Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The modern dry-cleaning process was developed and patented by Thomas L. Jennings. Despite i...

Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The modern dry-cleaning process was developed and patented by Thomas L. Jennings. Despite its name, dry cleaning is not a "dry" process; clothes are soaked in a liquid solvent. Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), which the industry calls "perc", is the most widely used solvent. Alternative solvents are trichloroethane and petroleum spirits. Most natural fibres can be washed in water but some synthetics (e.g. viscose, lyocell, modal, and cupro) react poorly with water and must be dry-cleaned..