NORWICH — Clothes do not have to be laced with a toxic chemical residue or permanently stained with a solvent smell in order to not look worn, wrinkled or misshapen. Arrow Laundry in Norwich has made a recent switch to chemical-free wet cleaning of the clothes they professionally wash.

Owner Billie Hendrickson of Guilford said, “The high end cleaners are now using chemical-free wet cleaning. It is a higher quality process than drying cleaning. The clothes come out looking and feeling better. They smell cleaner and are softer.”

Hendrickson said dry cleaning uses harsh, toxic chemicals that are hard on clothes and harmful to the environment. She also said clothes come out with a chemical residue and smell. She has had customers complain of a “sour smell” that does not go away and allergic reactions to the chemicals.

“People can be nervous about change. They think there are some clothes that have to be dry cleaned, but that is just not true. We have proven it,” said Hendrickson.

Due to local competition and personal tragedy, Hendrickson was introduced to chemical-free wet cleaning through her “need to survive.” She lost a third of her coin laundry business to a competitor, and her husband became ill and passed away last spring.

“My dry cleaning machine was giving me problems. I couldn't afford the solvent because it would have been over $900. My husband was sick, and I had to take over,” said Hendrickson.