Wet Cleaning
Professional cleaners are an essential part of our communities. Their services save us time and keep our clothes in top-notch condition. But growing concern that the primary solvent used to dry clean clothes--perchloroethylene (or "perc")--can cause health and environmental problems has spurred research on new ways to safely clean our clothes. In 1992, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) initiated a partnership with the dry cleaning industry and others to address ways to reduce exposure to perc.
One alternative identified early in this process was wet cleaning, a range of techniques and technologies that use water as the primary solvent to clean clothes labeled dry clean only. Wet cleaning processes include computer-controlled washing and dry machines and professional, labor-intensive techniques which control factors, such as mechanical action and temperature, that can cause shrinkage. Recognizing the need to test wet cleaning in "real world" commercial settings, the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) launched a research project of unprecedented scale in the industry.
Through the opening of an operating 100% wet cleaning shop in Chicago, the project moved the discussion of alternatives beyond a handful of industry leaders, environmentalists and regulators to dry cleaners across the country. The project also helped vault wet cleaning alternatives from a minor curiosity viewed with skepticism to a viable technology, practiced and improved upon by hundreds of cleaners.
CNT is an independent, nonprofit research and technical assistance organization with a tradition of working with industry partners to find practical solutions to environmental problems. Through funding from the USEPA, the Center for Neighborhood Technology initiated the Alternative Clothes Cleaning Demonstration Project with the goal of evaluating the performance and commercial viability of wet cleaning. The CNT research project included:
CNT partnered with a private investor to design The Greener Cleaner as an average commercial dry cleaning operation in size, prices, and fabric, fiber and garment types cleaned. The difference was that all items brought in for cleaning were wet cleaned.
Working with an Advisory Committee, two tests were designed to measure performance issues on separate groups of garments.
In the first test, CNT measured performance through customer satisfaction and through intensive evaluations of a random sample of garments cleaned at The Greener Cleaner. These intensive evaluations were conducted by independent evaluators, who inspected 460 customer garments before and after cleaning.
The Greener Cleaner also
served as a true demonstration shop--several hundred cleaning
professionals, consumers and regulators have taken advantage of
the opportunity to tour the shop during business hours, watching
the wet cleaning process from start to finish and interviewing
shop personnel. When The Greener Cleaner opened its doors
in May, 1995, fewer than 10 cleaners were using wet cleaning
equipment systems. A year later there were well over 100 cleaners
with wet cleaning systems and a significant percentage of those
visited The Greener Cleaner prior to making their
decision.
Experiences in two "mixed" wet/dry shops
CNT also conducted research at two other commercial sites--professional garment cleaning businesses in which a significant percentage of garments are wet cleaned and the remaining portions are cleaned in traditional dry cleaning solvents.
One of these sites--Orange Blossom Garment Care--is a small shop in Florida that uses domestic washing machines to clean not only shirts but a significant percentage of customer garments labeled "dry clean." The other research site, Brix/Wagners Cleaners located in Bettendorf, Iowa, was purchased by its current owner in January 1996. The new shop owner installed a wet cleaning system to use in conjunction with a petroleum dry cleaning machine.
While CNT's research has raised many new issues that will require further investigation, several conclusions and recommendations can be made.
A significant portion of garments now cleaned in traditional dry cleaning solvents can safely be wet cleaned.
During its first year of operation, The Greener Cleaner wet cleaned 31,734 items brought in by customers. Of those garments, 60% were of fabric types often labeled "dry clean only"--wool, silk, rayon and linen. A tiny fraction (0.14%) of the garments brought in for cleaning were not accepted because the cleaner felt she could not safely clean these items. The Greener Cleaner has demonstrated that virtually 100% of all garments now dry cleaned can be wet cleaned to the satisfaction of customers. However, as noted below, the cost and performance problems with a portion of the total garments cleaned require further research.
During the research period, Orange Blossom Garment Cleaners wet cleaned 42% of total customer garments, laundered an additional 44% shirts and had the remaining 13% dry cleaned off-site. Seventy-seven percent of the wet cleaned garments had care instructions specifying dry cleaning. During the research period at Brix/Wagners Cleaners, the shop wet cleaned 44% of the total 1,846 garments cleaned.
The specific percentage of garments that can be safely and cost effectively wet cleaned depends on many variables--everything from the climate to the training of shop employees. At a minimum, dry cleaners could be cleaning the estimated 30%-40% of customer garments with care labels specifying machine wash or hand wash. With appropriate training and equipment, a cleaner could double the quantity wet cleaned to 60%-80%. Cleaners must conduct an assessment of their current operation and use the data from this and other research to set their goals for profitable wet cleaning.
There is strong customer demand for alternative garment cleaning methods.
Customer satisfaction is a critical measure of performance in any service industry and The Greener Cleaner scored well in satisfying customers. Two telephone surveys of a random sample of The Greener Cleaner customers were performed by an independent survey firm. Results were consistent between the two surveys:
Several questions were added to the second survey to gauge customers' knowledge of and attitude toward wet cleaning. To the question, "Why did you first take your clothes to The Greener Cleaner?" 64% cited concern about the environment as one reason.
In another measurement of customer satisfaction, shop records indicate a steadily increasing base of return customers. In September 1995, repeat customers represented 60% of total visits for the month. Six months later in April 1996, that figure was 81%.
Color loss, migration or splotchiness are not significant performance problems in wet cleaning.
None of the 460 customer garments inspected at The Greener Cleaner had problems with color splotchiness. In the comparative test, wet cleaning performed better than dry cleaning in color loss and migration. Evaluators noted color loss or migration in 7 of the 52 test garments that were wet cleaned and in 8 of the 52 garment that were dry cleaned.
Prior to the CNT tests, color performance problems were assumed to be significant for wet cleaning. This success may be attributable in part to the skill and persistence of The Greener Cleaner staff.
Dimensional change (shrinking and stretching) is the most significant performance problem in wet cleaning.
Careful evaluation of the random sample of customer clothes found that the majority were cleaned and finished satisfactorily, but shrinkage and stretching were problems in a notable percentage of garments. The dimensional change (shrinking and stretching) was noted in the 460 sample garments as follows:
Dimensional change in the 52 sets of test garments was also greater in knits than in woven garments for both wet and dry cleaned garments. Of the 39 sets of woven test garments:
The difference in the upper ranges of shrinkage is significant. None of the dry cleaned woven garments had shrinkage of 6% or greater, while five of the wet cleaned garments did.
With the current state of technology, commercial operations relying on 100% wet cleaning face the challenge of maintaining cost effective, high quality performance for a small percentage of garments.
Facing the double challenge of starting a new business and developing a new technology, The Greener Cleaner struggled in its first year of operation to break even. While the shop did make a small profit for 2 months, the business lost $44,000 during the research year. The Greener Cleaner owner is investing in expansion of the business, opening a drop store in a more affluent community than the community where the first shop is located.
Ultimately, profitability will depend on a variety of factors, including:
Wet cleaning is safer for the environment than traditional dry cleaning.
Wet cleaning does not pose any air pollution problems, is safe for workers and does not produce any hazardous waste. Because of concerns about possible environmental problems with the waste water from wet cleaning, CNT worked in partnership with the Illinois Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to research the volume and quality of water discharge from The Greener Cleaner. Lab analysis of water samples provide the following information:
The Greener Cleaner used an average of 1,100 gallons of water a day. Of this, an estimated 790 gallons where used in cleaning clothes. This is an average of four to six gallons per pound of clothes cleaned. The remaining 310 gallons were used to recharge the boiler and the water softener and for generating steam for the pressing.
Wet cleaning holds tremendous promise for the garment cleaning industry, the consumer and the environment. There is now broad consensus within the dry cleaning industry that wet cleaning will play an important role in the future of the industry. As research continues, both in labs and in more and more shops around the country, the technology will continue to evolve and improve. But the shift to wet cleaning is not simply a technical question. Thousands of individuals and their families rely on dry cleaning for their livelihood. Through this research and current training efforts, CNT is committed to ensuring all cleaners access to the wet cleaning information and resources they need to make this shift profitable.