Dry cleaning is misunderstood by many young people, as there is no longer quite as much call for formal clothing as there once was. In the past, almost any office job was going to requite you to wear business attire every day, and then you would also have formal clothing that you would wear nights and weekends to do other activities like going out to dinner or get togethers with friends. Over the last generation, these cultural norms have gradually been replaced by less formal clothing, with many work situations now not requiring you to dress up at all. As a result of this shift, less people understand what dry cleaning is and why it is necessary on certain kinds of clothes but not other kinds. Most people still have at least a few pieces of formal clothing that they wear on special occasions, and some people will wear more expensive clothes quite often, which will all require dry cleaning. So what is different about dry cleaning than washing your clothes at home?
Dry cleaning is an industry term that describes the cleaning of clothing without using water and agitation to do so. Many types of clothing are made out of materials that will be damaged if they are put into a standard home washing machine and exposed to water and soap. These types of clothes are made of materials that have fibers that will change shape if they are soaked in water, destroying the look of the fabric as a result. If a piece of clothing is meant for dry cleaning and it is put through a washer, it will come out looking old and tired, and will lose the crisp lines that make it look good. Dry cleaning is the process of cleaning the garment using a chemical bath then extruding the chemicals from the clothes using a special machine. The clothes are then pressed using an industrial grade presser to remove any wrinkles and are hung in plastic bags to preserve their freshness.
While street clothes like jeans and t shirts do not have to be dry cleaned, they can still benefit from being dry cleaned from time to time. The dry cleaning process ultimately strengthens the fibers that the clothes are made from, so even a t shirt can be dry cleaned in order to look completely new again. There are many cases where clothing isn’t necessarily formal, yet the person likes it so much that they want to keep it looking new all the time. Dry cleaning is an effective way to prevent yellowing around the neck and arms, where sweat and skin come into contact with the clothing. Even a dry cleaning periodically can go a long way to keeping your informal clothing looking like you just bought it.
Younger people can benefit from learning what dry cleaning is and how to get their clothes to the dry cleaner nearest to them. Many offer pickup and delivery services, making them even more convenient than your home laundry.
