St. Croix Cleaners is proud to announce that Duane Schumann has earned the “Certified Professional Wetcleaner” (CPW) designation from the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute (DLI). Duane is the only person in Minnesota to pass the rigorous four hour exam.
Wetcleaning is a relatively new, state-of-the-art, non-toxic, environmentally safe alternative to dry cleaning that cleaners may choose to process sensitive textiles such as wool, silk, rayon, and linen.
Professional wetcleaning uses water, the most benign and abundant solvent available on the planet. The input of the four elements of garment cleaning (solvent, detergents, agitation and heat) are computer controlled based on the type of fabric being cleaned.
In water, non-toxic detergents and conditioners are used to lift dirt out of the garment and revitalize the fabric. The garments are agitated in the computerized wetcleaning machine just enough to extract the dirt and grime, but not enough to alter the structure, size or color.
The garments are then transferred to a high-tech drying unit that senses humidity as many as 400 times per minute. To ensure that no shrinkage occurs, the dryer automatically stops once the prescribed level of moisture is reached. During drying, the conditioners that were added earlier are heat-activated to soften and freshen the garment.
Garments are then treated as they would be in the dry cleaning process—wrinkles are pressed out and garments are hung up and bagged.
Duane specializes in cleaning and restoring vintage clothing, costumes, wedding gowns, and other delicate garments and textiles and is the Production Manager for St. Croix Cleaners sister company,
Treasured Garment Restoration.
