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Why your dark colored garments look dull and faded after dry cleaning
By: Stu Bloom
New clients often ask us why their dark colored, “dry clean only” garments looked progressively dull and faded when returned by a dry cleaner.
Here’s why…
Your dark colored, “dry clean only” garments look progressively dull and faded because of one or more of the following reasons:
- because your cleaner is probably dry cleaning your dark colored garments in “dirty dry cleaning solvent”.
- because the dry cleaning solvents being used are not chemically inert.
- because your dry cleaner is washing or wet cleaning your dark colored cotton and linen garments.
Dirty dry cleaning solvent
The first reason your dark colored garments look progressively dull and faded is that they are not being cleaned in dry cleaning fluid that’s crystal clear.
At RAVE FabriCARE, our dry cleaning fluid is always crystal clear. As clear as bottled mountain spring water.
Cleaning your fine garments in crystal clear dry cleaning fluid won’t dull or fade your dark colors.
Dry cleaning solvent that’s not chemically inert
The second reason is that perchloroethylene (aka “perc”), synthetic petroleum and formaldehyde dibutyl acetal – the dry cleaning solvents used by 95% of all cleaners – are not chemically inert. This means that these dry cleaning solvents react chemically with the dyes in your garments.
The result?
“Bleeding”, “pulling” or “fading” of dyes.
At RAVE FabriCARE, we dry clean all your dark colored garments – even your dark colored cottons and linens – in siloxane, a dermatologically friendly, fabric-gentle, non-dye stripping dry cleaning fluid.
This means that our dry cleaning fluid does not react chemically with the dyes in your fabrics.
And the result?
No “bleeding”, “pulling” or “fading” of dyes.
For example, if we cleaned a load of brand new black or red garments, with our filters turned off, the color of our dry cleaning fluid will be crystal clear. If those same garments were to be cleaned in perc, synthetic petroleum or formaldehyde dibutyl acetal, with the filters turned off, the color of the dry cleaning solvent will be slightly to substantially black or red respectively.
Where does the dye come from? You guessed it. Right out of your garments!
Washing instead of dry cleaning
The third reason your garments look progressively dull and faded is that your cleaner is washing or wet cleaning your dark colored cotton and linen garments. Even if you specified “dry clean”. Even if the care label says “dry clean only”.
Summary
So, if your colored garments start to look dull and faded, maybe it’s time to change outfits.
Dry cleaning outfits!
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Author
Stu Bloom
Stu Bloom is Founder and President of RAVE FabriCARE. RAVE FabriCARE, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, cares for fine garments, household textiles and accessories and serves clients throughout the USA and Canada. Stu is the author of various ebooks on these subjects, all of which are available from www.ravefabricare.com/freestuff. He is an evangelist for true quality cleaning and is a contributor to and editor of True Quality Cleaning, RAVE FabriCARE’s blog. You can find Stu on Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
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