Greener Dry Cleaning: GreenEarth and CO2

Traditional dry cleaning methods may get clothing clean, but they can wreak havoc on the environment and even possibly people’s health. There are earth friendly dry cleaning alternatives, and more and more cleaning services are popping up that offer these methods.

What’s so bad about the traditional dry cleaning method? The most common dry cleaning method, used by about 89% of cleaners in the U.S., uses percholorethylene, also known as perc. Perc is a harmful chemical that gets into the air, the ground, and water systems. Workers who handle perc can have develop health problems, as can those who frequently wear perc-cleaned clothing. It’s easy to see why finding an alternative to this traditional method is important.

One alternative is GreenEarth, a silicone-based cleaner. It’s environmentally superior to perc cleaning because the liquid silicone used in GreenEarth is non-toxic. When it breaks down it becomes sand, small amounts of water, and carbon dioxide. None of these elements are inherently harmful to the air, the ground, the water, or the people who come in contact with them.

Photo by Simon Law - Some Rights Reserved

GreenEarth is also gentler on clothing than the traditional dry cleaning method. Clothing does not fade or wear out as quickly when regularly cleaned with the GreenEarth method as it does with perc. GreenEarth is also odorless so clothes don’t end up with that “dry cleaning” smell.

Another alternative is using a CO₂ method using liquid carbon dioxide. A 2003 Consumer Reports test found that clothing cleaned using the CO₂ method actually produced better results than the traditional method.

Machines that use liquid CO₂ look like very large washing machines, but they work differently. No water is used during the cleaning process as liquid carbon dioxide is pumped into the machine, gently rubbing stains out of the clothing. Like GreenEarth, the CO₂ dry cleaning method helps to keep clothing in better condition than the traditional perc method. Additionally, no heat is used to dry the clothing because the liquid CO₂ is easily drawn out of the clothing without heat. This helps the clothing to stay in better condition, and it helps to keep buttons on clothing from breaking or cracking.

Of course, many items of clothing that say “dry clean only” can often be cleaned safely and non-toxically by hand at home. But this alternative can be time consuming and inconvenient. Many people appreciate being able to drop off their clothing to be laundered and return to find clean, freshly pressed clothing waiting for them.

They also appreciate knowing that when they are paying for this convenience, they aren’t harming the environment. Staying away from dry cleaners who use traditional methods and utilizing those who employ green methods of dry cleaning makes the convenience even sweeter.