Monthly Archives: February 2015

­

CO2 Cleaning Is Changing the Garment Cleaning Industry

February 11, 2015

The garment cleaning and dry cleaning industry is on the brink of sweeping change due to the public’s growing concern with the environmental hazards of many traditional cleaning processes.

Traditional Dry Cleaning

Dry cleaning has been around for decades now and is the largest user of perchloroethylene (PERC), a colorless nonflammable liquid. Perchloroethylene breaks down chemicals and evaporates when exposed to air, thus making it an excellent choice for cleaning organic fabrics.

The chemical, however, is a major threat to human beings, especially those who are in contact with PERC. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized the effects of inhaling and coming into contact with PERC has on an individual and the environment. If PERC comes into contact directly with skin, it breaks through the fat cells and can cause irritation. Even just inhaling the air around PERC can lead to liver and kidney damage in humans. Repeat exposure to PERC may even cause cancer.

The public backlash against the use of PERC in dry cleaning has forced the industry to seek out more environmentally friendly alternatives.

[…]

Atmospheric Plasma & CO2 Cleaning for Treating Surfaces

February 2, 2015

Effective cleaning can sometimes only be accomplished with the outside help of other technologies. Surprisingly though, many of these modern professional cleaning systems utilize very common elements to clean. One particular form of cleaning that is impacting the manufacturing sector is plasma cleaning. Cool Clean has found a way to combine the plasma cleaning with our integrated CO2 spray. The results have been quite promising in surface treatment and preparation.

Plasma used on a plastic part

Plasma Cleaning

Solvent free cleaning can come in many forms. Plasma cleaning is an example of a dry method using a chemical reaction of air plasma for surface preparation. Atmospheric plasma systems focus the plasma for cleaning of substrates at the molecular level. Plasma cleaning is often found in the sterilization of medical implants, electronics and semiconductors, and automotive technology.

[…]