GreenEarth - A Different Kind Of Solvent 

Dry cleaning is a term that is applied to "washing" fabrics in a liquid other than water. Using water as the washing agent is termed wet cleaning. This is the process that most of us use in our homes and which is used in commercial laundries.

Legend has it that dry cleaning was discovered accidentally in France during the late 1800's by someone spilling turpentine on a tablecloth that still had numerous stains after washing, but which came out in the areas contacted by the turpentine. Thus, the idea of "washing" fabric in a liquid other than water was born.

In the 1930's, perchlorethylene (perc), based on carbon chemistry, was introduced. Currently, perc is used by 85% of the dry cleaners in the United States and around the world. Perc, however, is heavily regulated by the EPA and OSHA due to environmental concerns. Further, it has caused the dry cleaning industry damage due to the costs of cleaning up sites that have been contaminated, surcharges attached to buying and disposing of the product, and public policy issues associated with the solvent.

GreenEarth was "discovered" by an inventor who was handling a chemical used in cosmetics and realized it was removing the fats and dirt from his hands. He wondered if that chemical could remove fats, oils, and dirt from clothes. Lo, and behold, it did! While the chemical has been around for a long time, no one had thought to use it as a solvent to dry clean clothes. The process of doing so was patented and now forms one of several baseline patents for the GreenEarth® Cleaning system.

Before GreenEarth made it to market, over 26,000 test measurements were taken on still bottoms, wastewater, filter cartridges and exposure levels. All tests confirmed that GreenEarth is nonhazardous and safe to use.

The GreenEarth Solution used to dry clean clothes is chemically inert. This means it does not chemically interact with your clothes in any way. Rather, it carries detergent to your clothes and rinses away suspended dirt and oils trapped by the detergent. Because it is chemically inert, it is gentler on your clothes. Wools do not come out looking "washed out", dry, or full of static. Silks and acetates are treated more gently. Colors remain bright and intact since there is no chemical reaction with the solution. Dry cleaners who have seen the GreenEarth Solution in operation say the garments come out looking like they have been "in a mineral bath", with a soft and gentle feel, and with very little wrinkling.

The solution is safe for all buttons and trim of any kind. This makes the processing of special clothes easier with no special handling. You can be assured that because we use the GreenEarth Cleaning solution, Dry Cleaning Station is a safer cleaner -- for you, for your garments, for our employees, and for our environment.

For more information on GreenEarth or to find an affiliate dry cleaner in another part of the country, go to GreenEarth's official website.