A Quick Look at Dry Cleaning
What is dry cleaning? Is it really different from the way you wash and dry your clothes at home?
You may ask yourself these questions as you look at some of your clothes that are marked “Dry Clean Only”. There is a reason why there is that label on your clothes. You can clean those clothes yourself but you may ruin your favourite suit or blouse. Don’t let this happen to you.
Dry cleaning is a process which makes use of specialized solvents to treat fabric, rather than the “normal” way we wash our clothes, with the use of water. The process makes little or no use of water, hence, the name “dry cleaning”. Don’t be confused with the name, though. The process is just as wet as normal washing; the difference is in what is used.
Dry Cleaning for Specific Fabrics
There are some types of fabric that simply do not react well when washed with detergent and water. These include fabrics like wool, rayon and silk, fabrics that are usually found in expensive garments such as suits and gowns. What happens is that these fabrics have a tendency to shrink, fade in color or be disfigured when washed with soap and water. Clothes made with rayon may be distorted when washed with water because it is made up of hydrophilic fibers, which attract water molecules and cause the fibers to expand. In short, you’ll be ruining a perfectly good blouse or suit if you ignore washing instructions on the label, particularly ones that say, “dry cleaning only”.
With the use of dry cleaning solvents (which are usually organic), these problems are avoided and the clothes are efficiently and effectively cleaned. The formula used (called perc) can dissolve oil and grease stains in a way that soap and water cannot.
The Dry Cleaning Process
When you give your clothes to the dry cleaner’s, they will usually take a close look at the label to determine the fiber content, as well as the care instructions. Then, the cleaner will check for stains. Any stains are spot-treated to loosen up the stains. Then, the clothes are placed in a dry-cleaning machine, where the clothes are soaked with perc. After this process, the solvent is drained and the clothes are dried with the use of warm air. This vaporizes the solvent so that there is very little of it left on the clothes.
When the “washing” is finished, the dry cleaner will press the garment using a steam press to restore the shape of the garment, which may have lost its shape due to normal wear and tear. The steam press will also take care of ironing out the creases of the garment, while replacing the creases that are actually part of the garment’s design.
With dry cleaning, you can make sure that your “dry-clean only” clothes are free of stains and creases. Dry cleaning also ensures that your clothes look almost “like new”.
Leave it to the Professionals
When you bring your clothes to a professional dry cleaner like Prestige Dry Cleaners, you can be assured that we will take special care of your clothes. Prestige Dry Cleaners is recognized as one of the best dry cleaners in Salt Lake City and other Utah areas. One great thing about us is that you know you’re dealing directly with the people who will be cleaning your clothes, and not with a service that actually outsources your dry cleaning to large industrial cleaners.
We have actually made it easier. You don’t have to come to us. We do our best to be one of the best SLC delivery dry cleaners. And this is at no extra charge. With our tracking and invoicing process, we make sure that there your clothes are safe with us. You may also check our other services and our prices.
Your clothes are a considerable investment. When your clothes look good, you look good. We at Prestige are committed to help you with this. So before you throw your suits and clothes into the washing machine, check the label and give us a call.
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