So, what’s “wet cleaning” and why should you care?

Have you ever been to a dry cleaner and seen that they do something called “wet cleaning”?

I know… It doesn’t seem to make ANY sense..

But here’s the thing, and get ready for your mind to be blown, all dry cleaning is wet.

That’s right. When you give your clothes to a cleaner to be dry cleaned, they put them in a huge washing machine with special liquids that clean them.

Liquids…

To dry clean your clothes…

It’s just so weird… 😉

The reason it’s called dry cleaning is because the machines use a chemical solvent other than water.

Why are we telling you all this? Oh yeah… Wet cleaning is a type of dry cleaning that actually does use water, along with biodegradable soaps, and the Environmental Protection Agency considers it environmentally friendly.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), wet cleaning is the safest professional method of garment cleaning. It does not use hazardous chemicals, it does not generate hazardous waste, nor does the process create air pollution and it reduces the potential for water and soil contamination. The specialized detergents and conditioner used in the wet clean process are milder than home laundry products. All of the products are disposed of down the drain and easily handled by the local waste water treatment facility. 

Source: Wikipedia

So, if you care about the environment, give wet cleaning a try. Just make sure the cleaner you choose is highly knowledgeable about different types of fabrics.

Ahem… #WeKnowAboutAllDifferentKindsOfFabrics 😉

And did you know Embassy Cleaners (we talk about ourselves a lot…) is the only dry cleaner in Westchester County recognized on the EPA’s website as employing the wet cleaning process?

Get in touch with us if you have any questions.