A commonly used phrase that we have all heard and used many times, “I felt like I was taken to the cleaners” or ” don’t let them take you to the cleaners” has been used for decades.  Why not, “taken to the hair salon” or “taken to the car repair shop” or “taken to carpet cleaners”?  There is actually a definition at dictionary.com and the exact definition of Take someone to the Cleaners means to take someone’s money or possessions in a dishonest or unfair way.

Being in the industry and knowing the work and expense of this industry, I started to do some research.  The earliest records of professional dry cleaning go all the way back to the Ancient Romans. For instance, dry cleaning shops were discovered in the ruins of Pompeii, Rome (approximately  79 AD). They used a type of clay known as fuller’s earth along with lye and ammonia (derived from urine) in order to remove soil and sweat from clothing.  That process proved effective.  In the early 19th century the dry cleaning industry became a big revolution. Totally and accidentally turpentine and kerosene were discovered to be able to remove certain stains and clean cloths with out any repercussions to fabrics, therefore the profession became a business in the early 1800’s by Jean Baptiste Jolly. Later in the mid 1900’s dry cleaning progressed and made the cleaning solvents inflammable which there is a great article in depth on the site Today I found Out-Feed Your Brain which may or may not be of interest but I found it interesting.

My point back to my title is that dry cleaning is a service that has a history of being laborious, also in addition to the organizational process with the pressing, finishing and packaging and all the equipment to do it all. So why when the word clean or cleaner which means to clarify, cleanse, and purify do we use the phrase “taken to the cleaners” apply?

All I can conclude is that dry cleaners have a very detailed organization to keep all customer goods straight, have high tech equipment to clean and press it all and requires labor to process it.

I am hoping with a little education I can help enlighten and curb the phrase I cringe when I hear.