No PERC. Ever. · Bio-Based Chemistry · Eco-Certified · Pittsburgh, PA
Not using PERC is a starting point — not an achievement. Perchloroethylene is a likely human carcinogen, an environmental hazard, and increasingly illegal. Discontinuing it is a floor, not a ceiling. And yet for many cleaners it is the entire extent of their sustainability story.
At Wash, we started with that floor in place before we opened. PERC has never touched a garment here. But we didn't stop there. We built an operation where eco-responsibility runs through every decision we make — the chemistry we use, how we use it, how we dispose of it, how we handle water, energy, packaging, and the supply chain behind every product on our floor.
Eco-friendly at Wash is not a label we put on our window. It is the accumulated result of thousands of small decisions, made consistently, over years. It shows up in what we buy, what we refuse to buy, how we train our team, and what we're willing to pay more for so you don't have to compromise.
Joe and Sarah Ferrante raise their children in Fox Chapel — the same community their clients live in. The environment those children inherit is not an abstraction. That accountability is built into how Wash operates every single day.
Perchloroethylene has never been used at Wash — not when we opened, not once since. We made that commitment before our first customer walked in, and it is non-negotiable. This is where our eco-standard begins. Not where it ends.
Our solvent, SOLVONK4, is derived from American corn grown by family farms in Minnesota — not refined from petroleum. The supply chain behind what touches your garments is traceable, renewable, and grown in America.
SOLVONK4 contains no halogens — no fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine. Zero risk to air, water, or soil when properly used. No hazardous waste designation. No contaminated runoff. Clean in every direction.
Eco-friendly operations extend beyond the cleaning solvent. We manage water use, waste streams, and chemical disposal with the same rigor we apply to garment chemistry — because environmental responsibility doesn't stop at the machine door.
Wash operates under eco-certification standards across our facility — not just in the cleaning room. Certification is an external check on what we believe internally. We pursue it because accountability to a standard matters.
We think about what our garments come back in, not just what we clean them with. Our approach to bags, hangers, and packaging reflects the same standard we apply to chemistry — less waste, better materials, no shortcuts.
Eco-friendly operations only work if the people running them understand why. Every member of the Wash team is trained on our environmental standards — not as a compliance exercise, but as a core part of how we do our job.
Joe and Sarah Ferrante raise their children in Fox Chapel — in the same neighborhoods their clients live in. The air, water, and environment they're responsible for as a business is the same one they come home to. That's not a marketing line. It's how decisions get made.
SYSTEMK4 is a complete dry cleaning system developed by Kreussler Inc., a German chemical company with over 130 years of textile care expertise. It was built specifically to replace PERC — matching its cleaning performance while eliminating every known health and environmental risk.
The core solvent, SOLVONK4, is composed of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen only. It is classified as a pure compound — Dibutoxymethane (DBM) — and is not classified as either a hazardous material or hazardous substance under any regulatory framework.
Over 1,000 dry cleaners worldwide use SOLVONK4 and universally report equivalent or superior cleaning performance to PERC, with zero health incidents and dramatically improved environmental profiles.
The carbon in SOLVONK4 is now derived from bio-based butanol produced by Green Biologics in Minnesota — using corn grown by approximately 500 family farms across the American heartland. The solvent that cleans your suit jacket started as an American crop.
Unlike competing "green" solvents that blend hydrocarbons with glycol or modified alcohols, SOLVONK4 is a single ultrapure compound. No blending shortcuts. No hidden chemistry. Just one clean molecule doing the work.
SOLVONK4 has been independently tested by dermatologists and received a rating of "Very Good" — meaning residual solvent on cleaned garments presents no skin risk to the wearer. This is not something PERC could ever claim.
SOLVONK4 is safe for delicate trim, embellishments, and ornamentation that PERC and many hydrocarbon blends can damage. It is the reason Wash can confidently handle specialty garments, vintage pieces, and fine fabrics that other cleaners refuse.
We ask the same questions your conscience does: Where did the raw ingredients come from? How much energy was used? What are the waste streams? What happens when it is done? SOLVONK4 answers these questions well. PERC does not.
In 2017, Kreussler launched the bio-based version of SOLVONK4 at the Clean Show in Las Vegas. The carbon source — previously from petroleum refining — was replaced entirely with bio-derived butanol from Green Biologics' facility in Minnesota. Approximately 500 family-owned farms in the American heartland now supply the raw material that eventually becomes the solvent cleaning garments at Wash.
Changing the carbon source has no negative effect on cleaning performance. It only adds: a purer version of the compound, a fully sustainable supply chain, and the marketing truth that your dry cleaner uses a solvent grown in America by American farmers — not refined from crude oil.
Never. PERC has never touched a garment at Wash — not when we opened, not once since. PERC is classified as a likely human carcinogen by the EPA, linked to health risks in workers and wearers, and is being phased out or banned across multiple states. We built our operation without it from day one.
SYSTEMK4 — a complete dry cleaning system developed by Kreussler Inc. The solvent, SOLVONK4, is bio-based, halogen-free, non-toxic, fully biodegradable, and derived from American corn grown by family farms in Minnesota. It is not classified as a hazardous material under any regulatory framework.
At Wash it means a comprehensive approach — not a checkbox. It covers the solvent we use, how we manage water and waste, our packaging and consumables, our eco-certified facility standards, and how we train our team. Stopping at PERC is a floor. We built well above it.
Yes — equal or better. Over 1,000 dry cleaners worldwide use SOLVONK4 and report equivalent or superior cleaning results. It is also safer for delicate fabrics, leather, suede, embellishments, and specialty garments that PERC can damage.
SOLVONK4 has been independently tested by dermatologists and received a rating of "Very Good" — meaning residual solvent on returned garments presents no skin risk. The clothes that come back to your family from Wash carry no hazardous chemical residue. That is not something a PERC cleaner can say.
Every garment we clean is handled with chemistry that is safe for you, safe for your family, and responsible toward the environment. Sign up for free pickup and delivery and experience the difference.