Eco-Certified · Non-Toxic · Bio-Based · Pittsburgh, PA
For decades the dry cleaning industry relied on Perchloroethylene — PERC — a solvent now classified as a likely human carcinogen. It gets garments clean, but at a cost: to the health of the people wearing them, the workers handling it, and the environment absorbing it.
Wash was built from day one on a different standard. We use SYSTEMK4 — a bio-based, halogen-free, non-toxic cleaning system developed by Kreussler Inc. that delivers the same cleaning performance as PERC without any of the health or environmental consequences.
This is not a marketing claim — it is a material choice we made before we opened. It costs more to operate this way. We do it anyway because we believe the clothes going back to your family should not carry residue from a hazardous solvent, and because the planet we share with our kids in Fox Chapel deserves better than what the old standard provided.
Sustainability is one of the reasons some items cost a little more at Wash than at a conventional cleaner. We think it is worth it. Our clients agree.
Perchloroethylene has never touched a garment at Wash. Not when we opened, not ever. We made that decision before our first customer and we will not reverse it.
Our cleaning solvent SOLVONK4 is derived from American corn — grown by family-owned farms in the heartland. The carbon that cleans your clothes started in a cornfield in Minnesota.
SOLVONK4 contains no halogens — no fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine. When properly used it poses zero risk to air, water, soil, or the people wearing the garments we clean.
SOLVONK4 is fully biodegradable and has received a dermatological rating of "Very Good." What we use to clean your clothes breaks down naturally — it does not persist in the environment.
Our Cheswick facility operates under eco-certification standards. From chemical handling to waste streams to energy use, we operate with environmental accountability built in.
Joe and Sarah Ferrante raise their family in Fox Chapel. Their children go to school in this community. That accountability is personal — not corporate. It shows up in every decision we make.
SYSTEMK4 is a complete dry cleaning system developed by Kreussler Inc., a German chemical company with over 130 years of textile care expertise. It was built specifically to replace PERC — matching its cleaning performance while eliminating every known health and environmental risk.
The core solvent, SOLVONK4, is composed of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen only. It is classified as a pure compound — Dibutoxymethane (DBM) — and is not classified as either a hazardous material or hazardous substance under any regulatory framework.
Over 1,000 dry cleaners worldwide use SOLVONK4 and universally report equivalent or superior cleaning performance to PERC, with zero health incidents and dramatically improved environmental profiles.
The carbon in SOLVONK4 is now derived from bio-based butanol produced by Green Biologics in Minnesota — using corn grown by approximately 500 family farms across the American heartland. The solvent that cleans your suit jacket started as an American crop.
Unlike competing "green" solvents that blend hydrocarbons with glycol or modified alcohols, SOLVONK4 is a single ultrapure compound. No blending shortcuts. No hidden chemistry. Just one clean molecule doing the work.
SOLVONK4 has been independently tested by dermatologists and received a rating of "Very Good" — meaning residual solvent on cleaned garments presents no skin risk to the wearer. This is not something PERC could ever claim.
SOLVONK4 is safe for delicate trim, embellishments, and ornamentation that PERC and many hydrocarbon blends can damage. It is the reason Wash can confidently handle specialty garments, vintage pieces, and fine fabrics that other cleaners refuse.
We ask the same questions your conscience does: Where did the raw ingredients come from? How much energy was used? What are the waste streams? What happens when it is done? SOLVONK4 answers these questions well. PERC does not.
In 2017, Kreussler launched the bio-based version of SOLVONK4 at the Clean Show in Las Vegas. The carbon source — previously from petroleum refining — was replaced entirely with bio-derived butanol from Green Biologics' facility in Minnesota. Approximately 500 family-owned farms in the American heartland now supply the raw material that eventually becomes the solvent cleaning garments at Wash.
Changing the carbon source has no negative effect on cleaning performance. It only adds: a purer version of the compound, a fully sustainable supply chain, and the marketing truth that your dry cleaner uses a solvent grown in America by American farmers — not refined from crude oil.
Every garment we clean is handled with chemistry that is safe for you, safe for your family, and responsible toward the environment. Sign up for free pickup and delivery and experience the difference.