Dry cleaning is called "dry" because there is no water used in the process. In the past, it involved the use of a chemical called Perchloroethylene, also commonly known as PERC or PCE. This chemical stopped being used over 10 years ago due to its potential toxicity.
As a company that wasn't around in the era of Perchloroethylene, we have never used facilities that process any garments using this chemical. Instead, our partner facilities use a liquid silicone as the main solvent during the dry cleaning process. It's a really light solvent that is chemically inert, is not petroleum-based and is the modern-era standard for dry cleaning products.
Nonetheless, approximately only 15% of the garments sent to us for dry cleaning require the use of this solvent. You will be able to tell by the notes on your garment care tag - used for reference when we consider our cleaning process - whether an item is dry cleaned or laundered and pressed.
Can Dry Clean Items be Starched?
Starch, as a additive, is typically only added to launder and press items.
When asking for an item to be starched, most people are just wanting to have a "crisper" or firmer press that doesn't quickly result in wrinkles after a little bit of wear. Other additives are used in the pressing process to achieve this, but those usually aren't starch in modern cleaning facilities. "Starch" is still the term used by many so we understand the confusion.
If you want a crisper press, we recommend asking for that specifically in a cleaning note sent to our Customer Support team. If you're wanting it particularly crisp with sharp creases, ask for a "military press" or something similar.