...the benefits of=20
When=20 brothers-in-law John Pigatsiotopoulos and Dave Smallwood decided = to go=20 into business together they had a few criteria they wanted to = meet: The=20 business had to be economically viable, famil -oriented, = contribute to the=20 community and hopefully save the environment.
Whereas=20 making money speaks for itself, meeting the rest of their criteria = was a=20 little more complicated. For these brothers-in-law being family = oriented=20 ruled out working Sundays. So pubs, bars, restaurants and any = business=20 that normally operated on a Sunday was off limits. Now what could = they do=20 that would fulfill the last of their wish-list?
I met up=20 with John and Dave on a Wednesday evening at their business, = Adelfi=20 Cleaners. This is after they have completed a day of work at their = other=20 full time jobs. Dave works in industrial real-estate and John in = an=20 office. At seven in the evening, they are cleaning and preparing = the=20 clothes for their customers with help from Dave=92s son and one = new hire. As=20 I speak with them about the business they opened in Whitby in = 2005, I am=20 struck by their jocularity and respect for each other and their = customers.=20
When you=20 open the door to Adelfi Cleaners the first thing you notice is the = coolness. Unlike the hot, humid climate found at most = dry-cleaners, the=20 air at Adelfi is refreshing. Next you notice the smell. The sharp = acrid=20 odour of chemicals that usually burns the nose at the traditional=20 dry-cleaner=92s is missing. The scent here, while not odour-free, = is=20 redolent with a heavy sweetness. But Adelfi is not a dry-cleaning=20 facility; it is a wet cleaning facility and that means they use no = solvents or chemicals to clean garments. Biodegradeable = detergents;=20 tri-enzymes and perobates (used to boost the whitening for white = clothes)=20 are the order of the day.
Three=20 years before they opened Adelfi Cleaners Dave=92s brother had = suggested they=20 check out a new business that a friend was starting. Dave let it = pass, but=20 two years later with no business in mind that met all their = criteria, Dave=20 and John found themselves at a conference learning about solvent = free=20 cleaning. Adelfi Cleaners became the gleam in their founders=92=20 eyes.
Why Choose a Wet-Cleaning = system?
The=20
dominant chemical used by the dry-cleaning industry to clean our =
garments=20
is perchloroethylene which is also known as PERC and =
tetrachloroethylene.=20
PERC is a colorless, nonflammable liquid. The largest user of PERC =
is the=20
dry cleaning industry. It accounts for 80% to 85% of all dry =
cleaning=20
fluid used. According to an OPPT chemical fact sheet prepared by =
the=20
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics of US Environmental =
Protection=20
Agency (August 1994): =93PERC does not occur naturally but is =
produced in=20
large amounts by 3 US companies. Exposure to perchloroethylene can =
occur=20
in the workplace or in the environment following releases to air, =
water,=20
land, or groundwater. Exposure can also occur when people:
- =
use=20
products containing PERC
- spend time in dry cleaning =
facilities that=20
use PERC
- live above or adjacent to these dry cleaning =
facilities, or=20
- bring dry cleaned garments into their home.
PERC=20 enters the body when breathed in with contaminated air or when = consumed=20 with contaminated food or water. It is less likely to be absorbed = through=20 skin contact. Once in the body PERC can remain, stored in fat = tissue.=94=20
Short=20 term exposure to PERC causes neurological, kidney and liver = damage. Long=20 term exposure can cause spontaneous abortions and leukemia = (Information=20 from the US Environmental Protection Act=20 http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/tet-ethy.html). PERC has also = been found=20 in the breast milk of nursing mothers at concentrations higher = than those=20 found in the blood. This is important and bears repeating because = once=20 PERC is in the body it can remain, stored in fat tissue. When = those fats=20 are broken down for nursing mothers to feed their babies, the PERC = found=20 in those tissues is fed directly from the mother into the baby. We = can be=20 exposed to PERC as easily as through the air we breathe and the = water we=20 drink. PERC is dangerous to our environment, to animals, to adults = and to=20 children.
The use=20 and disposal of PERC is heavily regulated by the Canadian = Environmental=20 Protection ACT (CEPA) and while PERC is no longer produced in = Canada it=20 continues to be imported, primarily for use as a solvent in the=20 dry-cleaning and metal-cleaning industries (=20 = http://www.ec.gc.ca/substances/ese/eng/psap/PSL1_tetrachloroethylene.cfm)= .=20
As we=20 all know, we can regulate anything we want but regulation does not = necessarily translate into safety for citizens. Accidents happen = and=20 mistakes occur. Environment Canada notes: Tetrachloroethylene has = been=20 measured in outdoor air and in the air inside homes within Canada, = and has=20 been detected in drinking water across the country and in = contaminated=20 surface waters in the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. The=20 substance is present in groundwaters in several provinces, often = as a=20 result of its inappropriate disposal and release from dry-cleaning = facilities or landfills.
The=20 reason to choose a wet-cleaning system over dry-cleaning is = obvious. It=92s=20 safer. For you, for me, for our children and the environment.=20 Perchloroethylene is a toxic substance. It is dangerous to human = and=20 animal health and it harms the very environment we depend upon.=20
Adlefi=20 Cleaners cares for our clothes using the Miele Wet Cleaning = System. This=20 uses no solvent based cleaners, no PERC, so the used end water is = harmless=20 as opposed to toxic. The Adelfi the system uses less energy = because water=20 is heated on demand (instead of being maintained in a hot water = storage=20 tank) and steam resulting from this process is utilized further = down the=20 line.
Step one=20
is the stain spotting and removal station where stains are treated =
before=20
the garment is put into the washing machine.
Step two is =
washing=20
the garment in the special Miele washing machines - and let me =
tell you, I=20
wish I had one of these at my house - there are 24 different =
cycles to=20
choose from, the washer automatically adds the cleaner (s) =
depending on=20
the cycle chosen and then the appropriate amount of water is =
sucked from=20
the machine and the garment based on a preset level of wetness =
required.=20
Depending on the fabric being cleaned the machine can be =
programmed to=20
leave the garment 22% wet, 10% wet or whatever is necessary in =
order to=20
maintain that garment=92s integrity.
Step three - the =
garment moves=20
to the dryer.
Step=20
four - moves the garment to the tension machine to be steamed =
further into=20
shape before being hung on the line to fully dry.
Step 5 - =
moves=20
the garment to the up-air boards. Now these up-air boards are very =
interesting. As the name implies they blow air up into the =
garment. With=20
air blowing through the garment from underneath the risk of a =
shiny spot=20
with the iron is minimized and they allow a better iron finish. =
The up-air=20
boards can also draw air away from the garment allowing for =
crisper,=20
straighter seams (no more double seams here). There is also a =
shirt unit=20
and a roll ironer.
While=20 the Canadian government regulates the dry cleaning industry and = sets out=20 guidelines on the requirements for the use and disposal of Perc = within=20 drycleaning operations it does not offer alternatives to Perc nor=20 incentives to those who want to move their existing business away = from the=20 use of Perc.
Businesses that choose to find an alternative to this = dangerous=20 chemical need and deserve our support.
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