National Clothesline

It was a long time between official visits, but Consumer Reports is back at the drycleaners, this time with a quick comparison of cleaners using various types of solvents.

In a report in its February issue, the magazine relates the results it got from cleaners using perc, CO2, GreenEarth and wetcleaning. Other perc alternatives, such as Rynex and the various hydrocarbon solvents, were not included in the survey.

“The CO2 and silicone-based processes performed as well as or better than conventional drycleaning, for about the same price,” Consumer Reports concluded. “Wetcleaning was less impressive.”

Garments used in the tests included a lambswool jacket, a fuchsia silk blouse and a rayon/linen blend skirt with pleats. All had “dryclean” care labels.

The garments were taken to Hangers Cleaners stores in California, Nebraska and Texas for CO2 cleaning; to two Connecticut cleaners and one suburban New York cleaner for silicone solvent cleaning; three cleaners in New York for wetcleaning; and one cleaner in New York for perc cleaning.

Each set of garments was sent to the same cleaner three times. No stains were applied to the garments, Consumer Reports said, because “stain removal is based largely on the specific stain remover used and the skill of the shop’s ‘spotter’, rather than on the cleaning method used.”

The CO2 cleaners gave the best results, Consumer Reports said, “even better than conventional drycleaning.”

“The clothing didn’t change shape, shrink or stretch. There was little or no change in the color or the texture of the fabrics; only the silk shirt faded slightly after the third cleaning.”

The GreenEarth cleaners were “almost as good,” the magazine said. All three cleaners did well on the blouse, and two of the three skirts came out well, although Consumer Reports was not pleased with the pressing of the pleats. On the down side, all three jackets showed “moderate to severe pilling” and one skirt shrank slightly.

The wetcleaners were less successful than the other two “alternative” cleaners. All three left the lambswool jacket “severely pilled,” two jackets appeared not to have been pressed and one shrank. One skirt came back looking limp, apparently because the sizing had been removed. Another skirt shrank from a size 14 to about a size 10. One silk blouse showed slight fading but overall, Consumer Reports said the “blouses took to water fairly well.”

Only one perc cleaner was used in the tests. “The results surprised us, considering that perc is so widely used,” the magazine said. The lambswool jacket was severely pilled, the skirt shrank almost one size, the silk blouse faded and had a “white, frosted look” and, unlike any of the other methods, this was the only one that left an odor on the clothes.

The magazine recommended that consumers use CO2 or silicone cleaners if they are available. “Wetcleaning should be used only for clothing you would consider hand washing,” the magazine advised, adding that consumers “should consult your cleaners about appropriate cleaning methods for your garments.”

As it has recommended in past, the magazine advised consumers to air-out perc-cleaned clothes before wearing them. However, unlike past reports on drycleaning, this one did not sound an alarm about health hazards from drycleaning.

The article in the current issue mentions “environmental concerns” in passing, but in 1997 the magazine was advising consumers to avoid dryclean-only clothes or wash them at home because perc is “associated with nervous system and kidney disorders and cancer.”

The previous year, the magazine warned that wearing drycleaned clothes is a risk to consumers and that perc is a danger to workers. That followed a study in which staff members wore clothes that had been drycleaned and used measurement devices to detect perc on the garments. Prior to that, the magazine had called for a ban on perc drycleaning plants in residential buildings due to health hazards.

Before this current report on drycleaning, the magazine had last visited cleaners in 1998 to compare professional drycleaning with the home drycleaning kits that were coming into the market at that time.

In those tests, Consumer Reports was “unimpressed” with home drycleaning but it also noted health risks associated with professional drycleaning.