During the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, households worldwide have faced significant disruptions to daily life. In our society, simple errands such as dry cleaning come with big questions. What are the risks, if any? Do the benefits outweigh them? It can be challenging to give up life’s simple pleasures and actions that fall somewhere between necessity and luxury.
Sometimes, though, dry-cleaning service is necessary for individuals who wear high-end clothing to work, run businesses that rely on linen services like catering or restaurants, or people who wear uniforms such as flight attendants or essential medical personnel. For those reasons, here is everything you need to know about dry cleaning service and COVID-19.
The Benefits
Dry cleaning is a great way to keep your clothing clean and sanitized. If you contact many people throughout the day, dry cleaning may be more effective than most home washing machines. Additionally, chores can feel especially daunting during the pandemic when everyone spends so much time at home. Dropping off or picking up dry cleaning can take one task off someone’s plate in quarantine. Of course, one benefit is obvious — dry cleaning extends the life of clothing and is necessary for specific items and fabrics which cannot be cleaned via another method.
The Potential Risks
There are very few risks associated with dry cleaning during the ongoing pandemic. Much of that risk can be mitigated by wearing a mask and doing errands as quickly as possible. However, there is also the concern of dry cleaning employees and business owners coming into contact with contaminated clothing and textiles. There is little evidence to suggest that COVID-19 and other common illnesses survive very long on hard surfaces. Still, little empirical evidence exists for whether it stays with more efficacy on soft surfaces.
Employees should exercise increased caution during this time. The most common transmission is still person-to-person droplets, followed closely by droplets that linger in the air in confined spaces.
Important Takeaways
Overall, there are a few important factors to take away from this blog if you decide to move forward with dry cleaning during the pandemic. They include:
- Having dry cleaning done is likely safe during COVID-19 and is still necessary for many people, including essential workers.
- It is unlikely people or employees would contract Coronavirus from dry-cleaning surfaces, but increased caution is recommended until more research comes to light.
- Sending out dry-cleaning can decrease the chore load during an extended quarantine when domestic tasks become daunting.
- Consumers should follow COVID-19 guidelines for masking and social distancing when running any errand in public, as should employees of dry-cleaning establishments.
Important Resources
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are the most prominent and highly regarded sources for COVID-19 information. Factors of laundry and dry-cleaning, in particular, can be found in more depth at the Dry Cleaning and Laundry Institute and National Cleaners Association.
For more information on REMA Dri-Vac products and services, contact us today!