Washing

Washing machines are a household device designed to clean your dirty laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets. The name "Washing Machine" is given because water is the primary cleaning solution, as opposed to dry cleaning or even ultrasonic cleaners.

Ironing

Ironing or smoothing is the process which we use to remove wrinkles and creases from our laundry. The most popular tool for this job is a heated device called “the Iron", though modern designs are no longer made of iron.

Ironing is effective because the heat from the Iron loosens the bonds between the long-chain polymer molecules in the fibers of the material. Once the molecules are heated up, the irons weight straightens and flattens the fibres of the material, causing the material to hold its shape as the fabric cools.

Fabrics, such as cotton, need water in the form of steam to loosen the intermolecular bond of fabrics. Many of today’s modern fabrics (developed during or after the mid-twentieth century) advertise that they need little or no ironing.

Ironing can also kill germs and parasites that may be found in your everyday laundry.

Dry cleaning

Another way to clean your clothes is to have them dry cleaned. This is a cleaning process for clothing and textiles using an organic solvent other than water. Dry cleaning is a necessary process for cleaning clothes and textiles which would otherwise be damaged by water and detergent.

Dry cleaning is a non-water-based process that uses solvents to remove dirt and stains from clothes. It was first discovered that petroleum based products had the potential to be used to clean clothes during the 19th century by a French dye-works owner. The discovery was made after his maid spilled kerosene on a tablecloth and realised that it became cleaner. After observing this he decided to pioneer this service by using it to clean other people's clothes using the same process which he also named "nettoyage à sec," or "dry cleaning".

In the early days of dry cleaning, petroleum-based solvents, such as gasoline and kerosene were used to clean clothes and textiles.

The use of other products such as petroleum led to many fires, explosions and loss of life, which resulted in heavy regulations for dry cleaners. Concerns about how flammable the solvents were led William Stoddard, a dry cleaner from Atlanta, to develop Stoddard solvent, which was a much better way to reduce flammability.