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“The only problem with dry cleaning is that we all believe this is actually possible. They’re cleaning our clothes, but they’re not getting anything wet. I know there’s got to be some liquid back there.”
Jerry Seinfeld
Dry cleaning is a mystery. It’s a laundry symbol we all follow, but what does it mean?
I went to Sterns Launderers and Dry Cleaners in Charlottetown to find out.
Despite what it’s called, garments do not stay dry during dry cleaning.
“Clothing goes in dry, and it comes out dry, but there is a wet process and that is with a petroleum product,” said Mary Ellen Dwyer, manager at Sterns. “It’s not dry, but it’s not water.”
After being tagged and checked for spot cleaning, the clothes are put in a large front load machine that can hold up to 100 pounds.
The machine runs for 82 minutes. There are two bath cycles with the petroleum-based cleaning agent, and then there is a refrigeration cycle that dries the garments.
“It’s really a cool system,” Dwyer said.
Dry cleaning is for wool and delicate material like silk.
For a detailed explanation on dry cleaning visit https://home.howstuffworks.com/dry-cleaning.htm.
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