Organic Dry Cleaning
July 19th, 2006 by Mollie
After almost 4 years of being married I finally brought my wedding dress in to get dry cleaned. I brought it to my local green dry cleaners, Hawthorne Cleaners in Glen Ellyn, IL.
I haven’t been a big fan of dry cleaning since I found out that they actually did dry clean your clothes (I know, I know…sometimes I am a little slow to catch on). It was all too suspicious. How could they clean your clothes without using soap and water?
The answer…..with chemicals. One particular chemical used is worse than the rest, perchloroethylene (aka: perc). Perc is a contributor to smog, contaminates groundwater (“[A] fact that has prompted state officials to provide bottled water to Chester County residents in two recent cases.”), and in high does is thought to be a carcinogen.
Yeah stinkin’ right, there is NO way I was going to put dry “cleaned” clothes on my fair skin. Others apparently felt the same way because over the past couple of years there has been a rise in “green” dry cleaning. Instead of using harsh chemicals,
[c]arbon dioxide, normally a gas at room temperature, is converted to a liquid at high pressure. It acts as a carrier for biodegradable soaps, much as water carries the soap in a regular washing machine. When the cycle stops, the pressure is relieved and the liquid turns back into a gas, most of which is later reused. The clothes dry instantly and emerge from the machine cool to the touch.
I have found that green dry cleaners aren’t always listed as such, so you may have to call around to a couple different dry cleaners to find one.