Allie’s Answers

Dry cleaning is not an eco-friendly process.  It’s bad for the environment, and it’s bad for you.

According to the Green Team at the National Zoo:

Eighty percent of the dry cleaners in the U.S. use a solvent called perchloroethylene, or perc. Perc and other solvents are placed in a rotating cleaning drum along with clothing. The drum spins out the majority of the solvent, and hot air evaporates the remaining fluid before the garment is pressed and bagged. These solvents excel at removing soils and stains without damaging fabrics. Unfortunately, they also excel at making us sick. Perc has been linked to cancer, liver and nervous system damage, infertility, and hormonal disruption. Some 57 million pounds of perc are used each year by the country’s 34,000 dry cleaners, and around 12 million pounds are released into the air.

When possible buy clothes that are machine or hand washable.  Some clothes labeled “dry clean only” can be hand washed with a gentle wash (like Eucalan or Ecover) and hung to dry (spot test first, and do at your own risk).

When you do get clothes dry cleaned, take them out of the bag and hang them outside before wearing.  This will reduce the chemical dangers to you, but not to the environment.  Spot clean and air out clothes to get more wearings between dry cleanings.

Some dry cleaners are going perc-free.  Do a little research and see if there’s a green cleaner in your area.

Also, reuse or return the hangers and bags that come with your dry cleaned clothes.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 at 2:53 pm and is filed under Tip of the Day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.