A bad patch
Problem: A purple patch appeared on a beige viscose blouse after drycleaning in perchloroethylene.
Cause: The mark on this garment followed a characteristic brush shape and the fault almost certainly arose from application of pre-treatment detergent prior to cleaning. Unfortunately this can loosen one of the components of the three-component dye recipe used to create the beige colour.
In this instance, the yellow dye was removed leaving behind the blue and red dyes which together produce purple. That is the origin of the colour and has nothing to do with the colour of the contaminant.
Problems of this type are frequently not revealed until after the drycleaning process. The problem can be minimised by applying neat pre-treatment detergent sparingly to sensitive fabrics and, consequent to this, by cleaning as quickly as possible.
Responsibility: The responsibility is far more likely to lie with the cleaner than with any of the other parties involved.
Rectification: There is no sensible means by which this type of fault can be rectified unless it is sent for specialist airbrush recolouring, a technique beyond the scope of most high street cleaners.
Suede suit loses colour
Problem: A dark brown suede suit suffered from an overall loss of colour following drycleaning in hydrocarbon solvent.
Cause: Hydrocarbon has only one third the solvency power of perchloroethylene and gives much better results on a leather that has not been dyed very well, resulting in poor colourfastness. In this case, direct dyes with very little chemical bonding had been used and were not able to withstand even the mild hydrocarbon fluid.
Responsibility: The responsibility for achieving good colour fastness lies with the garment maker. It is possible to dye leather and achieve very acceptable results during the drycleaning process. This is reflected in the British Standard for garment leather, which the garment makers should have used in their leather purchase specification.
Rectification: If reoiling and respraying fail, it is not practicable to attempt recolouring of this type of skin. It is better for the owner to return the garment to the place of purchase.
Silky smooth and shrinking
Problem: Following cleaning, an acetate viscose curtain in the popular dupion weave, in which the face of the fabric has a rough woven slub effect whereas the reverse has a silky smooth finish, suffered from shrinkage and waviness to the bottom hem, with an overall loss in length of over 5%.
Cause: Most curtains suffer from a 3% loss in length during the drycleaning process, due to relaxation of manufacturing strains. This loss in length is usually even across the width. Where a curtain of this construction loses far more length than this and, additionally, suffers from waviness, the cause is usually wet steam from the press. Any free water droplets in the steam, however tiny, will cause rapid shrinkage and distortion of this construction and great care is required in finishing.
Responsibility: The responsibility is far more likely to lie with the cleaner than with any of the other parties.
Rectification: It is rarely possible to recover wavy relaxation caused by the effect of wet steam on an acetate viscose dupion fabric.
Cotton skirt gives the blues
Problem: Following cleaning, a white patch became obvious on a blue cotton skirt.
Cause: The problem arose from contamination with an alcoholic drink which the wearer rubbed hard with a white napkin. The combination of the alcohol and the abrasion damaged the dyes although the problem did not look too bad before cleaning. However, in the cleaning process the strong action of the solvent flushed away the damaged dyes to reveal the full extent of the damage, with the owner blaming the cleaner.
Responsibility: Lies with the wearer and not the cleaner. Marks which originate through contamination or abuse in use are frequently revealed by the drycleaning process even when the cleaner has done absolutely nothing wrong.
Rectification: There is no sensible means by which a unit cleaner can rectify a fault of this type.
