Out Front: Best Of Denver March 2005

Revolutionize your dry cleaning with Revolution Cleaners
By Jerry Wheeler

So, you just picked up your dry cleaning. Your Gucci, Brutini and Cassini shirts all look great, but what's that funny smell that stays in the car for days? It's Perchlorethylene (perc), and it not only overpowers that pine-tree air freshener hanging off your rearview mirror, it's a highly toxic pollutant and carcinogen. How do you dry clean and stay green?

Revolution Cleaners, which opened in early August 2003, has a process that will help not only your deodorizer but the environment and your laundry too. Instead of using perc or the other common silicone and hydrocarbon methods of dry cleaning that require high heat, they clean with liquid carbon dioxide (CO2).

A safe, natural substance you exhale every time you breathe, CO2 doesn't require heat, so stains are not set, fabrics don't shrink and colors don't fade. Since it's not as taxing on the fabric, your designer shirts will last longer, too. Revolution will safely clean everything from down comforters to wedding gowns, leather, suede, beaded and sequined items as well as sports equipment not normally taken to the cleaners. And don't worry about global warming. Revolution uses CO2 acquired as a by-product of manufacturing processes like fermentation and food processing, so they don't produce it. They simply use what's already been produced.

We all know it's great to be green, but how much does it cost? Prices at Revolution's three locations - at Alameda and Downing, Second and University and North Boulder - are "comparable to other high-end dry cleaners," says Rusty Perry, managing member of Revolution Cleaners, especially since perc-based cleaners often have to pay regulatory and disposal fees that are usually passed on to the consumer. "We're trying to build a green, sustainable business," Perry continues. That extends to biodiesel-powered vans that deliver the clothes to their 5,000 square foot cleaning plant in Denver, the renewable building sources such as cork and bamboo used in their stores, and the wind energy to run their plant as well as the hemp cloth used for employees' uniforms and laundry bags. "(Dry cleaning is) an antiquated business," Perry states, "both on the technological and customer service ends. We're trying to change that."

So check out Revolution Cleaners. Your poor pine-tree deodorizer will thank you, and so will the real ones

Revolution Cleaners has three locations: 258 S. Downing and 201 University Blvd. in Denver and 4680 Broadway in Boulder. You can learn more about the CO2 cleaning process and Revolution Cleaners at www.revolutioncleaners.com.