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101
W
hen dry cleaning was discovered some 120years ago, neither manmade fibers nordimensionally stabilizing finishing processeswere available. Dye fastness was poor, sewing tech-niques and garment construction gave little considera-tion to aftercare, and fashion was not anywhere near asuser-oriented as today. This is not to mention the then-current laundry equipment technology, processes, andthe standard detergent—soap.For a great proportion of textiles in general use,washing would spell complete ruin. The discovery of dry cleaning thus meant progress and provided ananswer to textile care problems. With the applicationof modern technology, today's textile items are closelyoriented to serviceability. Choice of material, design,cut, dyes, wear-comfort, and aftercare methods allmeet the needs of the user. Textile retailers and manu-facturers research such aspects very thoroughly, inorder to offer attractive incentives for purchase of newtextile items. Simple problem-free care possibilities arean important consideration.The selling point of "easy-care" calls for textiles to becleanable with normal domestic methods. This is thereason why only a minority of outerwear textiles todayare not washable. This proportion too, is continuouslygetting smaller since trends are towards the naturallooking fabrics, ecological labeling, and protection of the environment.With most garments, the textile care industry is incompetition with domestic alternatives and has to rivalits quality features, efficiency, acceptance, and avail-ability. During the past 10 years, the textile care indus-try has constantly decreased its share of the outerwearmarket. The new wet cleaning technology offers theindustry an opportunity to regain its ability to competein the areas of quality, material conformity, efficiency,and acceptability. Looked at in this way, the use of wetcleaning in textile care is of vital importance for futuredevelopment in this sector.
Soiling
In central Europe, outerwear is mostly soiled by airpollution, body excretions, foodstuffs, and direct dirtcontact. Slide 1 provides data about approximate dis-tribution of quantities, components and solubility.
Slide 1
Slide 1 shows that only about 10 percent of soilingon outerwear is soluble only in solvents. Some 40 per-cent is water-soluble, and the greater proportion con-sists of pigments. Thus it already becomes clear howadvantageous a combination of water and surfactantsis for removal of soiling from textiles and how muchmore demanding are the conditions for using solvents.In order to remove water-soluble straining duringcleaning with solvents, the addition of water as well asdetergent is necessary. At the same time that thesewater additions are active in cleaning, they also causenatural fibers to swell and so increase risk of shrinkage.
Slide 2 
Slide 2 shows the absorption of moisture by fabricsdepending on the relative humidity as well as theswelling produced as the maximal cross-sectionincreases.The most interesting aspect is the difference in watercontent of the fibers between that at 90 percent relative
Report of Professional Wet Cleaningin Europe
Kaspar D.Hasenclever
Kreussler Chemical Manufacturing Company,Weisbaden,Germany 
Mr.Hasenclever is Managing Director of Kreussler,a chemical manufac-turing company in Germany.He is chairman of the scientific advisoryboard of the Laundry Research Institute,Krefeld and member of the DINCommittee of Standardization.Mr.Hasenclever works in research anddevelopment of detergents and textile chemicals as well as in processtechnology for laundry and dry cleaning.Mr.Hasenclever has a Diplomain Engineering in Textile Chemistry from the Textile Engineering School atKrefeld,Germany.
 
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Apparel Care and the Environment
humidity and the maximum value. It is here that thefundamental difference lies between wet cleaning anduse of solvents, at least when "water-based soiling"(meaning soiling from body excretions, food, drink etc.) has to be removed with solvents.Water absorption by textiles in solvents is directlyproportional to the relative humidity in the air space of a dry cleaning machine. Immediately after oneemploys water additions of as little as 1 percent to 1.5percent of the weight of work, this results in relativehumidity of 85-90 percent which then leads to corre-sponding fiber swelling. This is to say that fiberswelling occurs even with the use of solvents. At 90percent relative humidity, it is only a little below themaximum swelling for viscose, silk, cotton, andacetate.
Wet Cleaning as a NewProcessing Technique
In December 1991, during a trade press conference atKreussler in Wiesbaden, the
LANADOLprocess
basedon Kreussler patents was introduced jointly by Mieleand Kreussler.In November 1993, this new technology was hon-ored with an award for innovation by the HesseMinister of Economies, Technology, and Transport.Based on the experience of more than 500 users of wetcleaning machines, one can make the following com-parisons with solvent processes:
q
Better cleaning effects.
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Clearer colors.
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Fresher smell for cleaned work.
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Lower costs.
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Enhanced service capability.
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Unanimous acceptance by customers.
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Greater risks with "non-washables."
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Increased finishing requirements for multi-layergarments.
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Longer completion time.The majority of companies where wet cleaningmachines are installed also operate solvent cleaning inparallel. During the summertime approximately 50-70percent of garments can be wetcleaned without risks.During winter, that rate drops to 30-50 percent. Theother articles—mainly suits and costumes—will beprocessed using solvent. The advantages of wet clean-ing include lower investment and processing expendi-ture, better cleaning quality, and higher customer satis-faction.Approximately a third of the 500 plants using wetcleaning, use the process exclusively to handle thosearticles which present problems when treated in sol-vent: microporous membrane fabrics, sports and rain-protective clothing, very heavily soiled articles, or spe-cial classifications. Although such items comprise onlysome 30 percent of the total intake, this option savesabout 50 percent of the solvent, because the portion of the workload which is being wetcleaned is that whichwould otherwise be responsible for particularly highsolvent loss.Of those cleaners using wet cleaning, only a minori-ty are working exclusively with these process and thusno longer use solvents. In some cases, occasional itemsconsidered risky will be drycleaned by a co-operativecompanies, but most of the time the cleaners can copeon their own. Most of the cleaners working in this wayreport reduced costs and increasing demand.
Slide 3 
This gives an impression, about the proportion of wet cleaning, which is already realized at Europeantextile cleaners. But the possibility of wet cleaning ismuch more. Slide 4 shows the kind of garments peo-ple normally wear or use. The slide shows the prefer-ence of the best cleaning method—wet cleaning or drycleaning.
Slide 4 
The result: most of the garments of the day-by-dayuse are better wetcleaned than drycleaned.
Primary Needs
Textile cleaning is necessary in terms of hygiene andattractiveness, but is irksome because of the effort andexpenditure involved. The primary needs are cleanli-ness, shape, and finish. With easy-care textiles, cleanli-ness can to a large extent be achieved in the householdwithout difficulties. Shaping and finishing are some-times very laborious. It is here that the usefulness of professional cleaning becomes evident. Conventionalprofessional cleaning processes using solvents havesystem-related advantages as far as shape and finishare concerned but disadvantages with cleanliness andhygiene aspects.This gap is closed by wet cleaning. In cleanlinessand hygiene, it is equal to the high standard of house-
 
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Report of Professional Wet Cleaning in Europe 
hold care, while for shape and finish it offers all theadvantages of professional cleaning to the customer.
Service Range Profile inTextile Cleaning
Compared with easy-care processes in domesticwashing machines, wet cleaning offers considerableadvantages. The mechanical stress is clearly less. Inaddition to comprehensive cleaning efficiency, thechemicals which are used provide considerable fiberprotection, color stabilization, and retexturing, andgive an anti-electrostatic finish. With appropriate elec-tronic control of dryers, the maintenance of form andshape in easy-care textiles is ensured so that finishingeffort is lower, even in comparison with a solventprocess.For this category of easy-care textiles, wet cleaningoffers considerable qualitative advantages comparedwith domestic care; costs are also clearly lower com-pared to conventional solvent processing.Wet Cleaning therefore provides an opportunity towiden the range of services for the textile care trade.This would involve introducing a special service of easy-care articles, in addition to the established clean-ing of high-value garments which are not washableand thus justify the appropriate expenditure and costs.Only in this way could a clearly lower price level beachieved that would be attractive to customers on acost basis.
Opportunities for WetCleaning
Anyone who raises the question of what proportionof garments handed in for cleaning can be processedwith wet cleaning and what proportion must becleaned in solvent, has not fully understood either thechallenge to the cleaning industry's future or theopportunities of wet cleaning. As a new processingmethod, wet cleaning must be viewed as dynamic, notstatic. It offers an extension to professional dry clean-ing's capacity.Awet cleaning installation provides the capabilityfor a complete processing spectrum ranging from silk articles, knitted wool garments, practically all trousersand skirts, all easy-care articles, jeans, household tex-tiles, bed linen, pillows, shirts, towels, and table linen.Wet cleaning therefore broadens the profile of ser-vices from pure dry cleaning of conventional outer-wear to the comprehensive handling of all cleaningrequirements for private households. This brings newcustomer contacts. This in turn leads to greater vol-ume. It takes the cleaner out of a narrow niche intobecoming a general provider of services for customers'textile needs. It should furthermore be taken into con-sideration that competitively priced processing of easy-care textiles will also inevitably lead to increasedturnover in conventional dry cleaning work.Why not offer a special service for easy-care goodswith new approaches and precisely tailored pieces, toentice people who are using their household washingmachines to return once more to the trade. If such cus-tomers find satisfaction they will come back and bringtheir conventional clothing—in addition—for cleaning.Such consistent use of wet cleaning demands com-pletely new thinking from the dry cleaner, however. Itis thus quite possible to break up present structuresand win new customers. We must be aware, however,that these "new" customers also need new reasons tohave their cleaning done. In addition to gains in qual-ity of life and free time, arguments can be based on carefor the environment and on textiles retaining theirvalue. In practical terms, professional wet cleaning ismore effective than home processing, while offering aguarantee of safety and efficiency through specialistprocessing techniques and trained operators.From this standpoint, wet cleaning is also an entre-preneurial challenge. Even without an appropriatecare symbol for wet cleaning an absolute imperativewe must not forget that commercial textile cleaningoffers advantages, even for easy-care textiles. Whyshould we not take up this market actively?
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