Six Great Facts About Laundry Services
Regardless of the name, dry cleaning is a procedure that uses liquids aside from water to clean clothes, bedding, upholstery and other kinds of materials. Water can damage specific materials-- such as wool, leather and silk-- and a cleaning machine can wreak havoc on buttons, lace, sequins and other delicate designs. Enter dry cleaning. Dry cleaning chemicals Dry cleaners use a variety of solvents to clean fabric. Early solvents included gasoline, kerosene, benzene, turpentine and petroleum, which were really flammable and unsafe, according to the State Coalition for Removal of Drycleaners (SCRD), a group whose members share details about cleanup programs. The 1930s saw the development of artificial, nonflammable solvents-- such as perchloroethylene (likewise called perc or PCE) and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (also known as GreenEarth)-- which are still used today. Detergents are typically added to the solvents to aid in the removal of soils, according to an SCRD report titled "