Report Science
Introduction:
Doing laundry has been a common household activity for years. Whether the technology was beating the garments on rocks by the river or pushing buttons on programmed washing machines, this process depends on water and a mechanical action usually assisted by soap or detergent. The purpose of a detergent is to remove ordinary stains and other matter. More often than not, the soap/detergent agent holds stains in suspension as they becomes loose during the wash cycle, and are subsequently flushed away during the rinse cycle and centrifugal spin.
The drying process for doing laundry at home is either hanging clothes on a clothesline or tumbling them in a gas- or electric-heated dryer.
Dry cleaning, on the other hand, is different. It's a process that cleans clothes without water. The cleaning fluid that is used is a liquid, and all garments are absorbed and cleaned in a liquid solvent -- the fact that there is no water is why the process is called "dry."
Like many inventions, dry cleaning came about by accident. In 1855, Jean Baptiste Jolly, a French dye-works owner, noticed that his table cloth became cleaner after his maid accidentally overturned a kerosene lamp on it. Operating through his dye-works company, Jolly offered a new service and called it "dry cleaning."
Early dry cleaners used a variety of solvents -- including kerosene -- to clean clothes and fabrics. The dry-cleaning industry is fairly new and has developed only during the past 75 years. Since World War II ended, a product known as perchlorethylene (perc) became the solvent choice for the industry. It was not only safer and faster, but did a much better job of cleaning, required less massive equipment, less floor space, and could be installed in retail locations offering excellent quality one-hour service.
As a result of this innovation, the majority of clothes today are cleaned by perc. Perc is a colorless liquid widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics, hence it is sometimes
Doing laundry has been a common household activity for years. Whether the technology was beating the garments on rocks by the river or pushing buttons on programmed washing machines, this process depends on water and a mechanical action usually assisted by soap or detergent. The purpose of a detergent is to remove ordinary stains and other matter. More often than not, the soap/detergent agent holds stains in suspension as they becomes loose during the wash cycle, and are subsequently flushed away during the rinse cycle and centrifugal spin.
The drying process for doing laundry at home is either hanging clothes on a clothesline or tumbling them in a gas- or electric-heated dryer.
Dry cleaning, on the other hand, is different. It's a process that cleans clothes without water. The cleaning fluid that is used is a liquid, and all garments are absorbed and cleaned in a liquid solvent -- the fact that there is no water is why the process is called "dry."
Like many inventions, dry cleaning came about by accident. In 1855, Jean Baptiste Jolly, a French dye-works owner, noticed that his table cloth became cleaner after his maid accidentally overturned a kerosene lamp on it. Operating through his dye-works company, Jolly offered a new service and called it "dry cleaning."
Early dry cleaners used a variety of solvents -- including kerosene -- to clean clothes and fabrics. The dry-cleaning industry is fairly new and has developed only during the past 75 years. Since World War II ended, a product known as perchlorethylene (perc) became the solvent choice for the industry. It was not only safer and faster, but did a much better job of cleaning, required less massive equipment, less floor space, and could be installed in retail locations offering excellent quality one-hour service.
As a result of this innovation, the majority of clothes today are cleaned by perc. Perc is a colorless liquid widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics, hence it is sometimes