Is Dry Cleaning Bad for Your Health?

Is Dry Cleaning Bad for Your Health?
Freshly pressed shirts are seen at Sohn’s French Cleaners, which uses eco-friendly chemicals to dry clean clothes, on Jan. 29, 2007, in San Francisco, Calif., when California announced that it had enacted the nation’s first statewide ban on the chemical perchloroethylene, also known as PERC, a toxic solvent commonly used by dry cleaners. By 2023, dry cleaning machinery using PERC will be banned from use in the state of California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Image)
6/29/2013
Updated:
7/19/2013

After picking up my clothes from the dry cleaner the other day, I noticed that I carried home with me that very, very foreign and distinctly chemical smell of the dry cleaners. The smell is so unique and intimidating that you know it’s not anything you should be inhaling.

I took my clothes out of the (always excessive) plastic wrapping and let them air out a bit. I then went through my mail and lo and behold what did I find, but a flyer for an eco-friendly dry cleaning service free of PERC. Guess where I’ll be taking my clothes next weekend!

What Is PERC?

It turns out that PERC is most likely that toxic smell that we all recognize. Short for Perchloroethylene, PERC is (courtesy of the NIH) a colorless, nonflammable liquid with a sweet, ether-like odor. It is also called perchlorethylene, tetrachloroethylene, tetrachlorethylene, PCE, or PERC.

How Might I Be Exposed to PERC?

You can be exposed to perchloroethylene if you dry clean your clothes, which will release small amounts of perchloroethylene into the air after they are dry cleaned, or if you use a laundromat that contains dry cleaning machines. You can also be exposed if you use products that contain perchloroethylene, such as fabric finishers, adhesives, spot removers, typewriter correction fluid, shoe polish, and wood cleaners. Those who work at a dry cleaning, metal degreasing, chemical production, rubber coating, or textile facility also carry the highest risk.

How Can PERC Affect My Health?

Short-term exposure to high levels of perchloroethylene can affect the central nervous system and cause unconsciousness and death. Perchloroethylene is listed as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” in the Twelfth Report on Carcinogens published by the National Toxicology Program because long-term exposure to perchloroethylene can cause leukemia and cancer of the skin, colon, lung, larynx, bladder, and urogenital tract.

Long-term exposure may also damage the central nervous system, liver, and kidneys; it can also cause respiratory failure, memory loss, confusion, and dry and cracked skin. If you are pregnant, long-term exposure to perchloroethylene may damage a developing fetus.
Short-term exposure to high levels of perchloroethylene can cause buildup of fluid in the lungs, eye and respiratory irritation, severe shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, sleepiness, confusion, difficulty speaking and walking, and lightheadedness.

Short-term exposure to low levels of perchloroethylene can cause dizziness, inebriation, sleepiness, and irritated eyes, nose, mouth, throat, and respiratory tract. Direct contact with perchloroethylene liquid or vapor can irritate and burn the skin, eyes, nose, and throat.
Yikes!! What is this stuff? With a reported 85 percent of dry cleaners using it, it’s important to seek an alternative. Short of not dry cleaning your clothes, what can the average consumer do to avoid exposure to what appears to be a really volatile compound? 

Here are your options:

- Opt for a green/environmentally friendly dry cleaning service.
- Try an alternative method of cleaning, wet cleaning or CO2 cleaning.
- Learn how to dry clean at home
- Buy wrinkle-proof and non-iron clothing
- Learn how to iron
- Read the tags on your clothes and you will find that many of them don’t have to be dry cleaned—wash them at home!

Eco18 is a collective of creative-writing individuals from different backgrounds with a common goal—to live a healthier, more natural lifestyle. Their combined expertise, humor, and opinions explore green and sustainable in a practical, fun way. www.eco18.com

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