Dry cleaning is hazardous to health, the environment and personal budget

t may seem hard to believe that the first dry cleaning operation opened in France in 1845; today dry cleaning services seem to be everywhere. When many people buy clothing, they don't give much thought to the "dry clean only" tag; many business clothes, uniforms, and outerwear require this type of cleaning. But people should be aware of why this type of cleaning is hazardous--it's dangerous not only to one's health, but also to the environment and even to one's personal budget.

Dry cleaners use harsh chemicals, solvents, and detergents to clean clothing. In fact, the chemicals used today are not the same chemicals used when dry cleaning was first invented. Today, the worst chemicals used are percholorethylene, tetrachloroethylene, and tetrachloroethene (known collectively as PERC), but there are other solvents used as well.