Dry cleaning: where it all started and how it can benefit you

Since people have been wearing clothes, people have also been washing clothes. Whether you’re someone whose life depends on a washing machine to churn out mountains of laundry, or if you’re someone who enjoys the simple method of a good hand wash, this is always a weekly chorus we can’t escape. Today, we now have dry cleaning at our fingertips and there are a wide variety of services to choose from, but how did it all start?

The history of the dry cleaner goes back to the year 79 AD. C. in ancient Rome, where the first cleaners were called “fulaneros”. They used a combination of ammonia, bleach, and a clay called “fuller’s earth” to absorb dirt from their clothes.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, cleaning methods began to develop and cleaners used non-water-based solvents to remove unwanted stains like dirt from a variety of different garments. In 1985, Jean Baptiste Jolly was a French dry cleaner operator who recognized the potential of using petroleum-based solvents like gasoline and kerosene to remove stains. This service was the first manifest ‘dry cleaner’ still offering the familiar service we use today. However, since petroleum solvents caused so many explosions and fires due to flammability, strict government regulation had to be established.

Because of this, an Atlanta dry cleaner named William Joseph Stoddard developed a turpentine solvent as an alternative to highly flammable gasoline-based solvents. From here on, cleaning methods continue to evolve. Although in 1939, World War II caused gasoline shortages, which meant that tetrachlorethylene (perchlorethylene), commonly known as perc, became the most popular solvent. It was non-flammable and provided the highest level of cleaning power, and thanks to this, professional cleaners were able to return to cities.

Today at home you would normally wash your clothes in a washing machine and then dry them in the dryer, however, a dry cleaning machine takes both processes and combines them into one.

The garments are placed in the core of the machine inside a washing chamber known as a “basket” or “drum”, which is perforated and rotates inside an outer shell that contains the solvent. The chamber is filled with a third of solvent and begins to rotate, maintaining the temperature of the solvent at 30 degrees Celsius. During the cycle, the solvent in the chamber (also known as a “cage” or “tackle box”) passes back and forth through a filter chamber and the cage itself. This is known as the wash cycle.

Before any garment is washed, it should be thoroughly checked for foreign objects that may be hidden in the pockets. Items like plastic pens will easily dissolve in the solvent, which in turn can damage and ruin garments to the point that they need to be discarded. The rule of separating dark colors from light colors still applies as the dye can come off when exposed to solvent. Before dry cleaning is carried out, items should be checked for compatibility, as many closures are typically not solvent proof or simply cannot withstand the wash cycle. If this is the case, they will be removed and replaced after cleaning is complete, or protected where possible.

After the wash cycle comes the rinse cycle, where the garment is rinsed with a fresh distilled solvent, which prevents discoloration of dirty particles. Then, after the rinse cycle, the machine starts the extraction process, which collects all the solvent for reuse. Once the solvent has been drained, the drying cycle begins and the garments are tumbled in the warm air flowing through the basket. In modern dry cleaning machines, a closed-loop system is used, which means that the cooled air can be reheated and recirculated, resulting in reduced air pollution and higher solvent recovery. Once the drying cycle is complete, the aeration cycle cools the garments and continues to remove any remaining solvent. The garments are then ready to be ironed and finished.

Although the powerful method of dry cleaning has long been appreciated for removing stains with a single wash, not all stains can be removed simply by dry cleaning. Some stains will need particular treatments, such as specific solvent stains, using a jet stream to clean the stain, or a good soak in a specialized stain remover, all of which should have been applied before putting the garment through the wash cycle. . Garments that have been dirty for a long time are even more problematic when it comes to stain removal, but if they are successfully removed, the color or texture of the garment may not be the same.

With that said, dry cleaning remains one of the most popular sources of laundry to date and is a win-win for people with busy schedules. With modern technical advances, some dry cleaning services can be accessed through mobile apps, which means you can have an efficient dry cleaning service at the click of a button. Click Clean Clothes is just one example of a quick dry cleaning service in Brighton. They offer dry cleaning with free pickup and delivery, which means they will work around you to provide you with the best service.

So the next time you have some specific laundry needs, whether you urgently need to iron your shirt and suit for a black tie event, or just want to take your mind off a mountain of laundry, why not try your local dry cleaning service? It could be the most ideal solution for you to move forward.