A Guide to Fabric Care
Dry cleaning is defined as the cleaning of textiles in an organic solvent or washing in a non-aqueous fluid. Unlike water, dry cleaning solvents do not swell or soften fabrics made of natural fibers (cotton, wool or silk) which can cause wrinkling, shrinkage, pilling of wool fabrics, and loss of finish.
Dry cleaning solvents are able to dissolve greasy, oily soils and serve as a carrier for detergents, which remove water-soluble soil and a flushing agent for the removal of insoluble soil from the fabric during the cleaning process. Detergents are added to speed insoluble soil removal, suspend soil and remove water-soluble soil.
