Wet cleaning vs dry cleaning: what is the difference?

The short answer: dry cleaning is not dry. It cleans garments in a liquid chemical solvent instead of water. Wet cleaning does use water, along with biodegradable detergent, in a machine that controls the movement, temperature and drying closely enough to handle fabrics a home wash would ruin. Both are professional processes for clothes you cannot put through a domestic machine. The difference is what the garment is actually immersed in.

What is in a dry cleaning machine

Most dry cleaners run perchloroethylene, almost always shortened to perc. It is effective, especially on oily stains, and it has been the trade standard for decades. It is also a chlorinated solvent with well-documented health and environmental concerns, which is why regulators in several countries have moved to restrict it and why the trade has spent years looking for alternatives.

The common alternatives are hydrocarbon, which is petroleum-based and gentler than perc but still a volatile organic solvent, and liquid silicone, sold under brand names and frequently marketed as the green option. Silicone is a genuine improvement on perc. It is still a solvent, and it is still something your clothes are soaked in.

What professional wet cleaning does instead

Wet cleaning replaces the solvent with water and a biodegradable detergent chosen for the fibre. The control that makes it safe for a wool suit or a silk dress is in the machine and the operator, not in the chemistry: how much the drum moves, how much water goes in, what temperature, and above all how the piece is dried and finished. A wet-cleaning dryer stops on a moisture reading rather than a timer, because over-drying is what shrinks wool and sets creases.

That is the trade-off, because wet cleaning has to be set per garment rather than run as one cycle for everything. It takes more judgement at the counter and more attention in the workshop, and in exchange your clothes are never immersed in a chemical solvent.

Which is better for your clothes?

For the great majority of what people bring in, from suits and coats to dresses, wool, silk, cotton and mixed fabrics, wet cleaning matches solvent cleaning and often beats it on finish. Water is better than solvent at water-based staining, which is most of what daily life produces: sweat, drink, food, mud. Solvent retains an advantage on heavy oil and grease. Some specialist items, particularly certain leathers, suedes and a few structured or heavily embellished pieces, should not take either process without being looked at first.

The practical differences you will notice are that there is no chemical smell on the hanger when you collect, and that garments tend to feel softer, which matters if you have sensitive skin or you are cleaning something a child will wear.

So why is it still called dry cleaning?

Because that is what customers search for and ask for. We describe the finished service as eco dry cleaning because it does the job people mean when they say dry cleaning: professional cleaning of garments you cannot wash at home, pressed and returned on a hanger. Underneath, the process is professional wet cleaning.

What we run at Oceans Green

Water and biodegradable detergent. No perc, and no silicone solvent either. We looked at both when we set the shop up and were not willing to run either through our machines, which is the reason the business exists in the shape it does. If you want to see the machines, the workshop is at The Boathouse on Ocean Drive in Gillingham and you are welcome to ask.