Dry cleaning is a method used to clean clothing and textiles using a liquid solvent rather than water. This process is beneficial for delicate fabrics that can’t withstand the rough and tumble of a washing machine and water.
History of Dry Cleaning
The term “dry cleaning” is a misnomer because early dry cleaning used solvents other than water to avoid fire risk. The most common solvent was petroleum, giving rise to the phrase “petroleum dry cleaners.”
Dry cleaning has been around since ancient times; shops existed in 79 AD Pompeii where cleaners used fuller’s earth, lye, and ammonia to remove stains. However, modern dry cleaning began in the 1800s in France. Jean-Baptiste Jolly, a French tailor, patented the first successful dry cleaning process in 1855 after noticing that a tablecloth cleaned with spilled kerosene seemed cleaner.
The Dry Cleaning Process
Today’s process begins with treating stains to aid their removal before clothes are placed in a dry cleaning machine with solvent. The design of these machines resembles a traditional washing machine, though water is absent.
Customers typically bring clothes to “drop shops,” which then send the items to large cleaning plants. This system helps minimize the risk of fire that could be associated with cleaning processes using highly flammable solvents like kerosene and gasoline, which were used by early dry cleaners.
Dry cleaning is essential for maintaining the quality of delicate garments without the risk associated with traditional washing methods.