Tetrachloroethylene, also known under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, or perchloroethylene (“perc” or “PERC”), and many other names, is a chlorocarbon with the formula Cl2C=CCl2. It is a colorless liquid widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics, hence it is sometimes called “dry-cleaning fluid.” It has a sweet odor detectable by most people at a concentration of 1 part per million (1 ppm).
Health and Safety
Tetrachloroethylene is an excellent solvent for organic materials. Otherwise it is volatile, highly stable, and nonflammable. For these reasons, it is widely used in dry cleaning.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified tetrachloroethene as a Group 2A carcinogen, which means that it is probably carcinogenic to humans. Like many chlorinated hydrocarbons, tetrachloroethene is a central nervous system depressant and can enter the body through respiratory or dermal exposure.Tetrachloroethene dissolves fats from the skin, potentially resulting in skin irritation.
Humans working directly with perc are likely to be the most adversely affected by this potentially dangerous solvent. However, when dry-cleaned clothing is brought home, solvent residues will likely remain on the fabric fibers. In many cases, these will emit solvent odors which can be dangerous to breathe, even for the healthiest of individuals. That is why many dry cleaners recommend taking your garment out of plastic bag as soon as arriving home and allowing plenty of time for the fabric to air and loose the smell of dry cleaning. However, some very sensitive people may always sense the presence of dry-cleaning chemicals, no matter how long a garment has aired.)
We are NO PERC Dry Cleaner
Evergreen Dry Cleaners does not use PERC in our dry cleaning process. We instead use K4 proprietory solvent that is PERC free therefore saving you from having to air your dry cleaned garment in adition to be more enviromentaly friendly and safer to use than the traditional PERC solvent.