Where Do You Dry Clean? How Eco Friendly Are They?

Do you take the environment into consideration when you choose where to drop off your clothes for dry cleaning? At this point in our lives, you should be taking the environment into consideration when you choose anything, honestly, and eco friendly dry cleaning is just one convenient place to start.

• Non-Eco Friendly Dry Cleaning

More than 35,000 of the standard, non-environmentally friendly dry cleaning establishments use a chemical known as perchloroethylene to dry clean clothes. Also known as perc, it is a volatile organic compound, that poses risks to both the environment and the humans who come into contact with it (both workers and wearers). Limited contact can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, drowsiness, and skin/respiratory irritation. Too much exposure has actually been linked to kidney and liver damage, and some forms of cancer. In California’s Proposition 65, perc has been identified as a “probable” human carcinogen.

• What Makes Eco Friendly Dry Cleaning Different?

First of all, the environmentally friendly cleaners obviously don’t use perc. There are a few options that you can choose from that are both human and environmentally friendly. You can actually choose to get your clothes professionally wet cleaned, which is a washing machine that spins much more slowly, with gentler solvents. You can opt for the liquid carbon dioxide method. CO2 is a naturally occurring gas, and under the right conditions, mixed with cleaning solutions, it is a safe and gentle alternative.

• Green Dry Cleaning

Why go green dry cleaners? It may sound cliche, but this is the only earth that we have. Do we really want to kill off all of the flora and fauna, and flood the waters with dangerously toxic pollutants, ruining it for everyone, especially our kids who will inherit whatever we leave behind? Being environmentally conscious is not only a boon to us, but a blessing to future generations.

You’ll never want to go to a regular dry cleaner again. Now that you know what the chemicals can do, both to the environment and to you, and since you know that there are plenty of simple, safe, and effective alternatives. There’s no excuse at this point. We’ve got to start showing more concern for the environment. And we can start doing that one shirt at a time. Learn more at this link.