Dry cleaners: a brief history

Dry cleaners in the 1800s

The French term "nettoyeur à sec" translates literally as "dry cleaner". The story of dry cleaners began in mid-19th-century France, where a dye-works owner, Jean-Baptiste Jolly, employed a rather clumsy maid, who accidentally spilt kerosene on Jolly's tablecloth.

When the kerosene evaporated, the stains vanished, leaving the tablecloth spotless: an accidental dry cleaner! Jolly decided to apply the principle to cleaning clothes, thus becoming the world's first dry cleaner.

Dry cleaners in the 1920s

A dry cleaner from Atlanta, Georgia, William Joseph Stoddard found a petroleum-based solvent that cleaned well and was relatively inexpensive. As a dry cleaner it was very flammable, however, and caused many accidents.

Dry cleaners in the 1920s-1940s

Dry cleaners started using chlorinated solvents, which are less flammable. In the 1930s, they adopted a blend of solvents named tetrachloroethylene ("perchloroethylene" or PERC, as it's known in the dry cleaning trade). These days, dry cleaners use solvents to reduce PERC emissions; indeed, dry cleaners are looking at replacing PERC with other chemicals. PERC is gradually being phased out by dry cleaners around the world.

Dry cleaners in the 1990s

The first "wet cleaning" equipment was introduced in Europe as a green alternative to dry cleaning. The non-toxic technique uses computer-controlled washing and finishing processes, with biodegradable soaps suitable for all fabrics. Fans say it cleans better than dry cleaning processes, and prolongs the life of clothes—it's also non-toxic and non-allergenic.

How dry cleaners work

A standard dry cleaner's machine is a bit like a cross between a washing machine and a clothes dryer. The dry cleaner puts around 20-80 lb of clothes into the drum, which rotates within an outer shell that contains the solvent.

During the wash, solvent is supplied at a controlled temperature and rate into the drum and out again. The dry cleaner may select and add a particular chemical to deal with a particular stain or type of soiling.

A dry cleaner's wash cycle typically lasts around 15 minutes. Then comes a rinse cycle, when the clothes are rinsed with fresh solvent. This stops clothes being tainted by dirty particles from used solvent.

After the rinse comes the extraction cycle, which is when the machine recovers most of the solvent for re-use. After that, the clothes are tumble-dried in warm air to evaporate any solvent still present after the spin cycle.

Soon after that, it's Tuesday and your suit is ready for picking up from the dry cleaner.