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Writers:
Is It Worth It To Use the Green Alternative to Dry Cleaning?
Posted on June 9, 2008 at 9:59 a.m. by Jill.
I vote a resounding, unambivalent YES on this one. The green cleaning process doesn’t leave a chemical smell in your clothes; it produces no air pollution, and doesn’t contaminate water or soil.
Dry cleaners use a solvent called "perchlorethylene" which is a known toxin and probable carcinogen. The release of fumes into the air is a problem for people living near dry cleaners and even more for the folks who work in them.
“Wet cleaners” use a water-based method of cleaning that works for almost any “dry clean only” garment. In Chicago, we’re lucky because there are several branches of the Greener Cleaner around town, and it does pickups and delivery for a very wide area of the city and suburbs. Center for Neighborhood Technology gets a lot of the credit for getting wet cleaning going in Chicago.
The one thing that you might still need dry cleaners for is if you drop salad dressing on your silk blouse or tie. The water technology of wet cleaners isn’t as effective as the solvent-based technology on grease-based stains. If a traditional dry cleaner can get the stain out for you, it can keep you from having to give an old favorite the heave-ho.
And don't forget, many garments that claim to be dry clean only also do fine when handwashed at home.
the green mama commented, on June 17, 2008 at 4:08 p.m.:
I was horrified when recently attending the International La Leche Conference in Chicago to discover that perchlorethylene, as well as other dry-cleaning chemicals, are routinely found in women's breastmilk. Even if they have never lived near or worked at a drycleaner. The chemicals off-gas and enter our bloodstreams and our milk and our babies get a big wallup of them. (Breasfeeding is still the best option for babies as it provides lots of positive effects and formula is plaqued by other toxins, such as phthalates, and is made with water where perchlorethylene also ends up).
It's just a reminder that moms and the babies we grow and feed are the fragile tip of the chemical food chain.
Just another reason that mamas and papas everywhere might want to pass up the dryclean-only outfits or start using the Greener Cleaner.
Stephenie commented, on June 21, 2008 at 2:10 p.m.:
Great information about dry-cleaning and its alternatives, ladies! One additional comment regarding the times when dry-cleaning is still your only option. It is advised that when you bring your garment home from the conventional dry-cleaners that you hang it, unwrapped from its plastic casing, outside for at least 24 hours. This will allow the chemicals to off-gas without much harm to you. If you can leave it for several days, you'll be better off.
Stephenie commented, on June 21, 2008 at 3:15 p.m.:
One more thought...for those listeners and readers not in the Chicago area, you can check these websites to help you locate a "greener cleaner" in your neck-of-the-woods.
http://www.greenearthcleaning.com/ros...
http://www.hangersdrycleaners.com/loc...
And the Sierra Club has a great pdf document that explains Perchloroethylene and its hazards in a clear, concise manner. http://www.sierraclub.org/cleanair/dr...