The Theory and Application of Wet Cleaning

The first "WWC World Wet Cleaning Conference" was successfully held in Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia, China, on June 27, 2024. Wet cleaning, as a laundry method, is first mentioned in Europe. It is a new way to clean clothes that is separated from traditional water cleaning and dry cleaning. It is unique in laundry technology, laundry detergents, and appliances that are needed. The complete set of wet cleaning equipment includes wet cleaning machines, a dryer with a humidity control function, and a form finisher.

Wet cleaning can more effectively protect the fabrics of the clothes. Also, wet cleaning machines use water as a solvent, which can make the cleaning process more eco-friendly. With the technology advancing and the aesthetics becoming diverse, the clothes of unique design and unique fabrics are becoming more and more. As a result, people's demands for laundry are becoming more diverse as well. Because wet cleaning machines are intelligent and can be programmed flexibly, people's needs for them are increasing.

According to the China Laundry and Dyeing Industry Development Report released by the China General Chamber of Commerce, Laundry Business Committee, the annual turnover of China's laundry and dyeing industry reached 129.06 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 19.6%. Among them, daily clothing laundry and dyeing services accounted for 49.4%, reaching 63.76 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10%.

What is wet cleaning?

The term wet cleaning originated in Europe. It corresponds to the word dry cleaning. Wet cleaning uses water as a solvent and applies professional wet-cleaning detergents. The wet cleaning machines can precisely control any parameters and use specific programs to do wet cleaning, together with a dryer that can control humidity and ironing equipment that has a stretch function. The ISO3758 international laundry labeling standard has separately listed wet cleaning labels: professional wet cleaning, mild professional wet cleaning, and very mild professional wet cleaning. Wet cleaning is a complete system from washing to drying and clothing finishing. Without any of them, it cannot be considered a complete wet cleaning technology.

The Theory of Wet Cleaning

The four elements of washing are mechanical force, time, temperature, and detergents. Professional wet detergents are key. When washing clothes that are made of animal fibers like wool and silk, people should choose weakly acidic detergents. If people use traditional alkaline detergents, then the fabrics will be damaged, hurting the touch of the clothes, and shortening the clothes' lifespan.

In addition, professional wet detergents contain ingredients that protect fabrics. These ingredients can reduce friction between fibers during the washing, rinsing, and drying processes to provide good protection for the fabrics, maintaining the original feel and fabric properties of the clothes, and facilitating subsequent ironing work.

The mechanical force needed when wet cleaning can be precisely controlled to cooperate with chemicals to protect the delicate and sensitive fabrics. As a result, wet cleaning machines cannot use beating force and friction between clothes to remove dirt, just like ordinary water washing machines. Instead, they need to use extremely low speeds and turn-stop ratios to allow clothes to flip and stop at lower heights, reducing mechanical force to achieve cleaning of sensitive fabrics while minimizing damage to the fabrics.

In terms of washing time and temperature, delicate fabrics cannot be washed for a long time under a high temperature. These fabrics need to be washed in 20 minutes at low temperatures. Thus, the wet cleaning machine needs to have a high-quality temperature sensor.

The wet cleaning machines still need better dehydration power than the ordinary water cleaning machines because the fabrics that are sensitive to water should be dried as soon as possible to reduce water's bad impacts on fibers.

In the wet washing process, apart from the professional wet cleaning machines, the dryers that can control the humidity when drying are also needed. By testing the humidity of the air outlet, people can test the drying condition of the clothes. Also, the residual moisture is set according to different fabrics to facilitate better ironing effects later.

When ironing, traditional pressing no longer meets the requirements of wet cleaning technology. A form finisher with a stretch function and a pants topper are both needed to quickly iron and shape the clothes that have a certain amount of moisture left after drying. This is something special that the traditional ironing doesn't have.

Wet cleaning technology has become a technology that can cope with many fabrics and different designs with the appliances and detergents keep improving and upgrading. Using professional wet cleaning machines, wet detergents, dryers, ironing machines, and professional wet cleaning technology training can provide better cleaning for clothes.