- Wet cleaning, which cleans fabrics using carefully controlled amounts of water, special non-toxic biodegradable detergents and computer-operated equipment.
- Carbon dioxide cleaning, a technique that uses high pressure to convert CO2 gas to a liquid that can then act as a carrier for biodegradable soaps. When the wash is done, releasing the pressure turns the CO2 back into a gas, and clothes dry instantly.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Dry Cleaning
I've noticed several new businesse in my area labelling themselves as Green or Organic Dry Cleaners. What does that mean exactly? Well, I investigated and as suspected organic in this instance doesn't necessarily mean healthy. Experts agress, however, that the following two methods of dry cleaning are safe and better than traditional toxin spewing processes.
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3 comments:
You've overlooked one green process GreenEarth cleaning that uses liquid silicone. This process has received a lot of controversy because it is licensed. Hundreds of independent studies have proven it to be safe. It's fault is that it actually works well unlike liquid CO2.
Wet cleaning also works well but is having a hard sell to the public. Who wants to put their thousand dollar suit or dress in a "fancy washing machine?"
CO2 is highly expensive and doesn't clean well or it would have been much more prevalent than it is.
GreenEarth, discovered in a cosmetics plant where it has been used for decades as a base ingredient in skin cremes. is cheap and effective and a real threat to the status quo: Perc.
Let’s be clear ... there are questions about the SAFETY of GREEN EARTH ... just read the FIRST line on the EPA's web site about it ... or goto regulations.gov and do a little digging ... WHY are there "HUNDREDS" of studies ... if it is so safe ... Why does the EPA say "EPA has received results of a cancer study on Siloxane D5 in rodents, submitted under TSCA section 8(e). The results of this study indicate that there may be a cancer hazard associated with D5."
IS this NECESSASSARY for individuals who DRY CLEAN to EVEN HAVE TO THINK ABOUT CANCER??
Thanks to the author for getting the word out on 2 methods that there are NO concerns about ...
Hello,
I am contacting you about the Solvair Cleaning System (Solvair), which may be of interest to you and your readers. Solvair is a new and radically different option for consumers that represents a major scientific breakthrough in dry cleaning; an eco-friendly clothing care technology that truly works.
You may have read about other green dry cleaning methods, but Solvair is a different approach; it is a totally planned system, as opposed to just a new dry cleaning machine or alternative solvent. As a system, it has been purposely designed to ensure that both superior cleaning results and good environmental practices are built into the system.
Solvair cleans clothes with a biodegradable cleaning fluid, conceptually similar to water and detergent in your home washer. Instead of drying clothes with heated air, like traditional dry cleaning or a home dryer, Solvair uses a unique cold liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) drying process, a departure from the clothes have been cleaned and dried for the last century. Drying without heat has many advantages; clothes last longer because it is gentler than traditional heat drying and without heat, stains don’t set. This different kind of process takes cleaning to a higher level, removing a wider range of dirt and stains. Clothes get clean while remaining odor free, with noticeably vivid colors, truer darks, and brighter whites.
Every aspect of the technology was engineered with environmental, worker and consumer safety in mind. Beyond the selection of safe and eco-friendly cleaning fluids, the system’s closed-loop design minimizes emissions and maximizes purification and reuse of supplies. Solvair’s waste rates are half that of traditional dry cleaning and it does not create any process waste-water. The system also includes an infrastructure for the safe and reliable disposal, reclamation and repurposing of the process wastes.
Please note that there is inaccurate information about Solvair on the internet posted by competitors and others who have been misinformed. Most widely quoted is a story on the Green America site. This article misidentifies the solvent used in the Solvair process and, as a result, lists health impacts that are not at all associated with Solvair. We have contacted Green America to correct this and are awaiting a response. Sierra Club similarly identified the wrong chemical used by Solvair but have since reviewed the data and removed Solvair from an “avoid” list, suggesting instead that consumers consider Solvair when drycleaning is required.
For more information on Solvair, please visit our website, www.solvaircleaning.com. I think some of your readers who are interested in eco-friendly garment care or green technologies might find this information interesting. If you have any questions about Solvair or green dry cleaning, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Thank you,
Ashley Bower
Marketing & Communications Manager
Solvair LLC
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