Abstract: A washing and drying method and apparatus which uses a washing liquid such as pure water or a solvent of the hydrocarbon type but is very high in washing effect and drying effect and allows quick drying and hence a decrease of the drying time and besides can dry a workpiece of a complicated profile uniformly. A washing liquid tank in which washing liquid is accommodated is closed airtight, and the inside of the washing liquid tank is pressurized to a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure with gas such as air or nitrogen while the washing liquid is heated to a temperature higher than the boiling point it has under the atmospheric pressure. A workpiece to be washed is immersed in the thus pressurized heated washing liquid to wash the same. The thus washed workpiece is moved from within the washing liquid tank into an evaporating drying chamber, which is subsequently isolated airtight from the washing liquid tank.

Abstract: A three-way valve includes a cylindrical auxiliary valve shaft (12); a main valve shaft (11) provided within the cylindrical shaft; a cylindrical auxiliary valve plug (10) provided on a tip of the auxiliary valve shaft; a main valve plug (9) provided on a tip of the main valve shaft; a valve body (6); a first port (3) formed in the valve body in a direction of traveling of the main valve shaft; a main valve seat (1) formed around the first port for receiving the main valve plug, the main valve seat and the main valve plug constituting a main valve; an annular auxiliary valve seat (2) for receiving the auxiliary valve plug, the auxiliary valve seat and the auxiliary valve plug constituting an auxiliary valve; a common passage (13) formed between a contact area of the main valve plug with the main valve seat and a contact area of the auxiliary valve plug with the auxiliary seat; a second port (4) formed in the valve body for communicating with the first port via the common passage; a passage (14) formed outside