# In what way is 'organic' dry cleaning organic? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2007, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-way-is-organic-dry-cleaning-organic/405844 "2007-05-29T01:05:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-way-is-organic-dry-cleaning-organic/405844/1 "2007-05-29T01:05:46Z")
On my current trip to New York I have seen several dry cleaning businesses advertise themselves as ‘organic’. This surprised me as I thought organic solvents were the main-stay of the dry cleaning world. It appears that… > [@](#): > > Organic dry cleaning using carbon dioxide in place of traditional chemicals, plus non-toxic laundering, washing and ironing by hand, alterations and repairs. so ‘organic’ really means _NOT organic_ :rolleyes: [Linky](http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/41629906/new_york_ny/divine_touch_organic_cleaners_inc.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_of\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@Sock\_of\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_of_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-way-is-organic-dry-cleaning-organic/405844/2 "2007-05-29T01:21:18Z")
Not organic per se. “Environmentally friendly” would probably be better. [Supercritical carbon dioxide](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercritical_carbon_dioxide) rocks, though. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-way-is-organic-dry-cleaning-organic/405844/3 "2007-05-29T01:23:20Z")
So wait. They wash your clothes in a washtub and hang them to dry on a line? Is that what they offer? ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-way-is-organic-dry-cleaning-organic/405844/4 "2007-05-29T01:40:12Z")
It seems the word “organic” is becoming a lifestyle instead of what “organic” really means. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-way-is-organic-dry-cleaning-organic/405844/5 "2007-05-29T01:50:59Z")
What’s interesting about the link is there are 8 reviews and if average the stars people gave it you get 3.75. Yet the link claims it gets 4.5 stars as it’s review. Hmm. I think Charger is right, but organic has been verging on “organic” for a while now. Even when I was in college our nutrition professor warned us that organic didn’t mean pesticide free, just that they weren’t supposed to use chemical pesticides, but even that was on their honor not regulated. ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_of\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@Sock\_of\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_of_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-way-is-organic-dry-cleaning-organic/405844/6 "2007-05-29T02:43:54Z")
[QUOTE=ticker] so ‘organic’ really means _NOT organic_ :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] What this refers to–at least from my point of view–is that “organic” dry cleaning doesn’t use organic solvents. It uses carbon dioxide, which is inorganic. “Traditional” dry cleaning uses halogenated _organic_ solvents. Better living through chemistry. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-way-is-organic-dry-cleaning-organic/405844/7 "2007-05-29T10:57:06Z")
Dry cleaning solvents have changed over the years. They used to cause significant groundwater contamination. Perchloroethane or “Perc” was one, probably banned by now or nearly so. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-way-is-organic-dry-cleaning-organic/405844/8 "2007-05-29T23:46:33Z")
Ancient Romans had a dry cleaning process that involved urine. All natural!