The term "dry cleaning" clothes is a misnomer. The process actually involves cleaning clothes in a liquid solvent to remove soil and stains.

History - The process of using chemicals instead of water to clean clothes began with the Romans who used ammonia distilled from urine to clean woollen togas(Clothes worn by Greeks). The process of dry cleaning evolved through the centuries until the 1930s when a chlorinated solvent, perchloroethylene, became the leading cleaning method.

dry cleaning process -  is typically used on clothes and fabrics that cannot withstand the rigors of a standard home washer and dryer and eliminates the need for more time-consuming hand washing



1. Garment Tagging: Every item is tagged with an identification number. Some cleaners use paper tags that are stapled or pinned to the garment. Others use an iron-on strip with a permanently assigned bar code for regular customers. 

2. Garment Inspection: Before clothes are cleaned, they are inspected for items left in pockets, rips and tears, and missing buttons. These items are returned to customers and problems are noted as issues known prior to cleaning.

3. Machine Dry Cleaning: Soiled clothes are loaded into a large drum machine and cleaned with a water-free chemical solvent. The clothes are gently agitated in the solution which causes soils to loosen. The solvent is then drained and recycled, and the clothes are "rinsed" in fresh solvent to flush away any last remains of soil.

4. Post Spotting: The dry-cleaning process works very well in removing oil-based stains thanks to the chemical solvent. However, other types of stains are not always removed effectively. So, all garments are post spotted to look for remaining stains. The stains are treated with steam, water, or even a vacuum to remove any remaining traces.

5. Finishing: The final step includes getting the garment ready to wear or for use by steaming or pressing out wrinkles, reattaching buttons, or making repairs. Items are then hung or folded to return to the customer. NOTE: Those plastic bags are only there to help you get your clothes home without more stains. 

Our main strategy for customer garment care has shifted from survival view to longer term sustainable view. Doctor’s Laundry believe in improving employee lives, cleaner environment and raising revenue. We want to communicate our commitment to sustainability. We wish to move towards liquid silicone dry cleaning process which is the most sustainable method to provide garment after care. Working with our affiliates, strategic partners and community, we wish to steer towards a more green sustainable laundry service.



EPA - dry cleaners, about 80 percent, still use the solvent perchloroethylene or "perc" today. However, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers perc both a health and environmental hazard. In the 1990s the United States Environmental Protection Agency began to regulate dry cleaning chemicals and encourage commercial cleaners to use safer, more environmentally friendly solvents. This action coined the term "Green Dry Cleaning".

Green dry cleaning refers to any alternative dry-cleaning method that does not involve using perc. One is wet cleaning which is a gentler version of home laundering. Three other green cleaning methods follow the traditional solvent model but use carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon, or silicon-based cleaners instead of perc.

Wet cleaning - uses water and specialized detergents that are milder than home laundry products to clean clothes. The EPA considers it one of the safest professional cleaning methods because there is "no hazardous chemical use, no hazardous waste generation, no air pollution, and reduced potential for water and soil contamination."

Carbon dioxide (CO2) cleaning  - uses liquid CO2 as the cleaning solvent along with detergent. The liquid CO2 is formed by placing the non-flammable and nontoxic gas under high pressure. The cleaning drum is then injected with carbon dioxide in both gas and liquid form. After the clothes are cleaned, the liquid CO2 is pumped back into a holding tank for reuse. The process is, perhaps, the most environmentally friendly because the CO2 is captured as a by-product of an existing industrial processes.

Silicon Based Solvent - Some cleaners use the Green Earth cleaning method to replace perc. Green Earth is basically liquified sand (SiO2). It functions as a silicone-based solvent called siloxane or D-5. Siloxane is similar to some of the base ingredients used in shaving creams and deodorant. When Green Earth is discarded, it breaks down into sand, water, and carbon dioxide.



Dry cleaning rarely causes shrinking of delicate fabrics and maintains the colour and texture of fabric better than the conventional method of washing. Deep Cleaning—Another one of the advantages associated with dry cleaning is the process's ability to “deep clean” tough soils and stains.