Information about Wet Cleaning

Wet cleaning is a non-toxic, environmentally safe alternative to dry cleaning, utilizing computer-controlled washing machines, biodegradable soaps and conditioners, and specialized pressing equipment suitable for virtually all fabric and fiber types.

An earlier form of wet cleaning was offered by Saville Row bespoke tailors: a suit would be carefully measured, linings and interfacings would be removed, and the garments would be carefully hand washed in cold water and mild detergent, rinsed in cold water, and blocked to its original shape and air-dried; then the linings and interfacings would be put back in. Tailors have generally recommended that garments be returned to them once a year for wet cleaning and dry-cleaned in between. These tailors are also careful to choose materials that will not be destroyed by water, even if they later sew in the usual "Dry Clean only" label.

(Many ready-to-wear clothing makers assume that everything will be dry-cleaned and therefore put "Dry Clean only" labels in everything—even garments made of rayon or acetate fabrics, which dissolve in both water and dry-cleaning solvent )

The traditional way of cleaning a kimono is similar: The garment is held together by coarse basting stitches, as are used by a tailor in the early stages of constructing a suit. To clean the kimono, the stitches are ripped out, then the fabric is washed in cold water and mild soap or detergent, rinsed in cold water, then stretched and air-dried. It is then stitched back together with the same coarse stitches as before. Every geisha knows the technique, although the more successful ones have help to do the drudgery.

Modern wet-cleaning technology was developed about 1991 by a German company called Miele. A few wet-cleaning businesses exist in the U.S.: in North Carolina, in Los Angeles/Orange County, in San Francisco, and a few other places. Even trendy Silicon Valley is devoid of wet cleaners. Google searches so far yield little. Many drycleaners are adding wet-cleaning to the services they offer. Wet-cleaning offers several advantages, but raises labor costs due to longer drying and finishing times and is incompatible with a number of fabrics. Drycleaners are beleaguered by the spiraling costs of energy, labor, insurance, etc. Specialized wet-cleaning equipment requires a serious capital outlay for businesses that are already financially stressed.

(This is a generalization: even in the 1980's, a very few Silicon-Valley dry cleaners admitted to being able to do "cold-water washing" on clothes usually labeled "dry clean only": like tailored corduroy ar khaki twill pants. It is possible that one of these shops has ordered new equipment ant learned new methods, most likely from Miele. There may be hope, even in the center of the technical universe, for innovation.)

There is an unrelated technique used in the semiconductor business that is also called "wet cleaning," which apparently uses the same toxic solvents as other methods of cleaning silicon wafers.

See also

• Wet cleaning advantages