“Unlocking the Mystery: What Every Brit Needs to Know About the Hidden Science Behind Dry Cleaning!”

You’d think that the clue is literally in the name, right? But apparently, some folks across the pond haven’t quite grasped the concept of dry cleaning! It’s a bit like finding out your friend believes that “cutting a rug” means actual carpet surgery. Given the tech-savvy generation behaviors we’ve seen lately — like schools banning analogue clocks because students can’t tell time without their gadgets — it’s not really a shocker that the ins and outs of dry cleaning have flown over a few heads! One of the more amusing gems surfaced recently on a podcast called “Have A Word,” where an assistant producer admitted he thought dry cleaners just had secret expertise in how to wash clothes. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t involve water! Curious how something so simple eludes some? Don’t worry, we’re here to unravel the mystery of dry cleaning so you can join the ranks of the savvy fashionistas who know exactly what happens when their clothes go “dry.” LEARN MORE.

You’d think the clue was in the name but it turns out there are some Brits who actually had ‘no idea’ what happens when you get your clothes dry cleaned.

Given that there’s an emerging generation who have had to have analogue clocks removed from exam halls because they can’t tell the time, we perhaps shouldn’t be too surprised that the concept of dry cleaning has gone over some lads’ heads.

As shocking as this might be for us older heads, apparently kids in schools these days are struggling to write with a pen and pencil as most notes are taken using technology such as a laptop or iPad. How did we ever cope without technology?

Inside an old-fashioned launderette (Getty Stock Images)

We’ve also seen the alarming growth of podcasts in recent years, and to be honest, some thoughts are best kept off the internet, which one member of the popular haveawordpod might well be feeling right now after a clip of his dry cleaning admission went viral.

Finnlay, who is the assistant producer on the show, said: “I saw a Tik Tok yesterday that was that dry cleaners don’t wash your clothes, they do it dry. I didn’t know that until yesterday. I thought they just knew how to wash your clothes.”

After, perhaps rightfully, being told to ‘leave the studio’ by podcast host Adam Rowe, Finnlay protests, saying: “I thought they just followed the instructions to the letter of the law.”

He’s clearly never read a label on a piece of clothing that says dry cleaning only, as that concept clearly wouldn’t work if dry cleaners did actually wash your clothes with water.

Turns out not everyone knew how dry cleaning actually worked, let us enlighten you.(Hispanolistic)

For those of you who are still unsure, step forward fellow TikTok account Bar 7 Ranch, who have previously provided an excellent summary on what it means to have your clothes dry cleaned. The Texas-based business is run by Cody and Erika Archie.

In the video, Cody says: “Dry cleaning is just like washing except you’re doing it in a solvent versus water.”

After separating the clothes into lights and darks, as every serious person should, he puts them into the machine, while explaining that it will clean the clothes and get rid of any oil-based stains.

He adds: “It washes your clothes in the solvent, then the solvent is drained out and then the machine heats it up and evaporates the solvent that is in the clothes. It then runs it back through an air conditioning coal and turns it back to a liquid, then pumps it back through the filters and puts it bank into the tank. It continues to re-use when you start to add some detergent in there.”

Once its completed the cleaning and drying process, it is then pressed, ready to return to the customer.

Simple, right?