Dry cleaning and Laundry have grown in the past few years. India has a long traditional history of Laundry. The washermen or "Dhobi" Performed the cleaning operation at the time of Rajas. An incident of Dobi also came in Ramayana. So, this professional has a long history of more than 5000 years. In earlier days, Dhobi ghat was made to clean the cloth near a riverbank. All cleaning functions were done with hands only. Dhobi Ghat (Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat) is an open-air laundromat in Mumbai and one of the largest in India.
Modern Laundry Started with India's liberalization in 1992, with the introduction of the laundry machine. Videocon was the first company to introduce a washing machine in India in 1988. With the growing demand for hotel laundry, commercial machines came into play.
History of Dry Cleaning in Europe
Thomas L. Jennings introduced dry cleaning and was the first to patent the commercial dry-cleaning process known as "dry scouring" on March 3, 1821. It was invented in America. There are no records of how it came to India, but MTO, petrol, and Kerosene were some of the Solvents used by local Dhobi in the earlier days. Hence, it was the dhobis who introduced introduced dry cleaning in India. With more complicated and delicate clothes, it became a trend to have clothes dry and clean. Commercial dry cleaning was introduced in big retail.
Wet cleaning was the most advanced cleaning process introduced in India in 2016. It used water instead of solvents. The Indian market soon accepted it as an environmentally friendly option. Wet cleaning is just beginning and has a long way to go.
