We generally use water to do laundry in a washing machine. However, there are many fabrics that can't handle water. This is why we often notice "Dry Clean Only" tags in garments. Wool, for instance, shrinks more when cleaned with water and causes agitation. Delicate fabrics must always be dry-cleaned.
Graments look fresh and immaculate after dry cleaning by preventing fabric shrinkage, change of texture, loss of colour, etc. the term itself is a little misleading? The process of dry cleaning is not actually dry. Continue reading to learn more about this textile cleaning process.
Dry Cleaning Overview
Dry cleaning relies on chemical solvents instead of soap water to remove dirt and eliminate stains. Garments are soaked in a water-free liquid solvent. Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene) is the commonly used solvent in dry cleaning but it is not the ultimate option. Dry cleaners may also use alternative solvents like petroleum spirits or 1-bromopropane to dry clean clothes.
Tetrachloroethylene is widely popular as "perc" across the industry. However, perc or its alternatives like petroleum spirits or 1-bromopropane were not the initial choices for dry cleaning. Previously, dry cleaners used kerosene oil, but it had a disadvantage. Everyone knows kerosene is highly flammable. Finally, after World War II, laundry experts started using tetrachloroethylene and other alternatives for dry cleaning.
How Is Dry Cleaning Done?
Textile experts recommend dry cleaning for clothes that can't be water-washed(water wash might adversely affect texture and colour in some cases). Since this method can't be performed at home in a normal washing machine, we will only look at the commercial dry cleaning method.
An experieced and trusted dry cleaner would start the process by typically labelling each garment with a unique number for easy identification. Once visual inspection and stain tretament of items is complete, items which are specifically identified as “fit for dry cleaning” (through care label instructions and cleaners past experience) special chemicals are used for the pre-treatment process.
The experts typically cover buttons or embellishments (if applicable) while performing the treatment. Removing the buttons or embellishments is also a great way to protect them from damage.
Finally, the experts put the clothes in the dry cleaning machine along with their choice of organic solvent. such machines are massive compared to domestic washing machines and also have numerous settings to treat different kinds of items. Dry Most Dry cleaning machines have excellent temperature-controlling features and can be set at a slower spinning rate also for delicate and embellished items .
At the end of the dry cleaning cycle, experts thoroughly inspect garments to ensure that if stain removal and cleaning is completed as per desired results. Not to mention, ironing garments for full service comes as a standard process which follows dry clean.
While dry cleaning is inherently opaque to most customers since everything takes place behind the scene, we hope our effort has helped you develop a better understanding of the process. However, the most important question still remains – who should you trust for dry cleaning?
The most common process would be perform Google search with terms like best dry cleaners near me. the online process of searching and filtering the best dry cleaner in your city is no doubt a daunting job. What might make this task easier is checking out customer reviews, call centre response time and quality, sample testing basic items intially to analyse dry cleaning quality. suggest trying Laundrybox for your laundry and dry cleaning needs. With a 4.7-star rating, textile experts with more than 15 years of indutry experience, we also featured in Forbes for being one of the top 3 most promising startups.
Laundrybox is the home of the best dry cleaners in Dubai who are committed to provide the best cleaning solution to clients. Download our laundry app now to schedule a pickup.
