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| Source: International Trade Alliance |
A Short (and Surprisingly Interesting) History of Dry Cleaning
- In a precursor to modern dry cleaning, the ancient Romans laundered woolen togas with ammonia derived from urine.
- In 1845, a French dye-works owner noticed a clean area on a tablecloth after a kerosene spill. He later made a business of cleaning clothes with chemical solvents and coined the term "dry cleaning" (though he spoke French so he actually called it "nettoyage a sec").
- Unfortunately, kerosene and other solvents like gasoline led to many fires and explosions. In the 1930s dry cleaners started using the colorless, non-flammable solvent called perchloroethylene (also known as tetrachloroethylene or "perc"). This solvent remains in wide use today and is the primary solvent in 85% of all dry cleaning operations.
How Dry Cleaning Works
Dry cleaning is not actually dry. It gets its name because no water is used during the process. Instead, clothes are soaked and agitated in liquid solvents to remove dirt and stains from fabrics. A solvent is a substance capable of dissolving one or more other substances. The graphic below explains the process:
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| Source: Chatel cleaners |
Other Exposures
Perc has many other applications beyond dry cleaning, including uses as metal cleaners/degreasers, water repellants, paint removers, polishes, lubricants, printing inks, and others. We are exposed to perc through inhalation of perc fumes in the air, contaminated drinking water, and by direct skin contact.
The highest exposures are in workers employed in the dry cleaning or metal degreasing industries. People who live nearby these operations are also at a higher exposure risk.
Cancer and Other Health Concerns
The Environmental Protection Agency and other groups classify perc as "likely to be carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure," meaning that it is likely to cause cancer.
In animal studies, the link between cancer and perc is clear. In the laboratory, mice and rats who inhaled or ingested perc had increased risk of liver cancer, kidney cancer, and leukemia.
Studies in humans are more limited and most have focused on people who are regularly exposed to perc through jobs in the dry cleaning, aircraft maintenance, and chemical industries. Among these subjects, researchers found more cases of the following types of cancer:
- Esophageal cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Lymphoma
Other research has looked at whether contaminated water poses an increased risk of cancer. Several studies were conducted after illegal disposals by companies in Woburn, Massachusetts in 1979 resulted in drinking water with perc levels that were hundreds of times greater than safe standards. (If this scenario sounds familiar, it may be because the case was popularized in the 1998 film A Civil Action starring my childhood crush John Travolta.)
Initial complaints from residents focused on an unusually high incidence of childhood leukemias in the area. Sure enough, research showed elevated risk of the following cancers:
- Leukemia
- Lung cancer
- Bladder cancer
- Multiple myeloma
Chronic (long-term) exposures to perc have also been associated with the following non-cancer illnesses:
Acute (short-term) inhalation exposures can also result in health problems including:
So, Does Wearing Dry-Cleaned Clothes Pose a Risk?
The EPA "does not believe that wearing clothes cleaned with perc pose a risk of concern." That being said, there is not much research or information one way or another and no standards exist for safe levels of residual chemicals in clothes.
Believe it or not, until a high school student took it on as a science class project in 2011, nobody had ever even evaluated how much perc remains in dry cleaned clothes. Results from that study (done in conjunction with Georgetown University) showed that dry cleaning chemicals build up in fabrics with repeated cleanings: wool absorbs the most, cotton and polyester levels level off after a few cleanings, and silk absorbs very little. Based on these results, researchers also calculated that dry cleaned clothes left in a car for an hour might result in unsafe perc levels. Public health experts agree that more research is needed regarding how much these residual levels of perc may be absorbed into the skin or inhaled through the air.
Regulations
In addition to health effects, the release of perc into the air and water also has detrimental effects on the environment. Perc contributes to air pollution and contaminates water and soil. It is estimated that three quarters of dry cleaners have contaminated water and soil where they are located. In addition, the perc dry cleaning process produces a lot of hazardous waste.
All of these issues have forced the EPA to enact stricter regulations on the dry cleaning industry. In 2006, the EPA ruled that individual dry cleaners must have tighter emissions controls and perc use in residential building must be phased out by 2020. Additionally, California is totally phasing out perc and its use will be illegal after 2023. Illinois is looking at similar regulations, and Massachusetts and New Jersey provide incentives for dry cleaning operations to switch to more environmentally friendly options.
Green(ish) Cleaning Options
There are a number of so-called organic dry cleaning alternatives out there, but don't believe everything you read. Many still use solvents that are toxic to health and environment. Expert opinions point to wet cleaning and carbon dioxide dry cleaning as the safest methods (if you can find them and afford them). The chart below from the Occupational and Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides a good overview.
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| Source: osha.gov |
What You Can Do
I get very few things dry cleaned because I'm cheap and I hate the chemical smell and I try to buy clothes that don't require it (and I'm in grad school so my suits have been in the back of the closet for a few years). I don't think that occasional dry cleaning is going to kill anybody, but when I consider the repeating theme of low-level chemical exposures and health risks like cancer, I'm concerned that all these small exposures from multiple sources add up to a significant body burden. Nobody can escape the toxins, but we can all make small changes to our immediate surroundings. Here are some suggestions to minimize your exposure to toxic dry cleaning chemicals:
- Only dry-clean clothes that absolutely need it, and try not to do it too often (remember that chemical residues build up in some fabrics).
- Don't live near a dry cleaning facility! (Really...in college my mom would not let me even look at an apartment that was above a dry cleaner. Once again, she was right.)
- Roll down your car windows if you have freshly dry cleaned clothes in your car.
- Pick up your dry cleaning when you don't have kids in the car.
- Remove the plastic bag and air out your clothes in a well-ventilated area (preferably outside) before storing or wearing.
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