![]() ![]() When you have your clothes professionally wet cleaned, they are laundered in a computer-controlled washer and dryer that gently clean clothes, sometimes spinning as slowly as six revolutions a minute (a typical home washing machine may rotate clothes several dozen times per minute). #New image cleaner professionalprofessional wet cleaning is a safe, energy-efficient method of cleaning “Dry Clean Only” clothes that uses water as a solvent-rather than chemicals-with a combination of special soaps and conditioners. There are no toxicity issues associated with either of these methods, says Peter Sinsheimer, director of the Pollution Prevention Center at Occidental College, who has been studying the effects of perc dry cleaning and its alternatives for over ten years. If you’d rather forego do-it-yourself methods, two alternatives rise to the top in terms of environmental and health impacts- professional wet cleaning and liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) cleaning. ![]() If you're able to wash at home, you can take your washed clothes to a local cleaner for pressing only, to get a professionally crisp look without the poisonous chemicals. You might be able hand wash your delicate items at home. The good news is that there are nontoxic, green dry cleaning alternatives that are just as effective as dry cleaning with perc. What Are Your Green Dry Cleaning Options? Perc can also get into our air, water, and soil during the cleaning, purification, and waste disposal phases of dry cleaning, according to the EPA. Perc is not only hazardous for people who work in dry cleaning shops or bring home dry cleaned clothes. Nursing mothers exposed to perc may excrete it in their milk, placing their infants at risk. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that clothes dry cleaned with perc can elevate levels of the chemical throughout a home and especially in the room where the garments are stored. ![]() This is not only a health hazard and environmental justice issue for workers in the dry cleaning business, but for consumers who bring home clothes laden with perc. ![]() Perc can enter the body through drinking water contamination, dermal exposure, or most frequently, inhalation. Perc has been identified as a “probable” human carcinogen by California’s Proposition 65. Prolonged perc exposure has been linked to liver and kidney damage, and cancer. #New image cleaner skinMinimal contact with perc can cause dizziness, headaches, drowsiness, nausea, and skin and respiratory irritation. Perc is a synthetic, volatile organic compound (VOC) that poses a health risk to humans and a threat to the environment. #New image cleaner fullAre Your Clothes Full of Perc?Īccording to the Occidental College’s Pollution Prevention Center, 85 percent of the more than 35,000 dry cleaners in the United States use perchloroethylene (or perc, for short) as a solvent in the dry cleaning process. Fortunately, green dry cleaning is an option and there are ways to clean clothes bearing a “Dry Clean Only” label without harming workers, putting toxic chemicals into the environment, or bringing dangerous chemicals into your home. If you’ve ever taken your clothes to a professional dry cleaner, the likelihood that they were cleaned with dangerous chemicals is quite high. But it’s something to be concerned about. And while you may have detected the faint whiff of chemicals when you picked up your freshly dry cleaned sweater last week, perhaps you didn’t think much of it. You’re bound to have a few items around the house that can’t be laundered in the weekly wash. ![]()
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