Q.
My dry cleaner tells me that
his dry clean solution is clean and pure. Yet my clothes seem to
smell of solution. What am I to believe?
Mary
Gainsville, Florida
A.
Mary, I'd believe your nose and not your dry
cleaner.
Almost every cleaner will swear that they invest the time and
money necessary to both continuously purify and
continuously filter every drop of their dry cleaning solvent or
fluid - before and after each load.
Don't believe that for a second.
The issue here is not whether the dry cleaning solvent or fluid
is "clean and pure", but how clean and how
pure? "Clean and pure" like bottled mountain spring water?
Or "clean and pure" like the effluent from your dishwasher?
There are 3 critical things to understand about "clean and pure"
dry cleaning solvent or fluid.
- Dry cleaning solvent or fluid must be
continuously purified before and after each and every load. Every
single drop. To remove all soluble impurities such as bacteria,
residual dyes, body oils, oily-type creams and lotions, and food
fats.
- Dry cleaning solvent or fluid must be
continuously filtered during each and every load. Every single
drop. To remove all insoluble impurities such as sand, skin flakes
and hair.
- The dry cleaning machine's internal tanks and piping
must be absolutely clean. To preclude
contamination of the dry cleaning solvent or fluid by gunk in the
machine's internal system.
This is where the confusion comes in.
- Many ordinary cleaners are unclear about the definition
of purification and filtration, and uncertain about the role of
purification and filtration in the dry cleaning
process.
During the course of touting
their "exceptional dry cleaning", one local cleaner's literature
states that "distillation is the process of removing non-soluble
by-products of the cleaning process (hair, dirt, pet dander) ... If
your dry cleaner does not distill, those very same by-products will
adhere to your garments." The literature goes on to say that "many
of our competitors simply pass off the odor as unavoidable."
Hogwash!
This comment exhibits a clear
lack of understanding of the very basics of dry cleaning.
Here's why ...
Odor in dry cleaned garments
and household textiles can be caused by many different factors.
However, the primary cause of
odor in dry cleaned garments and household textiles is the presence
of SOLUBLE impurities such as bacteria, body oils, oily-type creams
and lotions, and food fats in the dry cleaning solvent or
fluid.
Sorry, but odor in garments
and household textiles is ALMOST NEVER the result of the presence
of NON-SOLUBLE impurities such as hair, dirt and pet dander in the
dry cleaning solvent or fluid.
- Many ordinary cleaners confuse continuous filtration
with continuous purification and continuous
filtration.
It's the combination of
continuous purification and continuous filtration that is
absolutely critical to achieving superior cleaning results.
Continuous filtration alone is completely unacceptable.
- Many ordinary cleaners confuse continuous purification
with inadequate or irregular purification.
Continuous purification is a simple
concept: you clean a load of garments or household textiles, you
purify the solvent; you clean a load, you purify the solvent; you
clean a load, you purify the solvent; etc. Every single drop. Every
single time.
You can't follow the "dry cleaning
industry's highest standards" by purifying a meager 18 gallons of
dry cleaning solvent for every 100 pounds of garments cleaned. And
then expect your dry cleaning solvent or fluid to be free of
impurities.
That's inadequate purification.
On the other hand, you can't clean a
load, clean a load, clean a load, etc. and then purify. Once or
twice a week. At the end of each day. Maybe. Possibly. If there's
time. If the dry cleaning machine operator is not too busy.
That's irregular purification.
- Many ordinary cleaners do not maintain their dry
cleaning machines in spotless condition.
In many cases, their dry cleaning
solvent or fluid holding tanks and separators are layered with
sediment. And the internal piping is clogged with lint and other
debris.
Even if they both continuously
purified and continuously filtered their dry cleaning solvent or
fluid, the machine's internal tanks and piping must be spotless.
Otherwise, it's just like taking a bath in a filthy, scum-layered
bath tub filled with fresh water.
So next time your cleaner tells you
his dry cleaning solvent or fluid is "clean and pure", your
response should be: how clean" and "how pure"?
If you have a question for Stu, send it to questions@ravefabricare.com.
How can I help you?