What Exactly Does “Non-Toxic Cleaning” Mean?
By Mulberrys
When you bring your clothes into Mulberrys, they are delightfully whisked away by our talented team members, and then returned (the next day!) cleaned, pressed, and ready to go. But what about the steps in between, when your garments are actually being dry cleaned? Well, we’d love to pull back the curtain (just a bit) and tell you all about it!
Upon arrival to our cleaning lab, your garments are carefully loaded up into our dry cleaning machine’s steel drum, which is then sealed and pressurized. The CO2 is then pumped into the machine, and when it hits the pressurized atmosphere, that gas instantly turns into a liquid state. We combine non-toxic detergents with this liquid CO2 to clean your garments, which provides the effectiveness of soap and water, but does not actually saturate the garments’ fibers like water would. Upon completion of the cleaning cycle, the dry cleaning drum is depressurized, which converts the liquid CO2 back to a gas so it can evaporate into thin air. Presto! Clean clothing and no environmental waste.
So why do we use this revolutionary technology to clean, when we could cheaply clean clothes using harsh chemicals? A few great reasons!
1. Safety: Perc is a standard cleaning agent in the dry cleaning world, but it’s also a proven carcinogenic. This chemical is so powerful that it can deteriorate the health of both the garment cleaners and the garment’s wearer. On the other hand, CO2 is a substance that keeps everyone safe and healthy.
2. Keeping It Green: Like other chemical pollution, perc is susceptible to polluting water sources and groundwater as it is eliminated from buildings. Also, because perc evaporates quickly, it works just as hard on destroying the air you breathe as it does your clothes!
3. Extending The Life Of Your Clothing: We prefer to use CO2 because of the nasty effects that heat–a necessary component of the perc process–has on your clothes. Our process will not subject your clothes to shrinking, pilling, and color fading, which keeps our customers looking fabulous!
So there you have it–the not-so-scary behind the scenes of our dry cleaning process. Visit one of our six Mulberrys locations (St. Louis Park, Minneapolis, Edina, Grand, Ridgedale, and Eagan) today to see the difference for yourself!
Thanks for stopping by!
Team Mulberrys