A while back I did a piece on green dry cleaning, trying to find as green an option as possible.

I received an email after the piece went up about Solvair. This cleaning process uses a biodegradable cleaning fluid and recycled carbon dioxide (CO2) to rinse and dry your clothes.

The cleaning fluid contains dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether (DPnB), which is environmentally friendly and found in many green cleaning products. This fluid is purified and re-used several times by the system, which means it creates half as much waste as traditional dry cleaning systems. And the CO2 is reclaimed from other sources.

Since the process doesn’t involve heat, it’s gentler on your clothes.

Not only does is it more gentle on your clothes, the system also cuts down on the hazardous waste and waste water created by traditional dry cleaners.

Sounds like a win/win solution, doesn’t it? In 2010, the Sierra Club recommended that if you must dry clean, find a cleaner that uses Solvair technology.

This process is offered at several dry cleaners nationwide. The price varies by cleaners.

Do you shun dry cleaning because it’s not green? We don’t dry clean. Probably more out of convenience and cheapness and anything else. But I’m quick to throw out the chemicals excuse as well.

I didn’t really know anything about dry cleaning chemicals, and if they were bad for the environment.

Traditional dry cleaners use perchloroethylene, or PERC. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PERC is a colorless, non-flammable liquid that can be dangerous to those working around it. Breathing a small amount can, “adversely affect the human nervous system,” causing problems such as dizziness and fatigue. Prolonged exposure can lead to liver and kidney damage.

The EPA reports that while PERC by itself isn’t likely to harm the enviornment, it can “contribute to the formation of photochemical smog when it reacts with other volatile organic carbon substances in the air.”

But there are dry cleaners that don’t use PERC. Some use a carbon dioxide (CO2) cleaning method and others use a wet cleaning method.

The CO2 method uses liquid carbon dioxide, which is non-toxic. A case study by the EPA found that this method, “produces no hazardous waste, eliminates exposures to traditional drycleaning solvents, and does not use ozone-depleting compounds.”

Wet-cleaning uses milder detergents than those we use at home, along with special washing machines. According a case study by the EPA, is also environmentally preferable.

Beware of some dry cleaners that claim they are organic. Some use a solvent called DF-2000 that is actually a petroleum product.

How do you find dry cleaners near you that use a CO2 or wet cleaning method? Try NoDryClean.com. It’s simple to use. We live in a fairly rural area, and the closest one to us is 83 miles away.

What to do then? Well, one option is at home dry cleaning.  We have tried Dryel. Dryel is an at home dry-cleaning kit, that does not contain PERC.

We had pretty good success with it, but we weren’t sure of the ingredients used and if the chemicals were bad for us. They don’t list the specific ingredients on their packaging or their website.

Many dry clean only garments can be hand-washed and line-dried. We mainly just try to be very careful when we wear dry clean only items.

What do you do with dry clean only clothes?