Dry Cleaning Chemicals: Facts You Should Know
Many people want to start their own small business but don’t know what type of business to start. While some entrepreneurs innovate a new type of business, you can still create a lucrative opportunity for yourself through traditional business types, such as a dry cleaning company. Dry cleaners are an important part of a community, and you can charge competitive prices for your services. However, they also require you to manage various chemicals. Keep reading to learn some facts you should know about dry cleaning chemicals.
Environmentally Friendly Chemicals Are Expensive
As you consider starting a dry cleaning business, you should perform research on everything you’ll need for reliable operations, including dry cleaning chemicals. For a long time, dry cleaning chemicals were considered bad for people and the environment. In some circumstances, they still are. However, environmentally friendly chemicals are growing in popularity. Many are safer for long-term exposure to humans as well. Unfortunately, these chemicals are still more expensive than the traditional ones. Make sure you have enough funds to invest in the chemicals you want before opening your dry cleaning business.
Perchloroethylene Is the Most Common Solvent and Has Negative Effects
Perchloroethylene (PERC) is one traditional dry cleaning chemical that isn’t good for the environment. If it leaks into the environment, it can damage soil and groundwater. However, it’s still the most common solvent used in dry cleaning because it’s great at removing stains, especially oil-based ones. Unfortunately, it can also create an odor that causes headaches and dizziness. Long-term exposure to PERC and other common dry-cleaning chemicals can weaken the immune system, affect fetal development, and increase cancer risk.
You Will Need To Lab Pack Chemical Waste
If you decide that the potential negative effects of dry cleaning chemicals are worth it, you can still open a business. As you work toward that goal, you will need to keep waste management in mind. You can’t throw out chemical waste with regular business waste because it is considered hazardous. Dry cleaning is a situation that requires chemicals to be lab-packed. The best way to lab pack dry cleaning chemicals is to work with a hazardous waste management company that can perform turnkey lab packing. This means they will come to your dry cleaning business and perform everything from chemical identification to disposal. Turnkey waste management allows you to better focus on your business.
There are many facts you should know about dry cleaning chemicals, but their cost, potential negative effects, and waste management processes are some of the most important. You must weigh these facts with the lucrative potential of running a drying cleaning business.
