COMING CLEAN

Jamie Wendel checked a conveyor rack for a dry cleaning order at Courtesy Cleaners.

The days of polyester leisure suits are a thing of the fashion past.

A return to traditional cotton and the popularity of more delicate special care fabrics have meant a resurge of business for the dry cleaning industry, nationally and in Cape Girardeau.

Cape Girardeau is a fortunate community, say dry cleaning owners, to have four major dry cleaning operations, established cleaners that have existed for a number of years, some with more than one location.

Three of the cleaners are located within a seven-block area of Broadway -- Courtesy Cleaners, 1107 Broadway; Patrick's Cleaners, 1215 Broadway and two other locations; and Ken's Cape Cleaners, 1704 Broadway. The fourth big cleaners is Parisian Cleaning Center, 340 N. Kingshighway and two other locations.

The dry cleaning industry is one of the largest service industries in the United States, employing more than 150,000 people in 21,000 dry cleaning plants.

In addition, there are 2,400 self-service laundries that include coin-operated dry cleaning equipment, and a number of large hotels and department stores operate their own dry cleaning departments.

The words, "dry cleaning" is something of a misnomer, though.

"The term, 'dry cleaning,' simply indicates that water is not used," said David Kimes, owner of Patrick's Cleaners in Cape Girardeau. "It indicates the use of a solvent as a cleaning agent."

Clothes are actually submerged in a solvent, which contains detergents but no water.

Dry cleaning today is much different from the dry cleaning establishments of more than 150 years ago, when such fluids as kerosene, benzene and even gasoline were used as cleaning solvents.

Dry cleaning, originated in France during the mid-1800s, was a hazardous business then. The solvents were dangerously flammable.

It wasn't until 1926 that dry cleaning improved, with the introduction of Stoddard's petroleum solvent. Made specifically for dry cleaning, it was not as flammable.

A few years later, in the 1930s, perchloroethylene was introduced. Called "Perc" in the industry, the solvent is nonflammable and is used, along with petroleum-based solvents, in the majority of dry cleaning plants today.

Wayne Turley, owner of Courtesy Cleaners, says these two solvents are used in most Cape Girardeau dry cleaning plants.

Kimes and Turley also agree that dry cleaning is a simple, yet complicated, business.

Customers drop off their clothes and pick them up, but the process in between takes a lot of effort.

"A lot of works goes into getting the clothes back to the starting point," Kimes said.

When clothing is dropped off, it is placed in a bag of its own. The clothing is later separated according to material and color and prepared for the cleaning machine.

"Spotting" is a very important part of dry cleaning," Kimes said. "We look at every piece of clothing before cleaning."

Some may require "pre-spotting" to remove any stains that could become permanent during the dry cleaning process.

Clothing is then placed into a cleaning machine, which resembles a large home washing machine, with a movable drum that is filled with the liquid solvent, not water.

The drum rotates and the solvent is circulated through the clothes. After the cleaning cycle, the solvent is drained from the machine and the drum spins to remove most of the solvent from the clothes. Another machine then blows warm air through the clothes to dry them completely.

After cleaning, clothes are checked again in the spotting department, which contains a list of chemicals designed for various types of fabric and stands.

The spotter uses a nozzle (steam gun) to wet any stain that may still exist. The special stain-removing chemicals are then used to remove the stains.

From the spotting department, the garment goes to the presser or finisher. Here, specially designed pressing and steam equipment removes wrinkles and restores the shape and texture of the garment, which is then taken to the finishing room for final inspection and bagging for customer pickup.

Owners of cleaners say the "operation is simple..." the agitating action of the dry cleaning machine loosens dirt, the solvents dissolve greases and oils and do not penetrate the fibers.

There is little shrinkage, stretching or color change.

Dry cleaning, like most businesses, has experienced its ups and down.

During the 1960s and 1970s, wash-and-wear polyester garments hit the retail markets, reducing the need for dry cleaners.

During those 20 years, a third of all dry cleaners in the United States went out of business, according to the International Fabricare Institute and the Neighborhood Cleaners Association, both headquartered in the New York area.

Successful dry cleaners depend on knowledge of correct drying cleaning procedures and an understanding of the fabrics and dyes on which these drying cleaning procedures will be used.

Owners readily agree that it takes good employees.

Dry cleaning and spotting procedures are different for different materials. The fiber content, to some degree, determines the process.

"There are still many fabrics out there that do not need to be professional cleaned," Turley said. "Care-intensive natural fibers clothing are the rage of the 1990s and these need dry cleaning techniques to keep the colors bright."

Although there are still fabrics that do not need to be professionally cleaned -- improved polyester fabrics known as microbifer, as well as wrinkle-free cottons and washable silks and rayons -- there are two big reasons why more people look to their cleaners:

-- More and more manufacturers are recommending dry cleaning for their products.

-- And, there are more two-income families with both parents working. They don't want to spend their free time doing wash-and-wear clothes.