The ancient Greeks and Romans had some waterless methods to clean textiles, involving the use of powdered chemicals and absorbent clay (fuller's earth). By the 1700s, the French … See more

A dry cleaning machine is similar to a combination of a domestic washing machine and clothes dryer. Garments are placed in the … See more

Working solvent from the washing chamber passes through several filtration steps before it is returned to the washing chamber. The first step is a button trap, which prevents … See more

Perchloroethylene
Perchloroethylene (PCE or "perc", tetrachloroethylene) has been in use since the 1930s. PCE is … See more

In terms of mechanism, dry cleaning selectively solubilizes stains on the article. The solvents are non-polar and tend to selectively extract many compounds that cause stains. These stains would otherwise only dissolve in aqueous detergent mixtures … See more

Garments should be carefully checked for foreign objects before being placed in the machine. Items such as plastic pens may dissolve in the … See more

• Fabric restoration
• List of laundry topics
• Wet cleaning See more