Content about Textiles

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Mission Linen Supply has been awarded a contract by the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, Calif., to be the sole provider of uniforms, linens, mats and mops for the Inn’s guestrooms, steak house and coffee shop.

The Madonna Inn is situated on approximately 2,200 acres and has been one of California’s landmark attractions since it opened 50 years ago, Mission Linen says. In addition to the main inn, the property incorporates a wine cellar, bakery, coffee shop, dining room, gift shops, a full-service resort day spa, pool and fitness room, several banquet rooms, and the largest convention center on the Central Coast.

Mission Linen’s Morro Bay and Santa Maria facilities will service the inn, spa, steak house and coffee shop.

The fact that both are family-owned businesses played an important part in the Inn’s decision to select Mission Linen, says Mat Tornquist, Madonna Inn special projects manager.

“We were impressed with Mission Linen’s ability to manage the various needs of our resort,” Tornquist says. “The fact that they are local and had two processing plants nearby was another contributing factor. In the end, though, we felt that our two companies share a similar outlook, and that’s what ultimately gave us the comfort we were looking for.”

“Our resort has upgraded its linens everywhere, from the guestrooms to the pool to the five-star restaurant. So, the pressure is on to clean, handle and store these goods so they give us the longest useful life possible. What advice can you give me about processing high-thread-count linens?”

Textiles: Elizabeth Easter, Ph.D, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.

High-thread-count linens, especially cotton sheets, were introduced to consumers in the ’90s. In the past five years, the hospitality industry has begun offering these so-called “luxury linens” to their customers. Thread counts that traditionally averaged 180-200 have been replaced with thread counts up to 1,500.

There are some misunderstandings about what they actually are. Most people believe that quality, softness and durability increase in a linear way with increasing thread count number. This is not necessarily true. The truth is that it’s just not that simple. Thread count is only one measurement to examine when considering luxury linens.

What are the quality indicators of high-thread-count linens?

• Fiber Quality — 100% cotton sheets are by far the most popular among high-thread sheets. The highest-quality cotton is long staple. Staple refers to the length of the cotton fiber: the longer the fiber, the better. It creates stronger and finer yarns. Among long-staple cottons, the longest are Egyptian extra-long staple and Pima (Supima).
• Yarn Size — This is a measure of the fineness of each yarn: the higher the yarn number, the finer the yarn. The yarn size in sheets is typically between 40 and 100. The size will determine how many yarns can be woven in a square inch. Higher thread counts are created with finer yarns, as more of them can be woven into a square inch. Also, super-fine yarns can be twisted, creating two-ply yarns that can then be woven into sheeting.
• Thread Count (Yarn Count) and Construction — Thread count is the number of yarns per square inch of fabric, i.e. add the number of warp and weft yarns. Construction refers to how the thread count is achieved (number of warp and weft yarns, number of picks in the weft, use of two-ply yarns, etc.) To achieve higher thread counts, sometimes two-ply yarns are used, and sometimes multiple yarns (picks) are inserted into the weft.

Chemicals Supply: Carrie Armstrong, Ecolab, Eagan, Minn.

The upgrade of linens throughout the facility creates an opportunity to develop a partnership with each department. Training the end-user on the linens, development of quality standards, par levels, and linen-abuse potential will assist in linen management. Written procedures and standards that are specific to each department for handling the upgraded linens can then be established and practiced.

Processing high-thread-count linens in the laundry has its challenges. High thread counts provide for luxurious linens and often require specific guidelines for processing. It is important to consult the manufacturer and/or read the care labels before laundering and processing. The manufacturer and/or labels will provide guidelines for processing based on the thread count, fabric type, color and manufacture.

Upgrading to high-thread-count linen does not indicate an increase in industrial wash durability. More often, these linens are more delicate due to the nature of the manufacturing of the cotton, the yarn size, and production of the thread count.

Here are items to review and document when upgrading linen, with a goal of reducing mechanical, chemical and stain damage in processing:

• All linen type specifications
• Wash formulas — revise per manufacturer’s recommendations
• Wash processes — water levels, chemical concentrations, temperatures, wash/rinse/extract speeds and times
• Load weights — do not overload or underload
• Dryer temperatures — do not over-dry
• Spreader/feeder tensions
• Ironer cleanliness and temperatures
• Stain program
• Sorting procedure
• Quality assurance program
• Par levels
• Storage space
• All equipment maintenance — no rough edges, clean
• Test-wash all linens multiple times

After this review, put written procedures and standards into place and begin monitoring. Continued training and education for laundry personnel, as well as the various departments, is necessary. Soon, processing the upgraded linens will be routine, and you’ll be prepared for the challenges of optimizing the life of your high-thread-count linens.

Textile/Uniform Rental: John Shoemaker, General Linen & Uniform Service, Detroit, Mich.

Marriott in New Jersey has a large laundry. Per its policy, processed linens are allowed to “rest” for a 24-hour period. In order to make linens last, be sure to maintain plenty of par and avoid quick wash turnarounds.

Likewise, it would be a wonderful time to have the chemical company visit and do titrations with increased regularity.

Full checks should be done. All four pieces of the “washroom pie”—time, temperature, mechanical action and chemical action—should be addressed to assure longevity of life.

Are the washers being under-loaded, resulting in too much chemical action? Is the temperature too hot? Is the run time correct for the upgraded products? Check and recheck all washroom elements to assure the maximum longevity of your textile products.

Tomorrow: In many ways, cotton is easier to wash, but finishing is another issue …

ROANOKE, Va. — The escalating cost of textile products is causing many organizations to refocus on reducing linen-replacement costs.

During my years in this industry, both as a laundry manager and as a laundry consultant, the challenge of reducing linen-replacement costs has been a recurring theme. Some years ago, I had the pleasure of working with a major hospital on a linen-cost-containment program.

The immediate goal was to lower the hospital’s annual expenditures on linens; the hospital had been trying to accomplish this for several years. It was making the same mistakes that many U.S. healthcare facilities make: It was looking for a quick and easy solution.

There is no such quick fix available. But it is interesting and educational to review the efforts of this hospital and compare them with the eventual solutions. In order to save money on the purchase of replacement textiles, this hospital began an aggressive purchasing program designed to:

• Limit the amount of new linen stored at the hospital.
• Obtain the lowest cost per item based on purchase price.
• Reduce the number of linen items in circulation.
• Educate the linen users on the cost associated with linen service.

Goal One: Reduce Stored Supplies

This can be done simply by not ordering more linen until the current stock has been put into circulation. The catch then becomes having new linen available when it is needed. This requires an understanding of the hospital’s linen system and its seasonal fluctuations, knowledge beyond that possessed by most purchasing agents.

Often the linen vendors will attempt to assist the hospitals in understanding their linen system. There are many linen “control” systems on the market, but the majority of them are little more than advance-order systems for the vendors.

This particular hospital made the mistake of becoming overly dependent on the textile vendor’s promised one-week delivery on all linen items. The vendor was able to meet most of the orders for the first couple of months, but then the sporadic ordering (no towels one month, then triple the monthly order the next) caused delivery times to stretch out until two and three weeks became the norm.

The hospital was ill prepared to cope with projecting its needs in advance and routinely ordering predictable amounts of textiles, especially when it had been promised one-week delivery. The natural result was periodic linen shortages that made patients and staff unhappy. These problems caused the administration to return to the former policy of stocking linen items in the storeroom in an effort to ensure an ample supply at all times.

Goal Two: Reduce Per-Item Costs

The hospital adopted the philosophy of buying on purchase price instead of cost per use. It began to purchase muslin (T128) sheets instead of percale (T180), and the textile vendor assured the purchasing agent that patients and staff would never know the difference.

The hospital entered into a period of buying lower-quality items that were “just as good, only less expensive” than what it had been purchasing. There were some short-term savings by doing this, but the test of any good purchasing program is the test of time. Problems began to develop within the first year.

1. Gowns that had so nicely covered the patients no longer performed in the same manner. There was less material per gown, so IV’s were harder to handle, resulting in increased cutting of sleeves. Ambulatory patients began to wear two gowns, one on the front and one on the back. This practice almost doubled the usage. Net result was a cost increase on this linen item.
2.  The muslin sheet—that had seemed to be such a good buy—wore out more quickly than the percale. The greatest concern was the speed with which the cotton disappeared from the 50/50 blend. The majority of the cotton was worn out of the sheet during the first year, leaving a coarse 100% polyester sheet.
   
   
   The nursing staff found these sheets unacceptable and therefore took it upon itself to rag them out. The muslin sheets weighed more than the percale sheets and cost more to process. Net result of the economizing effort was to increase the monthly input of sheets, increase poundage in the laundry and decrease user satisfaction.
3. The washcloth was another item affected by the attempt to lower costs. This certainly seemed like a prime target for a lesser-quality product, especially because of the high replacement rate. The hospital began to purchase a lighter-weight washcloth but stayed with the usual 12x12 size. It was not long before complaints began to come in from the nursing floors.
   
   
   The new washcloth was shrinking a lot more than the others. After three or four washings, the washcloth became closer to an 8x8 size. The net result of this change was an increase in utilization. Respect for the product dropped and its abuse increased. The replacement rate more than doubled.

Next page: Reducing the number of items in your inventory...

“Cotton prices are incredibly high, and our textile suppliers are warning that they’ll continue to go up. Can you suggest some ways we can extend the life expectancy of the textiles that we process without completely sacrificing quality?”

Textiles: Elizabeth Easter, Ph.D., University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.

CHICAGO — The formula to control textile replacement and keep those costs down is really pretty simple—the longer that a laundry service can keep a reusable item in circulating inventory, the less expensive it becomes based on its useful life.

But things that happen during the course of wear or use—severe staining or fading, or a significant tear—can render a towel, garment, mat or other textile unusable.

“How can we tell if we’re getting our money’s worth from the textiles we’re using? What are the characteristics of a high-quality textile after it has been processed a dozen times, 50 times, or more? And can item type — flatwork or garment — actually influence textile durability?”

Long-Term-Care Laundry — Gary Clifford, Pines of Sarasota, Sarasota, Fla.

I read with interest your article in the June 2009 issue of American Laundry News titled Define criteria for ragging out linen, then train staff to recognize signs, take action. There were many excellent points brought up by your Panel of Experts.

I feel that you missed an opportunity to suggest to your readers that they should consider selling their discards to a reputable wiping cloth company.

“What criteria should I establish to rag out or discard linen? Also, do you recommend a multistep process to make this determination, or should one pass per item be enough to decide whether it stays or goes?”

Textiles: Elizabeth Easter, Ph.D., University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.

Serviceability of a textile product in the institutional environment depends on meeting five major factors or requirements:

“Our facility’s linen and uniform losses are becoming a real issue, and I need to develop a strategy to improve security. Where do you suggest I begin? Item tracking, surveillance, keep it all under lock and key? How far should I go?”

Technical Support: Jim Mitchell, Ecolab, Eagan, Minn.

Although you’ll probably never solve all of your linen loss issues, awareness will go a long way in reducing losses.

In order for my customers to be responsible for linens and garments, I suppose they need to be instructed or reminded about abuse. What steps can my operation take to train them and minimize these occurrences? Is it possible that we’re abusing the linen during processing and/or distribution?

In order for my customers to be responsible for linens and garments, I suppose they need to be instructed or reminded about abuse. What steps can my operation take to train them and minimize these occurrences? Is it possible that we’re abusing the linen during processing and/or distribution?

My hotel has upgraded its guest-room linens and bedding package, as well as its restaurant linens. It’s made a sizable investment, so the pressure’s on to clean, handle and store these goods carefully for the longest useful life possible. What advice can you give me?