Wet cleaning uses large, specialized machines to gently wash and dry clothes. These machines are programmed for many variables, such as mechanical action, water and drying temperature, moisture levels in the dryer, and water and detergent volume. This flexible technology provides us with the controls to administer a customized wet wash suited to a fabric’s specific needs.

What the EPA is Saying:

Since 1992, EPA (The Environmental Protection Agency) has been working with the dry cleaning industry to reduce exposure to perc. Because of potential health and environmental concerns associated with perc (which is used by more than 85% of dry cleaners), EPA formed a partnership with the dry cleaning industry and public interest groups to minimize perc exposures and evaluate alternative technologies through its Design for the Environment (DfE) Program. As part of this voluntary partnership, DfE initiated a Cleaner Technologies Substitutes Assessment (CTSA) with the dry cleaning industry to examine existing pollution control technologies, solvent substitutes, and alternative cleaning processes. CTSA is an in-depth study that evaluates the cost, performance, and environmental and health risks of given technologies and weighs their associated “tradeoffs". Wet cleaning is one such alternative technology that has shown significant promise in the areas of performance, profitability, the environment, health, and customer satisfaction. To date, DfE and its partners have conducted a study to test and compare wet cleaning and dry cleaning. The initial results indicate that wet cleaning is cost-effective and in many instances performs as well as or better than dry cleaning. Additional data on machine wet cleaning and other alternative technologies are being gathered with the help of demonstration projects.

We keep an eye on environmental, safety, and health impacts:

The EPA Cleaner Technologies Substitutes Assessment for Professional Fabricare Processes, published in June of 1998, concludes that the environmental, safety, and health impacts associated with modern machine wet cleaning are less than those associated with traditional dry cleaning solvents. Wet cleaning chemicals are biodegradable and generally benign. As a basis of comparison, the impacts associated with wet cleaning are essentially identical to the environmental, health, and safety impacts associated with laundering. The wet cleaning process does not generate hazardous waste, air emissions, greenhouse gases, or ozone depleting substances; therefore, compliance with Federal and state hazardous waste regulations is eliminated. As a result, the environmental regulatory burden associated with wet cleaning is much less than the regulatory burden associated with the use of other traditional dry cleaning solvents.