Hi Mieleforever,
drycleaning is a process where the solvent is perc. (perchloretylen or other kinds ) carried in special frontloaders that are seamed (meaning this that solvent vapours can't excape from the machine).
The soil dissolved in the solvent is removed by distillation. Some machines distillate while washing, other types have separate distillation cycle to clean the solvent. In both cases the solvent is reused for following batches/cycles.
Distillation involves a boiling process to evaporate the solvent (meaning a lot of energy required). Again, after the final hi speed spin, the drycleaning frontloaders tumble-dry the garments and the resulting steam is distilled until the residual solvent moisture is under a safety level. This tumble dry step to a bone-dry level is another energy hog
The wet cleaning is carried in frontloaders geared by a brushless motor (that allows different motions - think of the LG 6motion) and fitted with special cycles. the water level is very low (here it comes that "wet"): woolens, handwashables and dryclean only items are NOT soaked in tons of water as conventional delicate cycles do, this preventing fabric from shrinking and felting
If you Miele is a novotronic or a softronic, "woolens/handwash" and "silk" actually are wetcleaning cycles as the ones of commercial mieles
I have a Loden jacket dryclean only labelled . The very first I wore it, it was soaked with a nice pint of Guinness.... when I went back home I threw it in the novotronic with a half cap of Lip Woolite, left spin speed on 1200 rpm and half an hour later it was ready for the hanger. The morning after the jacket was ready to wear **without any ironing required** and smelling fresh. It has never been drycleaned and after a dozen of trips in the novotronic it still looks like brand new
