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I washed my suits in the bath tub

Mild Mannered

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The chemicals in dry cleaning are deadly. Whenever I got my suits & jackets back from the dry cleaners, I always felt nauseas wearing them. Even airing them out for days/weeks didn't help.
It has taken me 20 years to finally get it through my head, that dry cleaning chemicals are deadly to me. I have recently undertaken a desperate measure. I washed all of my suits in my bath tub.
Behold the culprit. Perchloroethylene.

t_17708_01.jpg


I let each suit soak in water and very little liquid Tide for about 3 hours.
It literally took at least 3-4 hours for the PERC to release itself from the fabrics.
After this long soak period, I drained the tub. Refilled with water. Did a second soak for 30 min.
Drained water. Did a third soak for 30 min again. Drained tub, pressing gently with my hands,
as much water as possible from the suits. Then hung dry for 24 hours.
Then gently ironed everything. I am happy to say that not one of my suits was damaged.
Mostly canvassed, but some fused, yet all have survived this process amazingly well.
Suit & jacket brands that were washed include: Canali, Pal Zileri, Zegna, BOSS Black, Stollery's,
DAKS Jermyn Street, Aquascutum, etc.
I have also done the same procedure to my trench coats (Burberry, Aquascutum)
Here is a sample of the water after removing suit from the first soaking.
I don't recommend anyone try this at home unless you are ready to toss the suit altogether.
This was a last resort for me as the chemicals were affecting my health. If it had not worked, I would have trashed the whole lot and started over. Thankfully 100% of my suits/jackets are ok.
I can breath again. and not one of my suits have any smell of those chemicals.
Here's a sample pic of the water.
I lightened the photo for clarity. Believe me that water stunk of chemicals.
Compare the color of the water to the color of the PERC in the photo above.

 

Bartolo

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That's excellent! You got all the perc out!

(That's not perc in that bottle. Read the label.)
 

Sean Archer

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Rats. I just took my suit to the dry cleaners and they use "solvents". I wish you had posted this yesterday
biggrin.gif
.
 

JayJay

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I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try this.
 

Nicola

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Have you ever read the MSDS for water? The stuff is deadly and needs to be handled with care. I'm not even sure it's legal for home use. Make sure you're wearing safety gear in case you fall into the tub.
 

gdl203

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I love internet fora... you can find the worst possible ideas and advice, and they are often illustrated with bathroom and toilet pictures. What more can one ask?
 

apropos

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Originally Posted by Nicola
Have you ever read the MSDS for water? The stuff is deadly and needs to be handled with care. I'm not even sure it's legal for home use. Make sure you're wearing safety gear in case you fall into the tub.
What one may see as an unfortunate accident, I see as a fortuitous event reflecting evolutionary pressures.
 

Despos

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I understand your situation but there are other, better methods to rid your clothes of perc. There are many alternative cleaning solvents used today. Drycleaner's problem is that their machine systems work with certain solvents. New solvents require different equipment requiring $ investment. My cleaner uses a hydrogen process that removes all residue. Cleaning chemicals can oxidize and leave the cloth stiff, the hydrogen neutralizes this.
I ask the cleaner if they use perc and do not use them if they do.
 

KObalto

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Originally Posted by Despos
I understand your situation but there are other, better methods to rid your clothes of perc. There are many alternative cleaning solvents used today. Drycleaner's problem is that their machine systems work with certain solvents. New solvents require different equipment requiring $ investment. My cleaner uses a hydrogen process that removes all residue. Cleaning chemicals can oxidize and leave the cloth stiff, the hydrogen neutralizes this.
I ask the cleaner if they use perc and do not use them if they do.


Yes, there are many "green" dry cleaners available today that do not use perc. Why not just patronize one of them?
confused.gif
 

greyinla

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I agree perc is nasty--CA has banned it--but as suggested, there are alternatives. If you can find a cleaner locally that uses CO2, that's your best bet.
 

IndianBoyz

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I want to handwash my cashmere and merino sweaters. Not sure how to though. Just cold water and powdered soap? How to dry?
 

BareSolid

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Originally Posted by IndianBoyz
I want to handwash my cashmere and merino sweaters. Not sure how to though. Just cold water and powdered soap? How to dry?

Good question.
 

[savage]

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Aside from the perc debate, I have a question related to your drying method. Would it not be better to lay the suits flat on a bath sheet to dry rather than hanging them and potentially stretching the fabric?
 

[savage]

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Originally Posted by IndianBoyz
I want to handwash my cashmere and merino sweaters. Not sure how to though. Just cold water and powdered soap? How to dry?

I use my front load washer on delicate with liquid detergent. Then I reshape the sweater and lay it flat on a bath sheet to dry. Hanging it to dry will cause stretching.
 

horton

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I would handwash them with the cashmere soap from The Laundress. It's pricey but works great and a little goes a long way. Dry flat
 

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