A CLEANING QUESTION ...

[Baron Kurtz]

... from my dry cleaners.

How were suits cleaned before dry cleaning? Is there a good resource for finding out? Naturally one would have a Gentleman's Gentleman to take care of these things, but they must have had reliable methods for getting stains out.

Anyone?

bk

 

[herringbonekid]

a stain could be sponged out. they were brushed to get dust and dead cells off. and of course you could steam a suit to relax the fabric, and hang it in an airy place...and re-press it, but for general cleaning.....i heard.....they just didn't.

 

[Wild Root]

A big black pot... water heated to boiling and a really big stick to stir with! lol

Just kidding... I have wondered the same thing... now, I know dry cleaning has been around for some time... since 1900 at least... not sure but, it may go back further then that... I'd bet ya Marc would know!

But, Herringbone is right... for the most part, they didn't clean them... when they got too bad, the fashion would change and new clothes were made and the old ones... tossed!

=WR=

 

[Baron Kurtz]

the reason for having a large wardrobe, i guess. Really, anyone with more than one or two suits was doing well.

I believe dry cleaning dates to 1840s Paris, a greasy tablecloth, and a knocked-over kerosene lamp. This may be apocryphal, but i think the date and the person (a certain M. Jolly) are accurate.

bk

 

[herringbonekid]

in the Coen brothers film 'the man who wasn't there' one of the characters is starting a dry-cleaning business. no-one has heard of dry-cleaning. it is set in a small American town in 1948. i don't know how historically accurate this is, but you don't tend to find 'dry clean only' labels on clothes any earlier than '39-'41. i'd guess it was for rich people and specialist industries prior to that.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

wikipedia has quite a good history of the industry ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_cleaning

bk

 

[Wild Root]

I know on most Palm Beach suits I've seen have a label that specifies to dry clean for best results... I'm not sure how old my white DB Palm Beach is but, I'd guess it's from 1939 or 1940.

I believe it was a City thing... you'd never see a dry cleaner in a small farming town even in 1948... And remember, people back then only knew what was going on in their town for the most part and what ever they heard on the neighbors radio set. lol

=WR=

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I believe Goodall also used to make their own cleaning formulae for launderers to use to clean palm beach suits if a dry cleaner weren't available. Both my palm beach suits have the same tag that Root mentions. It says something about: Dry clean only or launder using the Goodall fluids ... something like that, anyway.

bk

 

[Wild Root]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's the tag!

=WR=

 

[BellyTank]

White spirit and even Gasoline are still used to this day in some countries for 'drycleaning'/'chemical cleaning'- so there's no reason why such a practise couldn't go as far back as to the early use of such refined spirits.

B
T

 

[nightandthecity]

I read recently an AAF vet saying they used to dunk their OD wool trousers in petrol or aviation spirit and then air them

 

[BellyTank]

Sounds like a ring of truth there NITC.

In the Desert War, petrol was sometimes a more common commodity than drinking water and was often used for laundering.

B
T

 

[Wild Root]

Very interesting guys! I think I'm going to buy a drum of GAS and do my own cleaning... lol

Wait, I don't think I could afford it... dry cleaning is cheaper then GAS now! :eusa_doh:

=WR=

 

[RaasAlHayya]

In her books starring Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie refers to him using Benzine on his suits as a spot remover.

--Leslie

 

[BellyTank]

Benzine...

Ah yes- good old motor spirit.


B
T

 

[RaasAlHayya]

Is that what Benzine is?

--Leslie

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Wonder if Poirot dieed of cancer. Finger cancer from handling the benzene. Don't think i'll be going down that particular path ... nasty stuff.

bk

 

[BellyTank]

Is that what Benzine is?

--Leslie

Yes!
Benzine is a name for petrol/gasoline.

"There was rarely water for washing clothes. Petrol, however, was generally plentiful and proved to be a good substitute. Clothes were washed in petrol and left out to dry in the sun, petrol evaporated quickly and left no smell."

http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/21/creteegypt/standegypt06.htm

But beware:

"This man, who shall remain nameless, decided that the most practical (aka cheapest) way to remove a paint stain from his pants was to add a liter, that's right - A LITER- of petrol to his load of laundry. The result, the stain was removed along with the rest of the pants and the immediate surroundings. According to police it caused quite an explosion destroying half of the man's apartment."

http://www.sovokoftheweek.com/modul...e=article&sid=117&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0



B
T

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Is benzene (the organic solvent) different from benzine (gasoline?)?

bk

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene