How does the dry cleaning work?

If I have a washing machine and a tumble dryer at home, why should I even think about using the dry cleaning services? Good question to ask and I’m going to attempt to answer it.

The thing is that with more and more services appearing and willing to do our house chores for us, it’s hard to figure them out and understand whether they’re really worth paying for. However, dry cleaning seems to be around for a while now, and still some people hesitate if they should take their dirty laundry out of the house and bring it somewhere to get it cleaned. At the first sight, it seems like a complete laziness and unnecessary waste of money, as you can generally do the same thing at home and pay just for water and detergent (plus, electricity, of course).

The magic that makes that thing work and actually make clothes spotless and crispy clean without involving water and usual detergents is sometimes deterrent. How in the world does this thing make it happen?That becomes a reason why we ask numerous other questions about the dry cleaning.

Which clothes can I bring there? Why shouldn’t I simply wash them? Will it ruing my things? Will it get rid of stains and spots? Can I get big items (like coats, rugs, couch covers) cleaned there? Let’s solve the riddle together and find out if this service can prove its effectiveness and, consequently, if it’s worth spending money on.

Why should you bring your stuff to the dry cleaners?

The matter is that not every type of fabric and clothes can be subject to regular laundry procedure, which means washing things with water and special chemical detergent. And, it doesn’t matter whether you do it manually or use a washing machine with various temperature settings and regimes designed for different kinds of clothes and materials. Some fabrics are not supposed to directly contact with water and soak in it. Otherwise, they get ruined gradually (if you’re lucky) or instantly.

Also, some clothing items (like coats, jackets and costumes) may lose their shape when washed by hand or in the washer. And, material they’re made of might be also the kind you’re not supposed to put in the water as well.

That’s why you should better bring them to the drycleaners not to cry over the spoiled dress, woolen sweater or a jacket. Pay less to save more (or however they say it).


And, dry cleaning is a perfect solution if your washer broke and a handyman hasn’t come to fix it yet.

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What items should I bring to the dry cleaning?

In order to figure out what closing items you should bring to the dry cleaning shop instead of stuffing them into the washing machine, go through your closet and look at the clothes’ tags for the ‘dry cleaning only’ sign presence. You may even go ahead and devote a separate section to these items in your closet not to mix them up with the ‘ordinary laundry’ things. The universal rule is to think will the item shrink, fade or rip when washed with water and regular detergent and decide which of the two groups this or that thing belongs to.

Typically, you’re not supposed to wash woolen and cashmere sweaters (or other items like dresses, hats, etc.), suede items (e.g. jackets), silky things, sequined and laced clothes. If you do so, your clothing items might shrink, lose color and texture. Décor elements such as sequins, studs and crystals might fall of and the fabric will get damaged. In short, your dress, pats or jacket will be ruined and not wearable anymore.

But, there’re also some washable items you may bring to the dry cleaning, as the fabric will bear such treatment easier and, consequently, it will last longer. Besides, some clothes like cotton jackets and blazers, men’s and women’s business suits, coats are easier to get cleaned in the drycleaners, as they use special methods considering these items and professional press to make them wrinkle-free.

Just imagine your struggle when desperately trying to iron a dress or a costume for a night out and you’ll see the benefits of dry cleaning. I’m not even mentioning winter coats, snow gear and couch covers.

In addition to that, some spots and stains you didn’t manage to get rid of at home might be removed easily through the dry cleaning techniques.

What’s dry cleaning and how it actually works

So, drycleaners is the place where a special method is used to get clothes of different kind (especially made of delicate materials or of sharp and defined shapes). It’s not actually dry method (sorry to disappoint those of you who didn’t know that), but it actually excludes water from the process by replacing it with the chemical solvent, which is surprisingly more gentle on the delicate fabrics like wool and silk (and others).

As most of technology and cool inventions, it was discovered by accident. One ordinary and unremarkable day in the middle of 19th century (just stop right here for a sec!) an ordinary dye-worker from France called Jolly Belin was making his way near the pile of his dirty clothes or a tablecloth with stains or on a greasy carpet (the history doesn’t give more correct details) holding a vial with kerosene.

Being clumsy, he spilled some of it onto one of the dirty things I’ve mentioned above. And, he noticed that kerosene managed to remove old stains he couldn’t get rid of by washing with a normal soap and water. Then, he decided to look into it deeper and began testing how well kerosene can wash. He was also the first man to open a dry cleaning service, thus he’s considered to be the founder of the entire dry cleaning service.

Kerosene was used in dry cleaning for a while, but as it’s highly flammable, it was replaced by perchloroethylene (often referred to as perch) in mid-20th century and has been used in this industry since that time.
Now, you can understand that clothing items are really ‘washed’ in liquid at the drycleaners shop, but not with water, but with a special chemical solvent, poured into the dry cleaning machine (which looks like a large washer) instead of water.

The ordinary dry-cleaning cycle from the point, when you drop the clothes off till you come to pick it up.

When you come to the drycleaners and hand your dirty clothes over, they begin their journey through the dry cleaning. The first thing that is done to them is sorting. A special tag (bar code) with the kind of fabric and treatment is attached to your dress, blouse, shirt or jacket. Besides, the color and brand name, along with the owner’s name and contact phone is written on that tag as well. Dry cleaning workers examine each of the items for stains, missing buttons or other damages on them, so that the service won’t be blamed for that by the clothes’ owners afterwards.

Then, clothes appear on the racks with similar items.

Once they’re collected together, they are put into a rather complicated dry cleaning machine. You might get confused, as it looks like an ordinary front-load washer everyone has at home, but a lot larger (and a little bit outdated). But, in fact, it differs from it drastically, as the drum is designed and built in completely different way. It’s adapted to the liquid used in the process. It rotates inside and outer shell with the dry cleaning solvent. So, chemicals aren’t actually poured into the drum and directly onto the clothes. Besides, regimes and movements are set up to wash clothes gently, but still remove the dirt.

Machine separates the dirt from the solvent, that’s why it is recycled. After the washing cycle, machine performs the drying one.

After the clothes are cleaned, they are checked for the remaining stains. If there’re any, they are removed by workers. Then, all items are directed to the press, where hot air makes them smooth and wrinkle-free without any ironing involved. Again, different pressing machines are used to process different kinds of clothing.

Depending on their size and drums, dry cleaning machines may clean from 2 to 100 pounds of clothes. Impressive, isn’t it? And, different chemicals are applied to various types of fabric to clean it with no harm. Moreover, non-toxic, non-allergic and eco-friendly cleaning liquids become a common thing now.

In the end, all items are sorted once again and prepared to be picked up by their owners.

Now, when you have a general idea of how the drycleaners work, find a place that provides such services in your local area using HireRush.com and get your favorite delicate items cleaned and ready to go.