FYI, I just had 2 waffenrocks 'dry cleaned" and they came out fantastic! Mind you however, that I had to talk personally with the owner of the cleaners and it was done by hand and not in a machine, then hung dry and pressed. Breast eagle, shoulder boards and insignia all were fine. Just good to know if anyone asks. Mike

Do they "glow" under a black light now?

Chief

Yeah,check for that!!
Seiler

Why would a tunic "glow" once it has gone through dry cleaning ?

Pat, There are chemical cleaners (in some laundry detergents) that will cause "glowing" under blacklight. An original TR cloth item washed in these detergents will glow (very bad).
I do not know if dry cleaning chemicals have the same effect... this would be very important info.

Thanks Johnny for the info, I guess I won't be sending my Uniform to the dry cleaner then.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the dry cleaning process does not use detergents that would cause black light glow in older fabrics.
Perhaps a dry cleaner would weigh in on this, but I thought that one of the main purposes of dry cleaning was to avoid detergent.

Bob- You may be right. I was referring previously to some (but not all) laundry detergents (like what you would use at home).
Still, that does not rule out the possibility that dry cleaning chemicals COULD cause the same problem...

Dreaded Glow....

Dry Cleaning is a choice for older garments as the fluid is lighter than water and causes less stress to fiber.

Additives to the fluid include optical brighteners, which in many cases will react to ultra violet light.

It should be noted than earlier forms of Optical brighteners were in use in Germany during the war, having been invented in the late 19th century.

"black Light" (ultra-violet)should NOT be the sole determinating factor to originality. Dry Cleaning has great benefits and it should be used properly when nessesary.

DRY CLEANING WILL NOT LEAVE A GLOW IF THE GARMENT IS CLEANED IN NAPTHA. HOWEVER, MOST DRY CLEANERS NO LONGER USE NAPTHA AS THEIR PRIMARY CLEANING AGENT. I HAD A FRIEND WHO IS BOTH A COLLECTOR AND THE OWNER OF A DRY CLEANING PLANT. HE WOULD DRY CLEAN UNIFORMS FOR ME. THERE WAS NO RESIDUAL GLOW. OLD GARMENTS CAN CONTAIN MOTH LARVA AND ACTIVE BACTERIA. I AGREE WITH JOHN THAT IN THE PROPER USEAGE, IT CAN AID IN THE CONSERVATION OF AN ITEM.
BOB

very useful and interesting thread. thanks all.

It may be useful to note that many dry cleaning agents will not clean garments of historic value, if there is a chance the process may damage the item.I have seen a tunic literally 'break' in the process, as the fibres of the material had hardened with age..

Best to use caution with any cleaning process..