Karl Huie stops using chemical-intensive dry cleaning methods.
While California has mandated that perc be phased out of the dry cleaning industry by 2023, Huie decided to stop using it now, for himself and his employees, citing health concerns.
The procedure Huie is using instead is called wet cleaning, and as the name implies, it uses a water solution made of natural soaps and conditioners. "Water is the best cleaning agent," says Huie, and appropriate for all fabrics, including fur, silk, and wool. In fact, it protects wool — those holes that moths make aren't from eating the wool. Moths are munching on food protein residue deep down in the fabric that waterless, chemical solvents can't reach. A professional can feel grit in customers' older wool clothing — representing a mix of food and the cleaning solvent itself building up over time. Water washes all that away.
Huie expects to save money over time by making the switch to new high-tech machines from Miele — he no longer has to pay fees for the use and removal of perc, a hazardous waste that can't be washed down the drain — and for his new clean attitude: He reuses hangers and offers reusable clothes bags.
"You have to be open minded and willing to learn a new process," Huie says of his early-adopter move to perc-free cleaning, in Sausalito and at his parents' original business in San Francisco, Pacific Heights Cleaners.
He expects customers will be pleased with the results, not only in terms of cleaning quality but for their own peace of mind: The smell of just-cleaned clothes is actually small amounts of perc being released into the air.
For More Information
Sunshine Cleaners > www.eco-drycleaners.com.
