I used to have a dry cleaning bill the size of Mount Everest. Fortunately, with my departure from a professional job (although I am now a “professional mom” and should earn about $132K a year, but a paycheck never arrives!) the dry c
leaning bill is much, much smaller.
I never gave much thought to the chemicals and solvents used in dry cleaning - namely Tetrachloroethylene, also known as Perchloroethylene or “Perc”. It’s considered a carcinogen and is a danger for the workers cleaning the clothes and for us, once we bring our clothes home and they “off-gas.” Just like that ‘new car smell’, you know the smell of dry cleaned clothes, right? Well, it’s perc and known side effects include confusion, dizziness, fatigue, headaches, nausea and difficulty speaking and walking. Well, all that for crisp, clean(?) clothes… I don’t think so!
Since my husband still has some occasional dry cleaning, it’s time to look for a green dry cleaner! Start with Green Earth to help you locate one in your area. They skip the harsh chemicals and use an environmentally safe process that replaces petroleum-based (harmful) solvents with liquid silicone. Another process that is catching on is carbon dioxide cleaning. When put under high pressure, it can carry biodegradable soap, just like water in our washing machine, and then is reused without harmful effects. Just make sure your dry cleaner is actually using one of these processes. There are plenty of “green impostors” out there!
And if you do dry clean, here are a few more tips:
- Don’t throw the hangers away. Remove the paper and recycle it, and whether they are plastic or metal, return them to the dry cleaner (since 85% of them wind up in landfills!). You can also ask your cleaner about using paper hangers or EcoHangers too.
- Not all “dry clean only” garments truly require dry cleaning… it’s just a way for clothing manufacturers to protect themselves in case you do a shoddy wash job! Give it some thought before you send it off for dry cleaning.
- Go less frequently – wait until you have a bunch of clothes to clean. This will save some of those horrible plastic bags they place over our garments, because whether you have one item or six, they all get hung together with one bag.
Just remember, you CAN have crispy, clean, fashionable clothes without walking into walls and slurring your words, and worrying about what was left in the wake.
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Hi, i’ve actually heard about all the damage dry cleaners does. I mean, the whole idea behind is, is quite crazy. clean clothes without being washed:)
I don’t take my clothes to dry cleaners when I’m in the states, in Costa Rica, the idea of a green one would have people either rolling in the aisles or looking blankly at me:)
Saucy Salsita, AKA The Green, Sexy Expat – Guide to Green Living!
Great post! I wonder if the stuff in Dryel is as awful, as an alternative if you can’t get to a green cleaner… and about the plastic bags, have you ever asked them to just not use one and bunch your hangers using a rubberband or piece of twine? Not all of the cleaners I’ve used have used the plastic bags, and I think those things are what they did instead… but it’s been a while for me now that I’m a “professional mom” too!
saucy salsita – you’re right! Doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?!? And by the way, can I come to Costa Rica with you???
Misty – I honestly don’t know about Dryel, but you are absolutely right… why not ask them to forgo the plastic bags all together! Great idea, fellow “professional mom!”
Another resource from Ecovian … http://www.ecovian.com/s/green-dry-cleaners-wet-cleaning
Hey, sent you a shout out, have a great weekend!
Saucy Salsita, AKA The Green Expat Mom – Greening it up in Costa Rica!
[...] items that must be dry cleaned, remember these tips, but this will safely work even for dry cleaned items that get some [...]
Here’s something even scarier… I spent a few years working for a dry cleaning company when I was younger and quite a few of the things you take in to be dry cleaned won’t be dry cleaned anyway.
Silk is a perfect example. It *might* get dry cleaned to remove dirt, but because the colors leach so quickly stains can’t really be treated. And yet they come out, so what happens? The way to remove marks from silks (blouses, ties etc.) is to hang them up then spray them all over with a houseplant spray gun filled with tepid water. Then let it dry out. You may need to do this process a few times but over a day or two you will find the stains have gone, no dry cleaning bill and no solvents used to solve that problem!
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