How to dry clean clothes

When you look at a label in an item of clothing and it says “Dry Clean Only” you probably sigh and think ‘oh well, I’ve got to find time to take that down the dry cleaners!’ But, have you ever wondered what is actually involved apart from the added inconvenience and expense?
What's so special about fabrics like silk and wool blends? Well, these materials may shrink, change colours or lose their shape if washed in water. Garments made of rayon become rumpled and misshapen because water is attracted to the hydrophilic fibres in this fabric. When immersed in water, the fibres expand because water molecules form hydrogen bonds with individual molecules within each fibre. The water molecules also interfere with weak attractions between adjacent fibres, and the fabric as a whole can lose its strength. In order to avoid ruining your favourite shirt, you'll have to resort to other means of cleaning it such as dry cleaning.

Dry cleaning removes dirt and other stains from clothes without using water. Despite its name, commercial dry cleaning is not actually a "dry" process. Clothes are immersed in Perchlorethylene (perc) which is a solvent, instead of in water. These solvents are especially good at removing oil and grease-based stains, but they have some drawbacks. For instance, the solvents used can make you sick if you're exposed to them constantly. This primarily affects the workers who actually run the dry cleaning machines.  Don’t panic though, almost all of the solvent is removed from your clothing before it is returned to you. However, some people find the remaining traces of the chemical in their clothes to be very irritating to the eyes, nose and throat.

In the past, your only choice was to go to a commercial dry cleaner. Now, you have the option of cleaning dry-clean-only clothes without leaving your home. Several home dry cleaning kits now on the market let you launder these delicate garments using your tumble dryer. These can be effective but do not offer the guarantee that professional dry cleaners do.

To   contact   Iron Maids, either call    01622 870111   or   01233 779009  or   via iron-maids.co.uk