Legend says dry cleaning dates back to the 1840s in France. According to legend, a maid tipped over a lamp onto a soiled table cloth. This accidental spillover of camphene turpentine spirits, i.e. the lamp fuel, on the soiled table cloth helped discover that it had excellent cleansing powers. When the cloth dried, the soil was gone.
Spirits of turpentine had long been known as a good spotting agent for grease stains. In 1716 a French book entitled “Secrets Regarding the Arts and Crafts” described a “special secret for removing grease and oil spots from silk stuff”. It said, “One rubs the spots on the silk with the spirits of turpentine, this spirit evaporates and takes with it the oil in the spot”. The transition to modern dry cleaning practices has not been fast, however.
According to some sources, the first commercial dry cleaner was opened in 1825 by Jolly-Belin in Paris. The fashion industry in Paris was an important part of society. The clothes were soaked in big containers filled with turpentine, then washed in a machine that was the predecessor of the modern washing machine. Afterward, the clothes were left to air dry so that turpentine would evaporate
The first dry cleaner in the United States showed up around the same time. It was founded by Thomas Jennings, who was a U.S. tailor and inventor. He was the first known African-American who received a patent in the United States for the method called “dry scouring” which was used to clean clothes that traditional cleaning methods would damage. His process was patented in 1821, and Jennings ran a highly successful tailoring and dry cleaning business in New York City.
One major issue with petroleum-based solvents was their extreme flammability, however, so people were looking for better alternatives for solvents.
We at O’Dry use the best modern environmentally friendly solvents to make your items fresh clean again. You don’t even need to bring them to us, just order pick up and delivery with our mobile app.
