Dry cleaning is the use of solutions to remove soil and stains from fabric. It is called “dry cleaning” because the solvents contain little or no water and do not penetrate the fibers as water does.

Dry cleaning solutions actually dissolve grease and oils and remove them from garments. Water cannot do this. Natural fibers such as wools, silks and cottons will often shrink, distort, and lose color when washed in water, but will dry clean beautifully. Synthetic fibers such as polyesters and rayon also respond well to dry cleaning. These fibers often retain oily stains after washing, but dry cleaning will remove these stains.

A dry cleaning machine looks much like a very large front loading washing machine. It produces a similar mechanical action to loosen embedded dirt. At the same time, the dry cleaning solution is filtered continuously to ensure its clarity.