Fabric cleaning apparatus

Fabric cleaning apparatus comprising at least a dielectric-barrier discharge assembly (2) adapted to generate plasma at atmospheric pressure for decomposing and removing organic-soil stains from fabrics, the dielectric-barrier discharge assembly including a high-voltage electrode (3,33), a counter-electrode (4,34), and at least a dielectric barrier (5,35) to define a discharge gap (6,36) between said electrodes, and further comprising a high-voltage AC generator (7) connected to the high-voltage electrode (3,33), and fluid supplying means to supply the discharge gap with a flow of fluid medium; it comprises an electrically insulating outer casing (8) accommodating the dielectric-barrier discharge assembly (2) and provided with an outlet nozzle (9) that is fluidly connected to the discharge gap (6,36), the outer casing (8) being adapted to be seized and hand-held by a user to position the outlet nozzle (9) in proximity to an organic-soil stain (11) to be removed from a fabric (12), switching means (10) being provided on the handheld outer casing (8) to switch on and off the high-voltage AC generator (7) and operate the fluid supplying means, accordingly.