What is “Drycleaning” and what actually happens at a Drycleaners?
For starters, drycleaning ain’t actually “dry”. So the term itself is a misnomer. This process can be a bit mysterious as a lot happens behind the scenes to get your precious garments cleaned thoroughly. Like the stains on that dress, let us break it down for you. The drycleaning process refers to cleaning clothes and fabrics by using a chemical solvent that contains little or zero water. The absence of water in the process is where the term “drycleaning” derives (one mystery solved). While cleaning the surface of fabrics, the chemical solvent does not penetrate the fibers like water does in a washing machine.
Hang on a sec! Did you just say Chemical Solvent? That can’t possibly be good for my skin and my allergies, can it? Well this depends on what solvent is actually used. Be cautious that some Drycleaners still use a relatively outdated solvent called perchloroethylene or “Perc” for short. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has deemed this particular chemical hazardous to workers and consumers. Will it strip of super stubborn stains? Sure it can but think twice about drycleaners that use Perc - most still do. At Flow, we have invested in a safer more modern method of drycleaning using hydrocarbon. A greener and safer alternative to Perc.
Drycleaning is typically used on clothes and fabrics that cannot withstand the rigors of a standard home washer and dryer such as silk, wool, cashmere and quvuit. It’s also used for garments that shouldn’t be exposed to the heat of a traditional dryer. This process preserves the desirable qualities of many fabrics and helps to prevent shrinking and stretching. It also eliminates the need for more time-consuming hand-washing (we do enough of this these days).
So you’ve handed your precious garment over to your drycleaner, what happens next? Today, most drycleaners do not have the very large and expensive cleaning equipment on-site; many will safely transport your laundry to a central cleaning facility. There are several steps in the process:
Garment Tagging and Inspection
Your drycleaner will create a label and tag your items. This is also when your clothes are examined for any stains, missing buttons, tears, etc which are internally noted for the next step.
Stain Pre-treatment
Drycleaners will typically go through a pre-spotting process where they’ll apply a chemical solvent, vacuum, or heat to stains on your garment, which helps to remove the stain during the actual dry cleaning process.
Machine Drycleaning
Once your clothes have been pre-spotted, your clothes are placed into a machine and submerged into a non-water based solvent. The machines look like a giant steel frontload washer. The clothes are then rotated in a perforated cylinder where the cleaning solvent is released steadily through the entire process. Once that’s done, the “dry” cycle begins and drum of the machine rapidly spins the clothes to get rid of any excess solvent and releases warm air. Your clothes emerge completely dry.
Post-Spotting
Here the drycleaner will inspect your clothes for any remaining stains and residue and remove them using the same process they did in the pre-spotting stage. Sometimes for very stubborn stains, step 3 is repeated.
Finishing
Once your clothes have gone through the complete drycleaning process, they are pressed, steamed, or ironed for presentation. This is the part we love because it makes your clothes look and feel amazing. Typically, there should not be any scent to your drycleaned garments as the chemical solvents smell neutral. Sometimes depending on the fabric, stains and pre-existing odours, garments are actually washed in water.
That’s all there is to it folks. If you have any more questions feel free to reach out to us directly.
