Despite its name, dry cleaning is a process using the liquid, rather than water, to clean clothes, bedding, upholstery, and other articles.
The dry cleaning process relies on using liquid chemical solvents such as hydrocarbons. By using liquid solvents instead of water, professional dry cleaners are able to retain the quality and integrity of delicate fabrics such as silk, velvet, wool, leather, and cashmere, among many others. Instead of cleaning with water and detergent, clothes are cleaned with organic solvents, which work to lift off stains without damaging delicate fabrics, such as silk, wool, and velvet. Dry cleaning is much like normal household laundry, but liquid solvents are used instead of water and detergents to clean clothes.
This method is different than its wet counterpart, as clothing articles are immersed in liquid rather than water. Dry cleaning still involves liquid, but clothes are immersed in a water-free liquid solvent, such as tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), known as a perc by industry professionals, the most commonly used solvent.
Cleaners using solvents like tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), also known as perc, evaporate faster than other substances used to clean clothes in a washer.
Wet cleaning uses water as a cleaning solvent, but the washing machine used may be set at a very specific temperature and spin cycle.
Since dry cleaning does not involve water, it has some clear advantages over conventional cleaning methods. Dry cleaning, as its name suggests, is a laundering process that does not involve water usage; However, this deep-cleaning process is as effective, if not more, at scrubbing stains out of clothes. The organic solvent of choice (or water, if your dry cleaner uses a wet cleaner method) is pumped into a dry cleaning machine, with all of your clothes being gently stirred.
In dry cleaning, the solvents eliminate the greasy stains, while the water-based stains have to be removed during a post-spot treatment stage. Garments like suits, slacks, blouses, and others made from silk, wool, and polyester cannot be cleaned the conventional way with soap and water, as this will soak into the clothing fibers and cause damage. Some materials, such as wool and very fine silk, must be taken to the dry cleaners if they must be cleaned; wool shrinks terribly when washed in the average washing machine (especially with hot or warm water), and fine silk may damage from the agitation of the washing machine.