A Green Cleat: New detergents dissolve obstacles to pollutionfree solvents

摘要

Water, despite its benign reputation, can wreak havoc on clothing—as anyone who has ever ignored a "dry clean only" label can attest. Consequently, piles of clothing get lugged to the local dry cleaner, for fear of turning another silk dress into a rag or shrinking still more wool sweaters into garments for the family dog. Dry cleaning involves no water. Instead, clothes are treated for stains, then tumbled in perchloroethylene, a volatile, nonflammable organic liquid.