a dry cleaning machine. ![]() Some dry cleaners may even choose to remove embellishments and buttons as an extra precaution. At this point, any embellishments or buttons are also covered with a soft cloth to protect them from damage during the dry cleaning process. ![]() Pretreatment is done with special chemicals made for specific kinds of stains and fabrics. Step 2: Inspection and stain pre-treatment.Īll of the garments are visually inspected, and any stains are marked and pre-treated, if necessary. This helps busy dry cleaners keep track of their customer’s clothing and avoids the headache of giving the wrong items to a customer when the process is finished. When you first drop off your clothing at the dry cleaner, it is tagged with a unique number to identify each item. How the Process of Dry Cleaning Works Step 1: Garment tagging. For these reasons, the EPA very heavily regulates the use of perc by dry cleaners. Even minor spills can cause major contamination to the soil and groundwater around the dry cleaner facility. Perchloroethylene (or perc as it’s commonly called) is a volatile organic compound which has been found to be carcinogenic and not great for the environment. William Joseph Stoddard, an American dry cleaner created the first non-petroleum cleaning solvent for dry cleaning, but it was Michael Faraday who discovered perchloroethylene, which is still the solvent of choice for most dry cleaners. These chemicals are incredibly flammable and not safe to work with over prolonged periods of time. It wasn’t long before dry cleaners found that using petroleum-based chemicals (like kerosene and gasoline) was not a good option. Jolly recognized that this discovery had the potential to change the way we clean clothing and opened the first dry cleaning business in France. When the kerosene evaporated, he noticed that the stains on the tablecloth had disappeared. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in a fire in 1836, but the method used in modern day dry cleaners still closely follows his original process.Īccording to Enviro Forensics, four years later, in 1825, Jean-Baptist Jolly, a dye-worker in France, made a similar discovery when a maid working for him spilled kerosene on a paint-stained linen tablecloth. A year later, he filed a patent with the U.S Patent Office for a process he called "dry scouring." This patent made Jennings the first African American to hold a patent in the United States, according to IPOEF. In 1820, Thomas Jennings, a tailor in New York, was working on finding a method to clean his customer’s clothing without damaging the delicate garments. Most dry cleaners have years of hands-on experience, and organizations like the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute offer training and resources for dry cleaners around the world. But don’t be fooled, dry cleaning is not a process you can do without the proper training and equipment. Clothing - yours and other people’s - is washed in a machine similar (though bigger, more expensive and much more adjustable) to the washing machines we use at home. Instead of cleaning with water and detergents, garments are cleaned with organic solvents that work to lift stains without damaging delicate fabrics such as silk, wool and velvet. And as strange as that may sound, dry cleaning does actually clean your clothes. Unlike traditional laundry, which uses water and detergent, dry cleaning is the process of cleaning clothing without the use of water. Taking our clothing to the dry cleaners is often a top chore on our to-do list, but rarely are we thinking about how our most precious shirts, pants and uniforms actually get cleaned.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |