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    Cleaning Research

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    Dry Cleaning of Textiles

    Kaspar D. Hasenclever, in Handbook for Cleaning/Decontamination of Surfaces, 2007


    3. DRY CLEANING – CHARACTERISTICS
    Dry cleaning characterizes a cleaning process for textiles that is carried out in apolar solvents
    instead of water. If water is used, such a cleaning process would be called “washing” or
    “laundering.”
    Dry cleaning is called “dry” because of the different behaviors of textile fibers in apolar
    solvents as compared to water. They behave as they would in a dry milieu, even when being
    surrounded by a liquid – the solvent.
    Natural textile fibers like wool, cotton, silk and linen will swell in water because of their
    tendency to absorb water molecules into themselves. This causes an increase in their diameter
    and a change in the surface area of yarns and fabrics. The result is shrinkage, felting and
    creasing of the garments made of such fibers.
    In contrast to water, apolar solvents like hydrocarbons are not absorbed by natural textile
    fibers because of the high polarity of the fibers. As a result, there is no swelling, shrinkage,
    felting or creasing. Hence, dry cleaning is very gentle to a garment made from natural fibers.
    With regard to the cleaning activity, the apolar character of dry cleaning solvents offers
    effects only with regard to apolar contamination. Oils, fat, grease and other similar substances
    are cleaned in dry cleaning, whereas polar contaminants like salt, sugar, most food and body
    excrements will not be cleaned.
    In order to achieve cleaning effects on polar substances like salt, sugar, food, body
    excrements and others in dry cleaning, special detergents have to be used. They act in dry
    cleaning in a similar way as soap does in water.
    In a dry cleaning machine, the solvent is stored in a tank. When used for cleaning, it is
    pumped into the cage of the machine. During the cleaning process, the solvent is constantly
    filtered in order to keep it clean. After being used, the solvent is pumped into a distilling
    vessel to be cleaned by distillation.
    During drying, the solvent is evaporated from the garments by blowing hot air into the cage
    and condensing the evaporated solvent later for reuse in the cleaning cycle. Solvent
    consumption in modern dry cleaning processes is less than 1% of the weight of the dry-
    cleaned goods.
    View chapterExplore book
    Effect of refurbishment on fabric hand

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