Washed It!

Post Sponsored By: Naples Dry Cleaners

The term ‘dry-cleaning’ is a bit misleading really, although it doesn’t involve water, it is not really “dry”. Instead, it uses an organic solvent rather than water to clean.

Dry-cleaning is chosen when water and soap or detergent would damage the fabrics. It is also very useful for items that are too delicate to be washed in the normal laundry and for those that would otherwise need to be washed by hand.

All your clothing and items are tagged for identification and then inspected for any damages or loose buttons and such, which the dry-cleaner notes down, for accountability later. The garments will then be examined for any stains, which will then be pre-treated with specific stain removers. This will either remove the stain or make it easier for it to be removed later in the process.

Garment are grouped according to color-fastness and then loaded into a dry-cleaning machine, which is a combined washer-extractor-dryer. The clothes sit in a perforated, stainless-steel drum or basket, which rotates and churns the clothes around, while a constant flow of cleaning solvent is pumped into the basket, spraying and saturating all the clothes, as well as gently pounding them against the baffles of the cylinder. The dirty solvent is then pumped out through the filter, which traps all dirt, and the filtered solvent is then re-circulated and used again. For the final rinse, the basket is rinsed with fresh distilled solvent.

Once the clothes have been through the “washing cycle”, the basket is spun rapidly to expel all remaining solvent using centrifugal force. Next, the drying involves a continuous stream of warm air circulating through the basket while the garments are turned and tumbled around. Any remaining solvent and fumes are quickly vaporized in the warm air, which is then cooled and condensed over cooling coils. Any distilled solved extracted from this air current is returned to be re-used in future cycles.

Finally, there will be a “post-spotting” phase where the garments are examined again for any remaining stains and then the appropriate stain removers applied to tackle them. Most stains and spots should be removed but occasionally, some marks will be resistant.

Before allowing the clothes to be collected, they will undergo a finishing phases where they will be pressed, steamed then ironed and reshaped so that they look their best. Many professional cleaners will also make any necessary repairs, so that your clothes are given back to you in excellent condition.