ISO 8230-1:2008 specifies common safety requirements for dry-cleaning machines. It is applicable to dry-cleaning machines of all sizes intended for industrial and commercial use for the cleaning of articles made of textile, leather, furs and skins, using exclusively either perchloroethylene or combustible solvent as the cleaning medium.

It is not applicable to: machines placed at the disposal of the general public (self-service); barrier machines; transfer machines; ironing presses (see ISO 10472-1 and ISO 10472-6); ancillary equipment, e.g. room ventilation equipment, waste recuperation systems of the still, external water cooling systems or external systems for solvent recovery from the still sludge.

ISO 8230-1:2008 deals with all significant hazards arising from the use of the dry‑cleaning machine, where “use of the dry‑cleaning machine” comprises both intended use and foreseeable abnormal situations and includes commissioning, use and maintenance. It defines the common safety requirements for dry‑cleaning machines and is intended to be used in conjunction with ISO 8230‑2 and ISO 8230‑3, as relevant. Specific requirements in ISO 8230‑2 and ISO 8230‑3 take precedence over the respective requirements of ISO 8230-1.

ISO 8230-1:2008 does not deal with hazards caused by processing items that can create an explosive atmosphere (e.g. printers' wipers containing a low-flash solvent), nor with machines processing loads that can contain “foreign solvents”, which could lead to a change in a property (characteristic) of the cleaning solvent, e.g. cause foaming or make it carcinogenic.