Would you happily put your clothes on if you knew that the material touching your skin had just been permeated with a known neurotoxin? Welcome to the world of dry cleaning.
The vast majority of traditional dry cleaning services use the toxic chemical perchloroethylene (PERC). That’s just the way it’s always been, and sure, your clothes come back crisp and clean, but at a great risk to your health and to the groundwater as well.
There is a better way: wet cleaning is becoming more popular as a non-toxic alternative. Sounds a lot like "washing" doesn’t it? Wet cleaning uses biodegradable soaps and water but does so with a method that ensures your clothes will retain their shape and just-off-the-sales-floor texture. The results of wet cleaning are equal to dry cleaning, but without all the poison. This eco-friendly process can be used with almost all fabrics that ask for dry cleaning, including suede, silks and woolens. Ask your favorite dry cleaner to add wet cleaning to their menu of services, or look around for a new cleaner who is already hip to the non-toxic times.
Image: Jeff Kubina