![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/girl-working-modern-dry-cleaner-138185142.jpg\")
The closer you live to a dry cleaner, the higher your risk of developing Parkinson\u2019s, a new study showed. JackF \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\nOne of the biggest questions when choosing where to live is what you\u2019ll need to do to get your clothes cleaned.<\/p>\n
And one thing to love about New York is there\u2019s always a spot just up the block.<\/p>\n
But new research suggests there\u2019s a good reason to avoid that convenience: The closer you live to a dry cleaner, the more likely you\u2019ll develop a debilitating disease that slowly kills cells in the brain.<\/p>\n
The closer you live to a dry cleaner, the higher your risk of developing Parkinson\u2019s, a new study showed. JackF \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
Parkinson\u2019s Disease is the second-most common neurological disorder in older adults and affects about 1.1 million people across the US.<\/p>\n
Experts say<\/a> it\u2019s caused by a mix of genes, aging and environmental factors \u2014 like exposure to certain chemicals.<\/p>\n While the association appeared across the country, researchers found pockets\u2014including in New York\u2014where Parkinson\u2019s was particularly common among people living near dry cleaners.<\/p>\n They believe one chemical in particular could be part of the reason living near a dry cleaner could increase risk of this disease.<\/p>\n Parkinson\u2019s Disease and the cleaner next door<\/p>\n Parkinson\u2019s causes nerve cells in the brain to weaken, become damaged and die. This causes issues with movement and balance, causes tremors, or shaking hands and fingers, and painful stiffness.<\/p>\n This is a progressive disease, and as it gets worse, people have a harder time walking, talking, and completing everyday tasks.<\/p>\n People who develop Parkinson\u2019s often develop a \u201cparkinsonian gait\u201d which makes them stoop forward while swinging their arms, and they\u2019re forced to take small, shuffling steps.<\/p>\n Researchers found that the people with the highest risk of getting Parkinson\u2019s live 500 feet or less from a dry cleaner. That\u2019s about two blocks<\/a> running North-South in Manhattan, and a little less than a block running East-West, or between avenues. People who lived a few miles away had a lower risk. <\/p>\n In the city, there are over 72,000 business<\/a> and individuals with a dry cleaning license.<\/p>\n In the NYC area (which extended into New Jersey), people living within about 500 feet of a dry cleaner had 13% higher odds of Parkinson\u2019s than those living farther away. <\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just in big cities like New York and Detroit. Resarchers also found clusters in Southern Illinois, along the Tennessee-Kentucky border, central Pennsylvania, and north-central Indiana.<\/p>\n Southern Illinois had the worst correlation. People living within 500 feet of a dry cleaner had more than twice the odds of Parkinson\u2019s compared to those living further away.<\/p>\n How dry cleaning chemicals play a role<\/p>\n Researchers point to TCE, or trichloroethylene, as possible reason for increased Parkinson\u2019s risk This chemical has been used for everything from decaffeinating coffee to dry cleaning for a century.<\/p>\n But we\u2019ve known for decades it\u2019s toxic. It\u2019s been linked to miscarriages and babies born with heart defects, plus a 500 percent increased risk of Parkinson\u2019s.<\/p>\n It was widely used in dry cleaning until individual states, including New York, started banning the chemical. In 2024, a nationwide ban<\/a> was enacted by the EPA.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a related hazardous chemical called PCE, or perc \/ percholoroethylene, is still in use by dry cleaners but in the midst of a 10-year phase out<\/a> so dry cleaners can transition to new machines.<\/p>\n PCE can evaporate into the air and get into nearby buildings, which is called \u201cvapor intrusion<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean the clothes you got dry cleaned are now toxic. Exposure<\/a> is more from inhalation or direct skin contact with these chemicals, not through dry cleaned clothes.<\/p>\n Many dry cleaners have also turned to \u201cgreen\u201d alternatives to PCE, like liquid CO2 cleaning and silicone-based solvents like GreenEarth.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/nurse-old-woman-support-walking-138179273.jpg\")
People with Parkinson\u2019s often have trouble balancing and walking. peopleimages.com \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n