If toxic chemicals in dry cleaning have convinced you to switch to a "greener" cleaner, you my be disappointed to learn that it may not be a healthier choice.
According to Body + Soul, many of the so-called eco-friendly cleaners are still using perchloroethylene, also known as perc, which can cause dizziness and fatigue in addition to being an environmental pollutant.
If you find a perc-free cleaner, you should know that many of the substitutes are still unhealthy. EcoSolv and DF-2000 are petroleum-derived hydrocarbon solvents, which are highly flammable and potentially toxic. Green Earth, aka siloxane, isn't much better. It's been linked to uterine cancers.
The better dry cleaning choice, according to Body + Soul, is to have your clothes dry cleaned using carbon dioxide, which has no known risks and doesn't produce additional greenhouse gases. Check out findco2.com to see if there's a dry cleaner in your area using this method.
The best option, however, is to have your clothes professionally laundered using biodegradable detergents. Some of those "dry-clean-only" labeled clothes can also be cleaned in water. To find out more about this, check out Body + Soul at bodyandsoulmag.com/wetwashing.
Related Article: Lose the Shoes for a Healthier Home
Thursday, January 17, 2008
"Earth Friendly" Dry Cleaning Isn't Necessarily "Health Friendly"
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4 comments:
As a dry cleaner, naturally I am going to defend the industry. However, I will also concur with the fact that if you can find a cleaner who does not use perc, then go for it.
EcoSolve is relatively new to the industry, so isn't widely used. DF2000 has a good track record as a solvent, and is more gentle to your clothing. Siloxane is even more gentle, and leaves your clothing feeling almost like there was fabric softener used.
Using these 3 solvents does, in many cases, require investment in a brand new machine. A new machine will re-capture any residual solvent, so a consumer's exposure to any solvent is almost non-existent. If you can SMELL the solvent when you get home, then the clothes should be returned for re-cleaning. When clothes are cleaned properly, the long-term health risk to the consumer is nil.
CO2 is an excellent alternative; unfortunately, there are less than 5 cleaners in the entire US using CO2.
As a CO2 Cleaner I have to point out there are OVER 30 CO2 Cleaners in the country (the last poster has a vested interest in giving out misleading information on this topic but did make some good points about the SMELL). The well written article should get praises for referring to readers to www.FindCO2.com site.
I feel it is also important to mention that D5 (also known as “Green Earth Cleaning”) has come under increased scrutiny as California which has classified it as a Toxic chemical, and in being associated with adverse effects on the neurological system.
In addition there is an increasing amount of SolvAir machines being used in the industry ... these machines do a complete final 4 rinses in strait CO2 thereby increasing the amount of CO2 cleaners (although you will not find them listed on the www.FindCO2.com sit … yet. Finally, in addition to CO2 cleaning all CO2 cleaners and many non CO2 cleaners offer “Wet Cleaning” a process that uses water to clean dry clean only garments – ask you local cleaners if they offer this service.
If you live in the NY / NJ area you can find more information at www.GreenAppleCleaners.com or call us and we will be happy to recommend a cleaner in your area.
Best regards,
David Kistner - CEO
Green Apple Cleaners
Toll Free: 888. I LUV CO2
www.GreenAppleCleaners.com
I really appreciate both comments and perspectives. I'm just happy that people are becoming increasingly aware of the toxic chemicals in regular dry cleaning, resulting in healthier consumer options. Unfortunately, where I live, the healthier options are few and farther away, but I'm hopeful that a co2 cleaner will make its way to the Midwest ;) Thanks for sharing!
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