Dry cleaners across the country are switching to more environmentally friendly laundering chemicals, but not all of them have benefited from the change as much as one business outside of Harrisburg.
Last week Quality Cleaners, a Lemoyne cleaner that's counted five governors among its customers, replaced 22-year-old cleaning machines with new equipment. Co-owner Lee Colonna explained that it made sense to start using new cleaning solvents at the same time. The switchover took place in one day with little interruption to the business.
“Our customers were so thrilled that we were going green,” Colonna says.
Dry cleaning works much the same way as standard laundry, but dry cleaners use specialized chemicals instead of water. For decades the standard chemical has been perchloroethylene, a substance that can irritate the respiratory tract and cause dizziness and other nasty conditions.
Dry cleaners have been switching to other solvents in an effort to stop using perchloroethylene. Quality Cleaners has adopted SolvonK4, which is organic and biodegradable. “You can actually dip your finger in it and rub it on a garment to make sure it works,” Colonna says. “It's been knocking out just as many stains, if not more.”
The new chemical especially comes in handy for the segment of Quality Cleaners' business that's dedicated to restoring clothing that has been inside fire- and smoke-damaged homes. This part of the business has been so good lately that the dry cleaner has added three employees.
Source: Lee Colonna, Quality Cleaners
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen