I find this conversation very interesting and enlightening. I am glad we are having it, as I've been debating whether or not to hand wash or dry clean my DVF dresses and skirts.
IMHO, I would hand wash or wet clean instead of dry cleaning and here is why...
I worked at a traditional dry cleaner in high school that used Perc as the cleaning solvent. The owner told me that 98% of all clothes that say "dry clean" only on the tag can be hand washed in cold water with Dreft (or Woolite). When I asked her why, she told me that "dry clean" is a misnomer. There is nothing in the process that involves “cleaning”, the act of removal of sweat, body oil, stains, and dirt from a garment. What you basically get is a high heat chemical treatment that covers up odors and kills bacteria. To remove a stain, they take a high pressure steam gun and basically force the “stain” through the weave of the clothing and into a clean cloth placed on the backside of the garment. This works on stains that contain surface debris and water-based. The stain removal process won’t work on oil- and sugar-based stains (think salad dressing and wine), which leave behind a “footprint” or ring on the fabric despite the color of the stain being gone.
To contrast, the dry cleaner that I worked at did a lot of “wet cleaning”. Clothes are laundered in a computer-controlled washer and dryer that gently clean clothes, sometimes spinning as slowly as six revolutions a minute (a typical home washing machine may rotate clothes several dozen times per minute). These special machines can be programmed for variables such as time, temperature, and mechanical action, which allow cleaners to tailor the wash according to the type of fabric. To remove stains as part of wet cleaning, one must know the pH level of the stain. Water-based stains generally come out with the standard wet-cleaning process. Oil-based stains can be removed using specialized water-based pre-spotting solutions. IMO, hand washing is a remedial and less technical type of wet cleaning. I always research the stain I am trying to remove before hand washing, so I can increase my odds at stain removal. I hand wash everything including silk, wool, polyester, and rayon.
Note: My experience working at a dry cleaner predates the “green” dry cleaners. There are several types of “green” cleaning methods available. While I haven’t tried any of them, my understanding is the method that uses CO2 as its cleaning agent would be the best choice. I believe their process uses a specialized machine, which is emptied of air. The pressure in the chamber is raised by injecting gaseous CO2, and then liquid CO2 is pumped into the mix. Clothes are rotated in a cycle that lasts five to 15 minutes at room temperature. The liquid CO2 dissolves dirt, fats, and oils in the clothing. At the end of the cleaning cycle, the liquid CO2 is pumped back into the storage tank, to be reused again, if possible. The remaining CO2 is released in the air.
Do you lay flat, or hang to dry? Do you iron (what temp) or steam out any wrinkles?
I have used the home dry cleaning stuff with great success, though (either Dryel or Woolite dry cleaning stuff). That stuff is great for freshening up items between trips to the dry cleaner, but every few wears I still take my stuff in to have it professionally cleaned.
