What is the history of the dry cleaning industry?

What is dry cleaning? How did it come about? How long has it been in use? Although we don’t know all of the exact answers, we do know that there is evidence in Pompeii, and that is a service called “floating soil”, which was already highly developed at that time. Clothes carers of the day used clay-based "bleaching soil" to absorb stains and grease from clothing that was too delicate to be washed. This way of caring for clothes has evolved over the centuries. (Pompei was annihilated by a nearby volcano in AD 79.) As early as 1690, there were public reports of using turpentine to remove tar and paint from clothing. It was not until 1716 that turpentine was considered a dry cleaning agent, used to assist wet cleaning in removing grease stains. Over the centuries, distillates of turpentine and pine pitch have gone by several names: pine pitch oil, pine pitch essence, and camphene.

Dyers or brushers are fabric handlers and may be the first to provide washing and care services. The French name for a cleaner is "tenturier-degraisseur" (dyeing-degreasing). "Degraisseur" is a common word that refers to a professional dyer. In that era, because fabrics were dyed with natural dyes, clothes needed to be re-dyed after washing.

In 1808, a famous French chemist, M.J.A. Chaptal, declared, "I know that in places where arts and crafts are famous, there are no professional washers, but I also know that in washing operations There is almost no operation that is not essentially based on chemistry. It is undeniable that the profession of washing has little interest in society, as does the situation of dyers who decorate fabrics with dyes that do not fade in bright colors. . Think calmly, the washing staff who restored the discolored clothes is not unworthy of consideration."

There are some folk tales. In France in 1825, the servants in Mr. Joly's house were also the local dyers and scrubbers. , the alcohol lamp was knocked over on the tablecloth. When the tablecloth dried, all the stains and oil stains were gone, and the rest is history that everyone knows. In Paris, France, Joly-Behring was the first to pioneer the successful use of turpentine as a commercial dry cleaning solvent. In 1855, Jolly's grandson invited friends from Scotland and Germany to visit. John Puller and his son brought this dry cleaning technology to Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and Scotland. Soon this type of cleaning became known as "French cleaning" because the early honor and fame of the solvent cleaning method was gained by France. This may also have long appeared in front of British socialites, who will choose anything related to clothing from France. What exactly was the French Purge? It is a highly labor-intensive process that involves taking the garment apart part by part, placing each part into a clay pot containing camphene, benzene and turpentine, and then hanging it on a wooden stake with a pot, drain and air dry. Every cleaning is a very dangerous operation due to the flash explosion of solvents used. Mechanization emerged in the late 19th century, and this picture shows a French polishing machine used for dry cleaning. Other improvements include the first dry cleaning aids available in Germany, photoelectric extractors and solvent purification systems. In the early 20th century, the main solvent used in Europe and the United States was petroleum. It should come as no surprise that fires are a huge problem in this industry.

When the First World War began, it immediately had an impact on the U.S. economy. Such as supply shortages, labor shortages, transportation problems and rising prices. A lot of technology was improved after the war. In 1926, the new solvent "Stoddard" was introduced, which was a significant improvement at the time because it had a higher flash point and reduced the risk of combustion.

In 1932, after recovering from the Great Depression, another organic solvent called tetrachlorethylene was applied to the cleaning industry. Tetrachlorethylene can also be represented by "perchloroethylene" or abbreviated as "perc". This organic solvent has no flash point and leaves no odor. Until the late 1930s, the laundry industry had experienced incredible development.

Then World War II started to lead to other things, there were not enough wire hangers, new logistics trucks, dry cleaning machines, and gasoline rationing for motor transport. And as a large number of people have entered the army, almost no one is doing laundry. After World War II, the number of laundry companies increased and most developed.

In the 1950s, synthetic fibers were produced and marketed with slogans such as "wash and wear", "can be washed at home" and "no ironing required". What follows is that a large number of old employees continue to leave their own laundry industry. It was not until the 1880s that the laundry industry began to flourish.

Although the laundry industry has had pauses, laundry equipment has continued to improve. Today's new equipment can wash and dry clothes. Just press a button to recover organic solvent vapor, filter stains that are insoluble in organic solvents, and purify organic solvents. In the washing industry, it has indeed taken a long time from earthenware basins to intelligent machines.