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Writer's pictureKevin Kenealy

How Dry-Cleaning Works - The Essential Process Explained



Dry cleaning is one of the well-used methods of cleaning delicate and costly clothes. Unlike laundry cleaning, dry cleaning does not involve water and soap. So, rather than cleaning fabrics with water and soap, they are cleaned with the chemical perchloroethylene. This article aims to illustrate the step-by-step procedure of professional dry-cleaning to help you understand how it works.

How Dry-Cleaning Works

Tagging the Garments

Each item is carefully examined and tagged when clothes arrive at the dry cleaner. Tags indicate the owner's name, date received, requested services, and details about stains or issues needing special attention. Proper tagging helps keep track of customers' items through the plant.

Pre-treating Stains

Once tagged, heavily soiled or stained areas are pre-treated to loosen and lift dirt before cleaning. Different agents, such as detergents, solvents, or other removal products, may be applied depending on the stain type. Pre-treating facilitates complete stain removal.

Cleaning with Solvents

The primary dry-cleaning process uses organic solvents instead of water. Garments are placed in a stainless-steel basket within a specialized washing machine. As the basket rotates, the solvent is pumped in and out to clean fabrics.

The most common solvent is perchloroethylene, which effectively dissolves grease and oils. It also evaporates quickly, speeding up drying. The solvent is then filtered and recaptured for reuse, making the process eco-friendlier.

Drying

Solvent-washed garments are dried in a closed-loop airdrying system. After washing with a solvent, garments are conveyed to the airdrying system. Solvent vapors that may still be present in the fabrics are expelled while fresh air is allowed to circulate to eliminate any traces of moisture. The operator may heat the dry-cleaning basket to increase the rate of evaporation. Shrinkage is prevented, and the fabric's feel is regained through drying correctly.

Finishing Touches

After that, the garments are subjected to a drying process, followed by examining each garment. If necessary, a specific kind of agent known as a spotting agent is applied to the fabric to remove any remaining stains. Then, the fabrics are ironed or steamed to remove wrinkles and set the garments in the proper form.

Return to Customer

The washed and ironed clothes are then packed and arranged according to the customer’s instructions and delivered back to the customer. The individual orders are compared with the original tags to ensure all items are retrieved. Convenience is not the only benefit of patronizing a dry cleaner, as most also provide delivery and pick-up services.

Conclusion

Dry cleaning is certainly waterless; however, it is still a complex process that employs some notable tools and techniques. Tagging, pre-treating, solvent washing, proper drying, and finishing in the dry-cleaning process enable cleaners to carefully assess the qualities of delicate fabrics and preserve them effectively. 


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