Commercial Laundry, achieving pristine clean results

Commercial Laundry

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So, let’s look at the main purposes of washing:

• To remove washable soiling and washable stains


• To preserve the whiteness of white work and the brightness of colours


• To maintain fabric in the best possible condition


• To present the fabric to the finishing areas in an acceptable condition


• To achieve all the above in the most efficient and economic manner

Let’s Contemplate Detergency Versus Bleaching

Detergents will physically remove soiling such as grease, oil, particles and will not remove bleachable stains.

Bleaches will chemically alter bleachable stains such as tea, coffee, chocolate, wine, blood, urine, food stains, fruit juice and turmeric for example by changing the colour of the stain.  Bleach will not remove grease, oil or particulate soiling. 

We all make judgements on the efficacy of the detergent if it gets rid of the stains we are trying to tackle.  But it is not just about the detergents etc, that we use.

The wash conditions need to be right too.  There are two main conditions to be aware of, physical and chemical.  Let’s take them one at a time:

Physical Conditions

Mechanical Action – The machine – How many times have you been guilty of overloading to try and save time? However, it is important that you follow the correct loading procedure.  

Overloading or underloading increases rewash (costing more time) due to reduced mechanical action.  It can also cause undue strain on motors and bearings with costly repair bills.  

The loading rule of thumb:  Can you get your hand in above the load and squeeze down?  If not, it is overloaded.

Dip Levels – Controls the concentration of washing chemistry and it has a major impact on mechanical action – the costs are for the incoming water and the outgoing effluent.

Reasons for controlling temperature – Thermal disinfection to kill bacteria (71 degrees centigrade for 3 minutes or 65 degrees centigrade for 10 minutes) and the effects on soil removal and staining.

Main effects of time – it costs money, productivity and washing quality.

Chemical Conditions

Detergents – take part in a process called wetting and the chemical emulsifies the dirt, suspending it into the water and sending it down the drain.

There are general detergents and specific detergents such as biodegradable enzymatic, bleach powders, low temperature, green and sensitive / baby products all providing great choices.

Biodegradable enzyme based detergent is a great choice for commercial laundry products in care home environments particularly.  The detergent will remove protein soiling such as blood and food at just 35/45 degrees centigrade, so the cost of each wash is much less, important when the machine is on all day every day.

Destainers – when used under the right conditions, bleach can be a very effective stain remover, however, in the wrong conditions it can be very damaging to your clothes, degrading the quality of your garments significantly.

Peroxide based commercial laundry products need to be used in 60/70-degree centigrade wash conditions, lower and you will not remove stains, higher and you are likely to experience significant chemical damage.

Effective bleaching and stain removal should be achieved within a 10-minute time scale.

A much more effective way of bleaching for stain removal is to use a low temperature bleaching agent, especially formulated for this action.  It works at just 40 degrees centigrade and therefore costs less in hot water than the more conventional destainers.

Hard Water Conditions Are Bad News in Laundry Terms, the Water Needs to Be Soft, and It Needs to Have Adequate Pressure to Ensure the Machines Can Be Filled Reasonably Quickly

Fabric Conditioners – provide a soft and fluffy feel to towels and other pile fabrics.  They also reduce problems caused by static electricity.  We love the smell of our fabric conditioners, and we are sure you will too – it is attractive and long lasting.

Professional, Dependable and Cost-Effective Laundry Dosing Systems

All commercial laundry products should be dosed correctly, and most laundry products suppliers will provide free on loan dosing equipment, ensuring appropriate doses of chemicals go into your machine every time for the best wash quality.

Our laundry dosing systems are suitable for on-premises and industrial laundry across a range of locations including hotels, care homes and hospitals.

Other laundry products include – emulsifiers and starches and we also supply laundry products for domestic type machines too, including washing powders and conditioners.

Washing soiled linen can pose a problem, however using red water-soluble laundry bags can offer a convenient precaution to isolate, store, transport and clean washable dirty items.

Once the bags are sealed, they can be placed directly into the washing machine, dissolving to release the contents into the wash.

Even more savings can be made when you join our discount scheme and spend £150 or more of up to 8%.

By using the Buy More, Save More and discount scheme together you can make savings on the RSP listing of nearly 20%, freeing more profit for your wholesale catering supplies budget.