Dry cleaner blues

The morning calm hit Ryan and Samantha Vanausdall hard. They had planned to auction off their Elkhorn Cleaners shop to hundreds of invited dry cleaners.

"Honestly, I didn't think we would get no one here. It's 9:15, no one showed up. The auction's over," said Ryan, hanging his restless hands on a garment rack.

Buyers aren't lining up for his machines.

That's in part because the single most important piece of equipment in the place – a dryer that uses a common dry-cleaning fluid called perc – is about to become obsolete.

Under a rule approved in 2007 by the California Air Resources Board, machines that use perc (perchloroethylene) are no longer allowed to be sold in the state.

Hailed as a strong step toward cleaning up the state's environment, the rule means that within 2 1/2 years, businesses like the Vanausdalls' will have to replace perc-driven machines more than 15 years old with expensive "greener" alternatives.

The phase-out of existing dryers is keyed to the age of the machines, said Peter Sinsheimer, director of the Pollution Prevention Center at Occidental College. By July 2010, older dryers or those located in buildings with residences must be replaced. By 2023 they all must be phased out.

During years of unregulated use, perc contaminated groundwater. Concerned with health problems associated with the chemical – which can cause cancer and damage the liver and kidney – the state enacted regulations to reduce perc emissions by 70 percent.

Yet, according to a state Air Resources Board report, more than 70 percent of dry cleaners in the state still use perc in their dryers.

Air board spokesman Dimitri Stanich said perc's phase-out is warranted because there are better alternatives.

The state is offering $10,000 to dry cleaners as an incentive to make the transition to non-toxic and non-smog-forming alternatives such as water-based or carbon dioxide cleaning systems.

Lawrence Lim of the Korean Dry Cleaners Association of Northern California said the money is helpful but "not enough."

So-called "wet-cleaning" equipment costs at least $45,000, compared with $25,000 for a perc machine.

Lim, who still uses perc in his Concord-based dry-cleaning business, said many dry cleaners in his group spent up to $100,000 switching to a hydrocarbon, or petroleum-based cleaning system, only to be faced with the possibility of another forced switch.

Hydrocarbons form ozone, which is linked to respiratory irritation, asthma and premature death.

"We're waiting for the better alternative," Lim said. "We know hydrocarbon is not the best option."

So far, about 21 percent of dry cleaners have opted for the hydrocarbon system – by far the most popular alternative among dry cleaners.

Sinsheimer said one of the reasons the hydrocarbon process has a leg up in the market is because "existing distributors of dry-cleaning machines are also distributing petroleum machines." Another reason is that the operators are comfortable with hydrocarbon-driven dryers, which resemble the old perc machines, he said.

Sinsheimer has been advocating wet-cleaning, which allows dry-clean-only clothes to be washed with water, detergents and finishing equipment.

It's simpler and greener, Sinsheimer said, but dry cleaners see water "as the enemy."

A.L. Daniel, owner of Alhambra One Hour Cleaners in Sacramento, won't even consider wet-cleaning.

"If you take a beautiful wool suit, and throw it in the dry-cleaning machine with … even a little bit of water … you can throw it away," he said.

Dry-cleaning removes dirt and stains from clothes with solvents instead of water. Perc is especially good at removing oil and grease from fabrics.

But Daniel can use his two perc dryers for only four more years. After more than 40 years in the business, he said he considers perc the best cleaning solvent.

Sinsheimer's Pollution Prevention Center has converted some Bay Area cleaners to the greener process. He's now eyeing Sacramento, where – in partnership with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District – he hopes to offer three dry cleaners $20,000 to convert to wet-cleaning.

Wet-cleaning, though, has competition in the region.

A silicone-based cleaning system with the brand name Green Earth has a head start in Sacramento.

Jim Douglas, owner of Prestige Cleaners and technical director of Green Earth, said his shop near McClellan Air Park was first in the nation to try the alternative.

The state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has yet to make public its findings on the safety of one of Green Earth's chemical components, which has been linked to tumors in rats. The Air Board will decide, as early as Friday, if Green Earth qualifies under its incentive program.

The dispute over alternatives to perc illustrates the dilemma for dry cleaners: The choices are expensive or unknown, and they lack safety data on chemical alternatives.

Many, instead, may leave the business.

"I've had enough. It's too hard," Samantha Vanausdall said. She and her husband bave already sold one shop in Natomas.

And for now, they plan to keep Elkhorn Cleaners running while they search for a buyer.

Another option: "Pack up and close the doors," Ryan Vanausdall said.

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• Call The Bee's Ngoc Nguyen at (916) 321-1041.