How to dry clean clothes? What are the steps?

We usually wash clothes by water or machine, but some clothes made of high-quality materials cannot be washed by these two methods. They must be dry-cleaned to be clean and better maintained. So how to wash dry-cleaned clothes? What are the steps of dry cleaning? Which dry cleaning agent is better?

1. What is dry cleaning?

Dry cleaning is the process of washing clothes without using water. It only uses solvents to remove oil or stains. Since the solvent contains almost no water, it is called dry cleaning.

2. The basic steps of dry cleaning are:

The first step is pretreatment, which is stain removal. It is an artificial auxiliary agent that pre-treats heavily contaminated dirt and stains that are insoluble in dry cleaning solvents (such as fruit juice, nail polish, paint, ink, etc.).

The second step is main washing. Place the pre-treated clothing in a dry cleaning machine, wash thoroughly with dry cleaning solvent and spin (dry) dry.

The third step is post-processing, the main purpose of which is to remove residual dry cleaning solvents and iron and shape the clothes.

3. How many types of dry cleaning solutions are there? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

There are three main categories, which are:

a. Chlorinated hydrocarbon synthetic solvents, the most commonly used is tetrachloroethylene (PEKCRO), which has good safety and strong degreasing and cleaning capabilities, but it has a strong corrosive effect on metals, and its main hydrolysis product is toxic, causing harm to soil, water quality and human body. In addition, it has a strong dissolving effect on plastic, nylon and other products, so such decorations (such as buttons, etc.) must be removed during washing.

b. Chlorofluorinated solvents, a typical example of which is trichlorotrifluoroethane (CFC-113), are non-toxic, non-flammable, non-corrosive to rubber and many chemical fibers, and have a higher cleaning power than tetrachloroethylene.