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Go green when dry cleaning says CaymanMama.com Press Release Service

2008-12-30 21:58:23 (GMT) (Caymanmama.com - green News)

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Dry cleaning

A carcinogen called perchloroethylene is used during the dry cleaning process and has been reported to have harmful effects on both dry cleaner employees and consumers. Here is an alternative method to try.

Dallas, Texas (CaymanMama.com) — For corporate professionals, appearance is paramount. That means that everything from the car to the clothes must meet up to a certain criteria that gives off the look of wealth and stability. For many, that means sending the Calvin Klein and Gucci suits off to the dry cleaners for a heavy starch and press.

For those greenies who desire the same effect, dry cleaning is hard on the environment, not to mention the pocketbook! A carcinogen called perchloroethylene is used during the dry cleaning process and has been reported to have harmful effects on both dry cleaner employees and their building neighbors, causing headaches, nausea, neurological, liver and kidney problems and reduced fertility.

Even when the clothes get back home, consumers are still at risk since dry cleaned garments can give off perc gas after they’ve left the store. Perc can permeate into the air, water and ground as well.

Some good news is that California recently became the first state in the nation to ban the carcinogen, mandating that it be phased out by 2020. The next generation of dry cleaning is paving the way for carbon dioxide and wet cleaning.

According to a report in Ode Magazine, “While CO2 has become synonymous with global warming rather than green living, the carbon dioxide used to get that sauce stain out of your favorite party dress is recycled, the captured by-product of various industrial and agricultural processes. The gas is pressurized into liquid, which is used to clean clothes. Unfortunately, converting a perc shop to CO2 isn’t cheap–new machines can cost twice as much as the conventional kind.”

So what is the outcome of this new approach to crisp clothes? As per a 2003 story in Consumer Reports magazine, the CO2 dry cleaning method left clothes in the best shape ever, even better than using perc. Still, wet cleaning isn’t the best for all apparel (leather, for example, is a bad match), although most clothes fare just fine.

By: Dallas area Go Green News service CaymanMama.com Press Release Service 



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