Buzz
"One Hour Martinizing" may sound like a strange or outdated term today, but 70 years ago, it revolutionized the dry cleaning industry.
Before 1949, dry cleaning businesses would pick up garments from customers in city storefronts and then send them to a distant facility, often located outside urban areas, for cleaning. At that time, the chemicals used in the dry cleaning process were volatile and highly flammable, leading to frequent fires and explosions. To avoid such risks, these facilities were located away from densely populated areas for safety.
Then, a chemist from Buffalo, New York, named Henry Martin made a breakthrough. While researching perchloroethylene (also known as PERC or tetrachloroethylene)—a chemical first created by Michael Faraday in 1821—Martin found that it was not only nonflammable and colorless but also effective for cleaning. He quickly developed a new cleaning method using this solvent and presented it to dry cleaners in Manhattan. He called it Martinizing, and thanks to its unparalleled safety, cleaners could now operate on-site. With clothes no longer needing to be shipped out, the process became faster, allowing for an incredible turnaround—sometimes as quick as one hour! This speed became a key selling point for the service.
Martin secured the trademark for the name and started a chain of One Hour Martinizing franchises, which later became known as Martinizing Dry Cleaning. By 1975, there were around 5000 franchises claiming they could make your clothes "Fresh as a Flower in Just One Hour!" Some of these vintage signs still remain, and the company is still operational. The Martinizing process itself is what revolutionized dry cleaning, making it fast, affordable, and above all, safe.
