08/16/2020
Dry Cleaning and Coronavirus
We have received several inquiries about the effect that Dry Cleaning has on the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The World Health Organization issued its update to its table of Thermal Inactivation of Bacteria, Viruses, and Protozoa in January 2015 and they mentioned many bacteria, viruses and protozoa are inactivated at 158F. Unfortunately house hold appliances will not kill the virus as most will only go up to 135F max. So, if someone was in contact with a known infected or is in a high risk profession like doctors, lab technicians and first responders then they should be dry cleaning their clothes to sterilize them.
Because Any Garment Cleaners dry cleaning fluid has a high flash point (144F), the dry cleaning process allows the clothes to be dried at the highest drying temperature, 175F. Additionally, the amount of inactivation is a function of the amount of time the temperature is applied. The standard drying time at 175F in the Any Garment Cleaning process is more than 30 minutes, enough time to inactivate most of the viruses.
While we do not know the specific behavior of the COVID-19 virus yet, if it behaves similarly to other viruses that have been tested, the Any Garment Dry cleaning process is an effective dry cleaning method available to inactivate bacteria and viruses and to potentially inactivate the COVID-19 virus as well. Please pass on this message to your friends and family so they can avail of our dry cleaning services.
Stay Safe!
Any Garment Cleaners