So I've been thinking a lot about dry cleaning lately, and I'm having a really hard time viewing it as anything other than a scam to charge you money for wrecking your clothes.
For one thing, there's the misnomer itself. Dry cleaning isn't "dry." It's basically washing your clothes in the same method as usual but using some chemical other than water as the solvent. It seems as though your garment still gets chucked in a machine with a bunch of other people's stuff, soaked with soap and chemicals, and tossed and churned until it is "clean."
Then there's the supposed "need" for certain items to be dry cleaned. There's a belief that even exposing certain materials to water - silk, wool - will ruin them instantly. But that is clearly not the case. Last night I went to the thrift store and purchased 2 items - a knit wool ski cap and a camel hair sport coat. When I got home, I tossed the ski cap in the laundry, in my mesh sweater bag, on cold delicate with a few drops of Dr. Bronner's. It came out looking clean and new.
Then I was thinking about the camel coat, which was in need of cleaning as well, and remembering my most recent and rather unsatisfactory experience with the dry cleaner. I finally took a chance and did the same thing as with the hat - placed it inside my mesh sweater bag and washed it with Dr. Bronner's on cold delicate. Now it's hanging dry and it looks totally fine - could use a bit of ironing, but is actually far less wrinkly than before. Plus the camel hair itself seems refreshed and perked up, not dull and worn like it did when I got the coat.
I also cleaned up a thrifted tie a while back. Spot-cleaned with vinegar, then submersed the whole thing in water and allowed it to air dry. The silk had a bit of a raisin-effect reaction to the water, but as it dried it fell back into shape and looks fine.
So my question is this: Is dry cleaning ever worth it? It's expensive, it's a bit of a hassle, it occasionally results in horror stories of lost/ruined clothing, and even those who think that certain garments must occasionally be dry-cleaned agree that it is very damaging to your clothes in the long run. Plus in my experience it doesn't even necessarily get your stuff very clean. Contrary to what the labels say, it seems as though we are perfectly capable of keeping our things clean through judicious laundering and steaming. Any thoughts on this?
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