Why do my drycleaned garments still smell of perspiration when they come back from the cleaners?
Because they haven’t been cleaned. Professionally cleaned, that is. You might have been told that they’ve been cleaned. They may appear to have been cleaned. But you know that they sure don’t smell like they’ve been cleaned! Here’s why. First, you have to know a little about drycleaning — at a very conceptual level. The vast majority of stains fall into one of two categories: dryside stains and wetside stains. Dryside stains are oil-based stains such as butter, salad dressing, steak juice and body oil. To remove a dryside stain, the garment must be “prespotted”/flushed with steam and dried. Prior to being drycleaned. Drycleaning should emulsify or dissolve the residue of the oil or grease stain that hasn’t been flushed out with steam during prespotting. About 10% of all stains a drycleaner encounters are oil-based stains. Wetside stains are water-based stains such as soda, juice, champagne and perspiration. To remove a dryside stain, the garment must be “prespotted”/flushed with steam
