Dry cleaning method and solvent

Abstract

A dry cleaning system and method, in which specially designed or modified machinery is used in conjunction with a specific solvent which is derived from an organic/inorganic hybrid (organo silicone). In this class of organo silicones is a group known as cyclic siloxanes. The cyclic siloxanes present the basis for material composition of the solvent chemistry which allows this dry cleaning system to be highly effective. The cyclic-siloxane-based solvent allows the system to result in an environmentally friendly process which is, also, more effective in cleaning fabrics and the like than any known prior system. The siloxane composition is employed in a dry cleaning machine to carry out the method of the invention. In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises the steps of loading articles into a cleaning basket; agitating the articles and the siloxane composition in which they are immersed; removing most of the siloxane composition; centrifuging the articles; subjecting the articles to a partial vacuum pressure and elevated temperature; and removing the articles from the basket after cooling the articles and returning the pressure to ambient.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.