Over the last decade or so, as we started to become aware of the hazards of using PERC and other petro-chemicals, companies began looking for newer, more environmentally friendly solutions. Specialized equipment has been developed to aid in the finishing of wet-cleaned garments, and special softeners and additives have been created specifically for the wet-cleaning process. The reason to choose a wet-cleaning system over dry-cleaning is obvious. It’s safer. For you, for me, for our children and the environment. Perchloroethylene is a toxic substance. It is dangerous to human and animal health and it harms the very environment we depend upon. It is now totally safe to clean virtually any garment using the Wet Cleaning process!

1. Wet Cleaning
by:
Ravikeerthi Rao

2. The care procedures applied according to the information
given on the label guaranties that the article will not be
damaged.
However, there is no guaranty that soil and stains are
completely removed even after following thee
instructions.
Milder treatments and lower temperatures than indicated
on the label are always allowed.

3. Washing involves the immersing of a garment in water
with detergents and other additives to accomplish the goal
of cleaning your clothes and household items, like
bedspreads and comforters.

4. When washed in water, the problems can occur - certain fabrics
can shrink, color can bleed, and fabric texture can be altered.
Modern washing machines have eliminated most of these
problems.
Traditionally, water could not be used on certain fabrics, like
wools and silks for cleaning.
Alternatively, we have Dry cleaning.
However, dry cleaning can also adversely affect some fabrics.

5. Dry cleaning leaves a softer feel to the garment than wet
cleaning.
But the garment will be cleaner and better deodorized
with wet cleaning.
In short, neither method is perfect.

6. The introduction of specialized, nonflammable solvents in
the 1950s, however, allowed cleaners to dry clean virtually
any type of fabric, including natural fibers.
One of the solvent is Tetrachloroethylene, also known
under its systematic name tetrachloroethene and many
other names like Perchloroethylene , PCE, or PERC
It is a colourless liquid widely used for dry cleaning, hence
it is sometimes called "dry-cleaning fluid."

7. Despite its name, dry cleaning is not totally dry.
Generally, the term “Dry Cleaning” refers to the process of
cleaning clothes using a liquid solvent.
It involves the use of liquid chemicals called solvents that
remove most stains from a variety of fabrics.
While still a liquid, the term “Dry” in dry cleaning referred
to the fact that there was no water being used.

8. The majority of dry cleaners - about 80 percent - use the
solvent, perchloroethylene or "perc", still today.
 Over the last decade or so, as people started to become
aware of the hazards of using PERC (perchloroethylene , a
liquid solvent) and other petro-chemicals (or
hydrocarbons like heavy benzines), companies began
looking for newer, more environmentally friendly
solutions.

9.  In the 1990s the United States Environmental Protection
Agency began to regulate dry cleaning chemicals and
encourage commercial cleaners to use safer, more
environmentally friendly solvents.
This action coined the term "Green Dry Cleaning".

10. Green dry cleaning refers to any alternative dry cleaning
method that does not involve using perc.
One is wet cleaning - a more gentle version of home
laundering - and
the other three follow the traditional solvent method but
use :
carbon dioxide,
hydrocarbon or
silicon-based cleaners instead of perc.

11. However, of the four types of alternative cleaning
offered, only two are considered truly safe for the
environment and consumers - wet cleaning and liquid
carbon dioxide cleaning.

12. Carbon dioxide (CO2) cleaning uses liquid CO2 as the
cleaning solvent, along with detergent.
Liquid CO2 is non-toxic and is actually used to provide
carbonation to soft drinks.
The liquid CO2 is formed by placing this nonflammable
and nontoxic gas under high pressure.

13. What is Wet Cleaning?
Quite simply, Professional Wet Cleaning is the
process of using water and specialized equipment and
detergents to clean “dry clean only” garments.

14. Specialized equipment has been developed to aid in the
finishing of wet-cleaned garments, and special softeners
and additives have been created specifically for the wet-
cleaning process.
It is now totally safe to clean virtually any garment using
the Wet Cleaning process!

15. The requirements/goal of washing, cannot be achieved
with the regular wash cycles provided in household
washing machines compare to Wet Cleaning, mostly
because of use of professional equipment, the aids used
and the finishing methods by the latter.

16. The main difference between the two technologies is that
while dry cleaning relies on toxic solvents such as Perc to
clean clothes, wet cleaning machines use water and
specialized, nontoxic detergents that present less risk to
human health and the environment.
The specialized detergents and conditioner used in the
wet clean process are milder than home laundry
products.

17. Wet Cleaning is widely recognized as one of the most
environmentally friendly options available today.

18. Wet Cleaning has come a long way in the past few years,
and it is still evolving and becoming better each year.
In the meantime, it’s safe to clean virtually everything
using Wet Cleaning.
However, just because it is safe, doesn’t mean that Wet
Cleaning is always the best choice.

19. Wet Cleaning is great for some situations, and not as
great in others.
In certain situations, people may have to take a call or
decide whether Wet Cleaning or Dry Cleaning is a
better choice to deal with a particular stain.

20. As a minimum, laundering instructions include (in order)
five symbols: washing, bleaching, drying, ironing, and dry
cleaning.
The circle symbolizes the dry cleaning & wet cleaning
process for textile articles carried out by professionals.
In professional textile care - different solvents are used,
organic or water based.
Therefore care labelling differs between dry cleaning and
wet cleaning.

24. Additional info:

27. The letters within the circle are intended for professional
textile cleaners.
They give information in particular on the solvents that can
be used.
The bar below the circle indicates that certain limitations in
the dry cleaning process are required.
These may concern mechanical action, addition of
moisture, lye and / or drying temperature.
When choosing the cleaning process, the professional
textile cleaner must also take into account the nature of the
textile materials and their degree of soiling ( normal / mild
process ).

28. The GINETEX care symbols are protected under
trademark law.
The trademarks are owned by the Groupement
International d’Etiquetage pour l’Entretien des Textiles
( GINETEX – International Association for Textile Care
Labelling ).
The GINETEX symbols are also the origin of the
international standards ( ISO / EN 3758 ).

29. Reference :
http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/garment/apparel/10krues.pd
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/
https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-green-dry-
cleaning-2145936