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English Dry cleaning is one of the popular methods today, suitable for difficult-to-wash fabrics such as leather, wool, and down. So, what is dry cleaning, and how is the process carried out? Let's Thai Tuan LMS find the answers below!
What is dry cleaning?
Dry cleaning is a method that uses chemical solvents (not water) to clean dirt and odors from fabrics without affecting their quality.
The solvents commonly used in dry cleaning include tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene PCE), decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (liquid silicone), and hydrocarbon-based organic salts.
Advantages and disadvantages of dry cleaning
When using dry cleaning, there are several advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages
- Effective cleaning: Dry cleaning can effectively remove stubborn stains from clothes, wool items, carpets, etc., that regular washing cannot clean.
- Preserves color and shape: It protects sensitive materials from water, and high-quality textiles, helping to maintain the color, shape, and size of clothing and fabrics.
- Safe for all fabric types: Dry cleaning can be applied to all types of fabrics, including high-end materials like silk, leather, and wool.
- Time-saving: Clothing and fabrics can be worn immediately after dry cleaning, eliminating the need for drying or air-drying time.
- Antimicrobial and odor elimination: Dry cleaning solvents can effectively eliminate odors and bacteria, keeping laundry fresh and clean.
Disadvantages
Along with its superior advantages, dry cleaning also has some disadvantages:
- Higher cost: It requires the use of dry cleaning machines and specialized solvents.
- Environmental risk: If not properly treated, some solvents used in dry cleaning can harm the environment.
- Health risks: Some chemical solvents used in dry cleaning may affect human health if inhaled at high concentrations.
- Potential damage to certain fabrics: Some specific fabrics may be damaged by dry cleaning.
- Some very stubborn, long-standing stains may not be completely removed by dry cleaning.
Reasons to Dry Clean
Using a solvent-based chemical cleaning method can provide many benefits for your laundry.
Dry cleaning helps preserve clothing better
Certain fabrics are sensitive to water or high temperatures. For these materials, dry cleaning with special chemicals that do not contain sodium hydroxide or harsh detergents is necessary.
Some items dyed with water-based dyes can easily fade in water. However, these dyes are quite durable when dry cleaned, helping maintain the color longer.
Reduces shrinkage and fabric damage
Fabrics made from animal fibers like wool and silk can easily shrink, warp, or wrinkle when washed with water due to their fiber structure. For these materials, dry cleaning or gentle hand washing with special chemicals that do not contain sodium and harsh detergents is recommended to avoid clothing damage.
Dry cleaning provides better quality
Dry cleaning ensures the fabric maintains its quality and shape as originally intended. In practice, to create styles and maintain the shape of new clothes, a special "starch" coating is often applied. When washed with water, these coatings usually dissolve, leading to a loss of shape and, over time, ruining the garment’s form.
With dry cleaning, this rarely happens; it helps keep the clothing as it was initially and preserves the fabric's color for longer.
Fabrics and Garments Suitable for Dry Cleaning
Dry cleaning offers effective cleaning even for difficult-to-clean materials, but the cost is usually higher, and some cleaning chemicals may affect health. Fabrics and garments more suitable for dry cleaning include:
- Sensitive fabrics: Materials like silk, wool, satin, cashmere, and leather are best preserved through dry cleaning, which protects their quality and prevents loss of shape or shrinkage.
- Formal wear: Evening gowns, wedding dresses, party dresses, suits, and shirts should be dry-cleaned to maintain their beauty and fabric quality.
- Leather items: Leather can easily crack and fade; dry cleaning helps prevent distortion and discoloration.
- Garments with complex embellishments: Dry cleaning is preferred for intricately embellished clothing such as lace, sequins, embroidery, and beadwork, as it prevents damage or color fading compared to water washing.
Proper Dry Cleaning Process at Home
Next, Thai Tuan LMS will share with you the proper way to dry clean right at home.
Step 1: Sort garments and treat stains
Before any cleaning method, sort clothing by fabric type such as wool, silk, fur, suede, and assess stain levels. This ensures appropriate solvent selection for dry cleaning.
To boost cleaning effectiveness, pre-treat stains. Use a damp cloth (soaked in warm water) to wipe away tough stains before dry cleaning.
Step 2: Proceed with dry cleaning
Currently, there are smart washing machines and clothing care cabinets available for dry cleaning. In dry cleaning mode, these machines gently agitate while blowing steam into the clothes to remove stains.
Before placing garments into the dry cleaning machine, you can lightly moisten them with dry cleaning solvent for more effective cleaning.
For those without a dry cleaning machine or care cabinet, it’s advisable to wipe stains with a warm cloth, then use a lightly detergent-soaked brush to clean the stains, and finally, wipe it off before hanging to dry in a well-ventilated area, away from direct sunlight.
Dry cleaning by hand won’t be as effective as machine dry cleaning. If you have a small amount or infrequent need for dry cleaning, it’s better to use a dry cleaning service for optimal cleanliness.
Step 3: Infuse fragrance into clothes
When you dry clean at home, garments can be scented with automatic devices. To adjust the fragrance, simply place scented paper or a scent pouch with your preferred aroma into the machine’s tray. The specialized machine will use hot steam to infuse the scent onto your clothing.
Additionally, you can also scent garments by placing scented paper or pouches among the layers of clothing during regular ironing.
Step 4: Fully dry the items
After completing the dry cleaning process, the machine will lower the temperature and blow air to dry the clothing. This method helps keep your outfits looking their best.
Thai Tuan LMS - the leading laundry service provider in Ho Chi Minh City
Thai Tuan LMS offers industrial laundry services that meet diverse laundry needs with various materials: regular washing, dry cleaning, and cleanroom laundry. With laundry technology completely transferred from Germany, using Diversey and Ecolab detergents that meet international standards, we are committed to providing customers with the best laundry quality.
Moreover, Thai Tuan LMS also offers a digitally integrated laundry management solution that allows businesses to manage their laundry anytime and anywhere on a cloud computing platform.
When you come to Thái Tuấn LMS, you will experience the CLEANEST - FASTEST - MOST DURABLE laundry service.
Above is all the information about what dry cleaning is that Thai Tuan LMS would like to share with you. We hope this information will be useful to you.
