STARC cleaners going green with new state-of-the-art machine

An Illinois company is helping STARC Cleaners go "green" with a new state-of-the-art cleaning machine.

Known as the Solvair Cleaning System, the machine was developed by R.R. Street & Co. in Naperville, Ill. STARC is only the fourth location in the country to install the new equipment; the others are located in Chicago and New Jersey.

"This is a very big deal in terms of environmental impact," said STARC Cleaners general manager Eric Dubuisson. "The company went out of its way to ensure we got this machine."

The machine was a joint project between Street's and CoolClean Technologies, of Eagan, Minn., and developed out of industry efforts to move away from petroleum-based products. Only a handful of people at each company conducted the testing, keeping it closely guarded until they were sure the results were fully successful.

"Our company will never put something on the market that is sub-standard," said Frank Majdan, a Street's project manager. "We wanted to introduce something that was efficient, simple and utilized 'green' technology."

According to Majdan, about 85 percent of dry cleaners use a chlorinated solvent known as perchloroethylene, or perc, and require separate machines for laundering and drying. The Solvair system is a two-in-one machine, combining both processes in the same machine.

A biodegradable cleaning liquid washes the clothes and is continually purified and recycled. Liquid CO2 then rinses the clothes and converts to a gas to completely dry the garments.

This means no heat is used, which can use more energy and set stains.

The whole cleaning cycle takes 35 to 37 minutes. The system is monitored remotely by computer at the CoolClean offices in Minnesota. Internal diagnostics can tell the operator the status of various components, such as when filters need replacing or if the water pressure is too low.

Dubuisson was happy to demonstrate the new machine, cleaning a load of heavy garments together with delicates.

"This machine readily removes a lot of stuff that would not come out with a petroleum machine," he said. "A 20-pound pillow dries at the same speed as a silk blouse."

A group of dry cleaners, visiting from a conference in New Orleans, was on hand to get a look at the new technology.

"It's always exciting to see something like this in person, to get an up close look at it," said Chris Allsbrooks, a textile analyst with the Dry Cleaning & Laundry Institute.

Dubuisson's commercial laundry facility does cleaning for all the naval bases in the area, hospitals and a number of restaurants, as well as band uniforms for some of the local high schools. As he handed over the final payment for the machine, he thanked the two companies and reflected on how much it meant to his operation.

"The commercial laundry alone employs 15 STARC clients, and two of them have been able to purchase their first home by working here," said Dubuisson. "We do more than just clean the clothes, and we truly appreciate your efforts to get us this machine."