Fabric Care 101

Dry Cleaning
Wet Cleaning
Professional Cleaning
Help Your Clothes
Frequently Asked Questions

More about fabric care on bcfab.org,
fabricarecanada.com, ifi.org

There are two types of garment cleaning: Wet cleaning and Dry cleaning.

Dry cleaning uses fluids (solutions) to remove soil and stains from fabric. It is called “dry cleaning” because the solutions contain little or no water and do not penetrate the fibers as water does. The cleaning action is between the fibers. Dry cleaning is suitable for delicate fabrics and other garments which cannot be washed by water.
Advantages - Dry cleaning has the ability to dissolve greases and oils in a way that water cannot. Dry cleaning helps to return garments to a ‘like-new’ condition, using precautions to prevent shrinkage, loss of color, and fabric distortion. Dry cleaning also prolongs the life of a garment, preventing the accumulation of dirt and soil, which act as an abrasive, causing rapid wear of fibers.

Wet cleaning is the process of removing soils from garments and other textile items through the use of water and complimentary solutions, (such as detergents) and using precautions to prevent shrinkage, loss of color, and fabric distortion. The cleaning action is through the fibers.

Care Labels - Manufacturers are required to attach a permanent care label to textile garments to provide directions for their care. All components of the garment, including trim, should be colorfast and remain unaltered during cleaning.

Professional cleaning involves many different operations, all performed by skilled people and designed to give your garments a (like-new) fresh and clean appearance.
Procedures include:

• Check the care label for instructions and fiber content
• Classify the garment according to fabric type, color. And degree of soiling
• Remove stains using special solutions and stain removal techniques
• Dry clean, wet clean, or launder according to care label
• Re-apply sizing, water repellency or other finishes as required
• Finish the garment on professional pressing equipment to restore it to its original shape, feel, and appearance
• Replace missing buttons and perform minor repairs as required
• Inspect the garment to meet high quality standards
• Package the garment in protective wrapping

Help your Clothes and Your Cleaner

• When at home, always blot or soak a “spill” from a fabric. Excessive rubbing can damage the fabric and remove the dye.
• Bring your garments for professional cleaning as soon as possible after a stain occurs. Stains left too long can become permanent and damage the fabric.
• Protect your clothing from perfumes, lotions, antiperspirants, and hair products. Many of these solutions contain alcohol and will damage some dyes. These “invisible stains” often appear after being exposed to the cleaning processes.
• Protect garments, especially silks, from excessive body perspiration. Body salts can weaken fibers and cause dyes to discolor.
• Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight will also weaken fibers and discolourareas of the garment.
• Do not press stained or soiled clothing, as the heat can set stains.
• Point out stains on your garment or discuss concerns with our customer service personnel.
• Have matching co-ordinates cleaned together so colors will remain uniform

Frequently Asked Questions
Does frequent dry cleaning shorten the life of a garment?
On the contrary, frequent cleaning prolongs the life of a garment. Not only do stains set with age, making the garment unwearable, but ground-in dirt and soil act as an abrasive, like sandpaper, causing rapid wear of fibers. Also, insects are attracted to soiled clothes and will cause further damage.

Does dry cleaning cause garments to shrink? No. If a professional cleaner is working with a new high tech cleaning machine, the garment should not shrink. Most shrinkage that occurs during dry cleaning happens because the garment manufacturer has not preshrunk the fabric.

Can the dry cleaning process remove any kind of stain?
Dry cleaning is not the answer to all soil and stain removal problems. Sometimes stains become permanently embedded in the fiber, or fabrics cannot withstand normal cleaning and stain removal procedures, or decorative trim is not compatible with dry cleaning solvent. It is important that both you and your dry cleaner read all care labels and follow the instructions.