Why Dry Cleaning Cost More Than Laundry Wash?

Doing laundry wash has been one of the most common household chores since wearing clothes is apparently one of the basic commodities among people. Nowadays, the advent of technological innovations has lead laundry washing into a whole new level; from washing clothes by the river to pushing buttons of washing machines. The mechanism of either manual or electric washing remains the same and people still use this technology even among the world’s most developed countries like Singapore. The drying process when doing laundry wash is either hanging the clothes or tumbling them in an electric- or gas-heated dryer.

You can definitely wash your clothes but you will certainly need ample amount of space to dry them. This is exactly something that you can barely do if you live in a high-rise condominium. For that, dry cleaning could be an excellent alternative. Its cleaning mechanism is entirely different from the usual laundry washing because it doesn’t require water. The fact that there is no water involved in the cleaning process is obviously the reason why it was called ‘dry cleaning’. The question now is why does dry cleaning cost more than laundry wash? The following details will provide you the answer.

Dry Cleaning vs. Laundry Wash
As it was said earlier, water is not necessary in dry cleaning. Instead, using a specialized cleaning solution is being used to remove the filthy materials in clothes. The active ingredient of a cleaning solution is perchloroethylene which has the ability to easily remove dirt or stains from the clothes. Aside from getting rid of the dirt, it also prevents fabric distortion, shrinkage and color fading. In a dry cleaning process, the things that have to be accomplished is to pre-treat the dirt and stain using a special cleaning agent and load it into the dry cleaning machine. After that, it will be pressed and packed; hanging the clothes to dry is not necessary. Laundry wash, however, needs water, detergent powder or softener. Without using a dryer, the clothes need to be hung up and it will take time for them to dry.

Advantages of Dry Cleaning Over Laundry Wash
Although dry cleaning uses lesser cleaning materials and effort, it is still more expensive than having your clothes being laundry-washed. Nevertheless, there are a number of benefits of dry cleaning that will surely outweigh the cost. First, it prevents shrinkage which usually happens in many fabric materials such as wool. It also reduces wrinkles especially for clothes made up of cotton, linen and silk. Another notable benefit is that color fading and smudging are being prevented. The textures of the garments are maintained and the life of your clothes in general is prolonged. The whole cleaning process is absolutely eco-friendly simply because it saves a huge amount of water.

The bottom line here is that it’s a matter of your own preference. If you think laundry wash is more practical just because the services you pay is cheaper, then go for it. If you want faster and safer way of washing your clothes, then you may opt to choose dry cleaning provided that you are also willing to bust some bucks.