Riverdale Cleaners

If you've ever brought home a piece of dry cleaning or walked past a dry cleaner, you probably remember the distinct smell that comes with it. Dry cleaning involves bathing clothes in petrochemicals or liquid silicone. It’s a process that releases harmful chemicals into the air, water and soil.

In a neighbourhood that has a history of supporting eco-friendly causes, Riverdale Cleaners hopes to change consumer habits with a toxin-free technique. “Wet cleaning is an entirely different process," says Caullyn Godfrey, owner of Riverdale Cleaners. "It uses very little water, very little detergent and uses mostly mechanical agitation to clean the clothes and then they’re hand-finished. Air is blown through the garment instead of going through a heat press that they use at a dry cleaner. Then it’s hand-finished with an iron,”