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.
July 19th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
That’s pretty interesting.
I plan on staying as far away from any sort of cleaning as possible.
August 1st, 2006 at 6:26 pm
Someone recommended your blog to me at BlogHer 06 when I mentioned I was looking for the rising female voices of the blogosphere. They were right in pointing me in your direction.
Yours is the first blog I’ve read today that made me think, “Wow, I really had no idea!” followed by, “Ummm…I better go change…”
As an advocate and passionate supporter of natural medicine, organic whole foods, etc., I continually find it shocking the many ills of our world I’m still not hip to.
Thank you for the enlightening post. Also, please email me if you’re interested in being featured in our Women in the Blogosphere Series. I’d like to provide your blog to our deciding panelists.
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:17 am
While i avoid dry-clean only clothes as much as possible, when I do need it I go to Zoots (www.zoots.com) They are PERC free. Their web site says:
ZOOTS uses a non-toxic, odorless cleaning process that has been thoroughly tested and proven to cause no short or long term health risks.
• Our cleaning agent is 100% biodegradable so it’s completely safe for the environment.
• Our perc-free cleaning process is gentler on your clothes and leaves them without that “dry cleaning” smell.
August 24th, 2006 at 4:23 am
Jaime,
Thank you for such a nice and encouraging comment.
Alotta,
Thank you for the ZOOTS tip.
February 7th, 2007 at 4:51 am
Zoots uses Hydrocarbon made by Exxon, not perc but not so green either. For the ultimate in green drycleaning find a CO2 cleaner. You can use the website http://www.FindCO2.com
August 24th, 2008 at 10:16 am
I’m always into discussions on anything organic, so this read made me feel at home.
I’ll bookmark the site and subscribe to the feed!
August 26th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Hi Mollie. My name is Adam and I own a “green” dry cleaning business in Austin, TX and we specialize in wedding dress preservation and cleaning. You are right about perc. I have chronicled many blog posts on my blog http://www.austincleaners.net/blog about the dangerous of cleaning with perc. We use an organic solvent that is extremely gentle on the wedding dresses. You should always make sure to ask your dry cleaner if they use perc, whether you are simply cleaning your wedding gown or you are dry cleaning on a regular basis.
-Adam