Content about Tunnel washer

ROANOKE, Va. — It seems that making the required adjustments in your laundry operation is a never-ending process. There are a number of variables to be considered when making periodic adjustments. With this in mind, I have decided to, over the next several months, discuss the factors and opportunities available to every manager in fine-tuning his or her operation.

Let’s look at the wash room. There are certain universal principles that apply to all washing equipment, whether it is a tunnel washer or a conventional washer-extractor. The first principle is deciding how big a load you wish to put into your washing machine. Sounds simple enough, but the answer can and should vary based on the type of linen you are washing and the moisture content of the linen to be washed.

To illustrate, I will use my operation’s tunnel washer. Its rated load capacity is 110 pounds per pocket, but if I were to fill each pocket with 110 pounds, I would be dramatically under-loading the tunnel. We wash micro-filament mops through our tunnel washer. Because of the moisture content in the soiled mops, we load each pocket to 165 pounds. This load easily fits into the extractor at the end of the tunnel, and the load comes out looking clean and smelling great.

There is a danger in putting too much linen into a tunnel-washer pocket. An overly large load will not come clean, and may not fit efficiently into the extractor at the end of the tunnel or may not come out at all. Anyone who has experienced a jam up inside the tunnel washer knows that it is something you want to avoid.

There is, however, a compelling reason to accurately determine the proper load size for each type of linen. We were able to increase our average load size from 100 pounds per pocket to 125 pounds per pocket. That is a 25% increase in output without adding time or additional equipment.

We wash a large amount of reusable barrier surgical linen that each day. This linen is made from 100% polyester fibers and weighs very little per piece. If I were to load this type of linen to 100% of normal capacity, the linen would be so tightly packed in the washing machine that water may not reach the center of the load.

The key to this type of linen is to have enough goods in the washer to provide good mechanical action and effective cleaning. Underloading the washer will cause the linen to float on the water’s surface; overloading will end up producing no mechanical action at all. We have found that a general rule of thumb is to start testing at 70% of rated capacity.

The most effective way to wash linen is to do it right the first time. The wash room is not an area where you want to try to save money. Poor-quality washing will result in unhappy customers, higher labor costs and higher linen-replacement costs. Since labor and linen represent two of the largest expenses in a linen rental plant or in-house laundry, we should focus our attention on managing these costs.

It is for this very reason that I personally despise the use of guaranteed cost-per-pound-of-linen wash-room chemicals contracts. I want to be able to exercise my managerial control and to dictate the quality level coming out of my wash process. I want to be able to reduce my labor and linen replacement costs.

Many fixed-cost-per-pound contracts end up using far too much chlorine bleach (extremely inexpensive) and less-than-desirable amounts of alkali and detergents. Instead of having a chemical representative trying to find ways to make a profit on his or her fixed-price contract, I want them spending time trying to keep my quality up, my replacement costs down, and my productivity high. I personally believe that these are two entirely different types of service and are mutually exclusive.

The next area to focus on in the wash room is turnaround time. How long does it take from the time a wash cycle is completed until the next load is started? This is extremely important for conventional washers but also should be looked at for tunnel washers (hold time).

We track turnaround time for every load on our conventional washers, and have found that having a place to unload the washer into “ready” and “waiting” helps reduce turnaround time. Having the next load prepared and ready to be loaded also reduces this time.

When we first starting looking at turnaround time, we found that we were not doing a good job when it came to processing traditional wet mops. Housekeeping was bagging the mops in plastic bags and sending them to the laundry. Our soil sorters set these bags to the side until there were enough for a wash load. The cart was then taken to the wash room where, after the washer was emptied, the wash person would slowly open each bag and place the mops into the washer. This system required 30 minutes to load the washer. By having the soil sorters remove the mops from the bags and sort only the mops into the carts, we were able to greatly reduce the amount of time it took to load the washer.

Running a tunnel washer faster than the dryers can handle the linen causes the tunnel to go on “hold.” To me, a tunnel on hold is wasted time. It is better to lengthen the tunnel wash time per pocket than to allow it to constantly go into a hold situation. Proper scheduling of the linen mix going through a tunnel can help keep the equipment running smoothly. Next time, I will discuss tunnel scheduling.

TEXTILES: TOM LANGDON, ENCOMPASS GROUP, MCDONOUGH, GA.

Approaching this issue from a textile sourcing and laundry processing point of view, we see varying degrees of linen abuse, depending on how our customers process. With the development of more resource-saving equipment, the linen has to be more durable today that it has in the past. For example, most of the newer tunnel washers reuse water from the first cycle, and if linen (especially apparel) is not colorfast, you can end up with cross-contamination staining on other items.

Everyone throughout the supply chain is cost-conscious, so one of the first steps is making sure your linen has been properly processed when you receive it.

There have been instances in which PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) used in the weaving process was not completely removed in the finishing process. This can end up creating a buildup on flatwork ironer equipment. Depending on the process, this linen may process fine in one laundry and create havoc in another. PVA is water-soluble and disperses in wash temperatures of 160 F. It can redeposit on the linen, however, if not thoroughly rinsed.

The second step is to test suspect linen for abuse. There are ways to determine if the fibers have been damaged through chemical or excessive heat during processing. One method is the Fehling’s solution test. This process can detect the presence and amount of certain chemical residue that can damage cellulose fiber, primarily cotton. If these fibers become damaged, they weaken and will wear out prematurely.

Historically, the primary test for evaluating linen durability has been the AATCC 1961-IVa method for Colorfastness to Commercial Laundry. This test is becoming outdated with regards to the healthcare industry. It calls for a 2% solution of chlorine bleach, and most of our industry has moved away from chlorine in favor of hydrogen peroxide or other less aggressive chemistry in efforts to extend linen life. The industry or related agencies need to develop and publish an updated test method that includes the newer formulas and equipment being used in the industry.

The third step is to evaluate your linen. You could be using the wrong type, construction or blend. The move to higher-content synthetic fibers has raised the bar for the life expectancy of today’s linen. If you try comparing a 100% cotton bath blanket or terry towel to a blend, you will see a significant difference in life expectancy.

The fourth and final step is to be an educated user. Many of you that have been around a long time may be familiar with some of the information I’ve covered. But those of you who are less experienced should enlist your linen provider’s help. Your provider can help you get acquainted with the techniques and quick checks to help manage your linen purchases and usage. Also, check with your chemical supplier, as many can provide a troubleshooting guide to linen abuse.

HOTEL/MOTEL/RESORT LAUNDRY: JR NORRIS, DELTA UNIFORM AND LINEN

Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle black? During almost 20 years in the restaurant business, I witnessed my fair share of regular linen abuse. Now, after being in the linen supply business for the past several years, and seeing the other side of this equation, I find myself cringing at the condition of items I see coming back. Some might think that’s a good dose of Karma for me, but I like to think my experience gives me an alternate viewpoint and advantage in identifying and solving the problem.

When items come back damaged or discolored, I try to identify where the abuse took place. I inspect the facility before approaching the client; the worst thing you can do is point the finger at the client without inspecting your facility and processes first (I learned that the hard way).

Sometimes during this process, I’ll even go so far as to climb into each of my machines to identify potential issues with the washing and drying process. I also try to identify if handling by employees is causing the abuse. If facility employees are causing the abuse, I spend time talking about how to prevent abuse, and I always make a point to share the item price. Once the employees understand what it would cost them to replace the damaged item, the carelessness stops.

Another way to identify potential problems is to witness item delivery. I ride along with my route personnel weekly to try to identify if improvements can be made to prevent products from being damaged during distribution. I watch them load their route trucks to see how they treat all products, and I try to identify other contributing factors. I have been able to find and make repairs to trucks that had sharp edges and to screws that were tearing goods or had that potential.

If it turns out to be an issue on the client’s end, we typically use the main rule of baseball: three strikes and you’re out. This doesn’t mean that we stop servicing the account after three strikes. It just means we find a different way of getting the point across.

First, we send back the damaged item with a sticker indicating the item’s intended use and what we believe to be the inappropriate use. When it comes back abused a second time, one of our managers personally visits the client and reiterates that training is needed to prevent the product damage from continuing to happen. Last, we charge a replacement fee if/when it happens a third time.

Depending on how the bad the items are, sometimes we skip the three-strike rule and charge for the linen immediately. Because we operating a weekly linen rental business, we have to make sure the customer understands that there are financial consequences for recurring linen abuse.

Remember, it’s all about getting back to the basics and training. Always give your employees and customers the proper tools and information to be successful.

MEMBER AT LARGE: DOUGLAS STORY, SWISHER HYGIENE

Knowledge is king! The more a customer knows about the cost of linen and what happens when the linen is damaged or lost, the more likely they will be tuned in to the need to protect this asset.

We are in a service industry, and part of our regularly scheduled service program should be to train the customer on how they can control costs via efficient use of linens; protecting their linen from abuse and loss should be part of that program. Training should include:

• Identifying sources of abuse (chemicals reputed to stain or damage linens; bleach, acids or mechanical devices that can cut linens or cause them to tear; etc.)
• Physical samples of abused linen from the same or similar facility
• Actual breakdown of what it costs to replace a damaged or lost item
• The presence of upper management and “direct contact” workers

When linen is found to have abuse stains or damage, the items should be taken to the facility and become part of the training and education process. The sooner this is accomplished within a customer service contract, the quicker the abuse can be minimized. Allowing prolonged abuse only creates a situation in which abuse becomes a hard-to-break habit.

About the possibility that you’re abusing the linen during processing and/or distribution, the answer is yes. The same training program used for customers should be implemented with staff and employees of the laundry operation.

Floor drags and drops, equipment tears, caster stains, mildew stains, etc., are just a few of the abuse issues that can occur if laundry operations are not following proper procedures or the plant is using malfunctioning equipment.

Enhanced quality control programs in which everyone is trained will aid to minimize linen abuse in a facility.

Check back Tuesday for the third and final part!

CHICAGO — Your company is weighing its laundry services options, and pursuing a new plant is a possibility. So what should the average laundry manager know about plant design?

American Laundry News recently invited several engineering, construction and consulting firms with laundry services expertise to respond to some questions about this issue.

ALN: Is there a basic design template that will work for virtually any institutional, industrial or commercial laundry, or is each and every plant’s design unique?

DAVID BERNSTEIN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, TURN-KEY INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING, CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.

All institutional, industrial and commercial laundries share certain common design elements (e.g. the need for washers, dryers, finishing equipment, etc.), but outside of those common elements, every laundry design is unique.

Laundry design is dictated by a wide variety of factors, including safety of production employees, the current and future product mix, throughput requirements, local regulatory constraints, and, of course, the budget.

There are certain situations in which a basic design template can be used successfully. Operators who have multiple plants processing essentially the same product mix have for years been successful at duplicating the basic design of a plant in other locations. In these situations, the engineering and design teams simply calculate the current and future production needs of the new facility, and scale the quantity of equipment and the associated building size to meet those needs.

BOB CORFIELD, PRESIDENT/CEO, LAUNDRY DESIGN GROUP, PHOENIX, ARIZ.

If all the business conditions are the same or similar, yes, there can be a general template for design. Large national companies work hard to achieve this by staying highly focused on certain markets. But as the mix of work, type of customers, physical space and growth requirements or restrictions are considered, each plant takes on its own personality.

ED KWASNICK, DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, LAUNDRY DIVISION, ARCO/MURRAY NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION CO., OAKBROOK TERRACE, ILL.

From 30,000 feet, the production flow and departmental functions for all laundry facilities are similar. They each receive soiled goods, sort the goods by classification, wash, dry, finish, store the goods for delivery, load the clean goods on vehicles, and deliver them to the customer. But that is where the similarities end.

Each laundry must be custom-designed to meet its unique needs based on these issues: type of goods (healthcare linen, hospitality linen, food and beverage linen, industrial garments, mats); rental vs. COG; manual vs. automated systems; single-shift vs. multiple-shift operation; high quality vs. high output; and project budget.

All of these factors must be carefully considered when developing a plant design, and the design must be customized to meet the needs of the operator and their customers.

GERARD O'NEILL, PRESIDENT/CEO, AMERICAN LAUNDRY SYSTEMS, HAVERHILL, MASS.

No, there is not a basic design template that will work for all. Every plant is unique and has different needs. The design will be based on the work load, type of work to be processed, space available, processing needs, future growth, hours of operation, available utilities, local codes/restrictions and, of course, available budget.

GLEN PHILLIPS, P.E., PRESIDENT AND SENIOR ASSOCIATE, PHILLIPS & ASSOCIATES, MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.

Phillips and Associates follows a step-by-step flow diagram for laundry design projects: 1) develop the total annual processing load by pieces and pounds, 2) determine the number of operating hours per week, 3) determine the hourly production requirements, 4) determine space requirements, 5) develop equipment needs, 6) develop labor staffing requirements, 7) develop space cost, 8) develop equipment costs, 9) develop labor costs, and 10) develop a complete financial package: total capital costs, total operating costs, and two years of cash flow.

ALN: What factors dictate just how much square footage a laundry requires?

CORFIELD

Again, it depends on the type of plant and whether or not it serves one customer (an in-house hotel or hospital) or outside customers, and is rental/pool linen or COG processing. If healthcare, do the end-users do bulk delivery, exchange cart, or a combination?

For healthcare, the best formula I have used successfully is 350-500 pounds per square foot, per single shift. So, a 14 million pound hospital plant would be about 38,000 square feet for production plus another 12-18% for employee spaces and offices (estimate 44,000 square feet). Space is also added for other processing types, such as operating room linen. You can project growth either through added processing (equipment) or more hours. Then adjust your building size requirements accordingly. Keep in mind that the best way to expand a building during design is sometimes up and not out to manage cost constraints for land or construction.

KWASNICK

They include the level of automation, type of equipment, the number of shifts per day, operating days per week, clear height inside the building (low height means you are forced to use carts to work in process and move items from department to department; carts require space for staging and travel), and type of laundry (healthcare vs. industrial vs. hospitality vs. mixed).

O'NEILL

Type of work to be processed, amount of growth that is estimated, hours of operation, and type of equipment that will be installed. The level of automation that any plant considers will also greatly influence the square footage needed. We at ALS believe in using the “cube” of any building. This cuts down drastically on the square footage needed to carry out the process.

PHILLIPS

Anyone who is involved with planning a laundry, whether it be in-house or a remote stand-alone facility, has to enter into the discovery process about all sorts of things. Among those discussion points are each of the items mentioned in my answer to the first question. Developing the total annual processing load and determining the operating hours per week and hourly production requirements must be done before attempting to determine space requirements. The driver to/of the entire process is development of the hourly production requirement. Once that number has been determined, everything beyond that point becomes self-evident.

BERNSTEIN

Unless a client already has an existing building in mind for their new facility, we believe that the right way to design a new laundry is from the inside out. In other words, understand and formulate the processes that will be involved in the operation of the new facility; understand the current and future equipment, staffing and infrastructure needs; and then design the building around these elements. In this way, we are able to minimize the amount of wasted space, while ensuring that we’ve designed a safe, productive, efficient and sustainable operation.

ALN: If an institution or business designing a laundry is eager to take advantage of the latest laborsaving and resource-conserving technologies, what might some of them be?

O’NEILL

Tunnel washer technology; high-speed thermal ironer systems with high-production feeders, folders and stackers; soil and clean monorail system (automated or hybrid systems); and smart conveyors will be some of them. The “steamless” concept is also one that should be closely looked at. Having been a big proponent for many years and having now built four steamless or “less-steam” plants, we feel that is a huge resource/energy conservation idea. The advent of wide presses has also had a large impact on the energy conservation ideas in our industry.

KWASNICK

Here’s a list of old tried-and-true technologies that continue to prove their worth: heat reclaimer, stack economizer, water reuse system, and water recycle system.

And here some of the newer technologies to consider: high-efficiency modular boilers, self-contained thermal ironers, wide ironers, new tunnel washer technology that uses less water (aka Milnor’s PulseFlow), RFID technology, production tracking systems, press-to-dryer rail system (provides additional buffer storage between the tunnel press and dryers, and allows you to use fewer dryers), automated bagging machines, and automated wrapping machines.

PHILLIPS

Without going into a lengthy, drawn-out discussion, some of the thoughts our firm delve into are:

1. What type of productivity does the owner want to achieve?

2. What is the owner’s desire in designing a new plant? Stated another way, what is the “hot button” desired by the owner?

3. If it is a reduction in linen losses, then discuss RFID. If it is a reduction in utilities, then discuss 80% water reduction. If it is to reduce the number of accidents, then discuss material-handling systems. Just about every conceivable idea becomes a discussion point and something to serve as a goal.

4. In this time of LEED, then discuss with the owners the power of conserving energy via the building envelope.

BERNSTEIN

Some of the most significant innovations in equipment over the past decade or so have come from Europe, where the cost of labor continues to skyrocket. Examples of laborsaving technologies include highly automated wash rooms, garment auto-sortation systems, load-on-rail soil sortation, RFID technology, and remote ironer feeding/queuing. As might be expected, an added benefit of using these technologies is an increase in employee health and safety, as well as increases in quality, accuracy and productivity.

Among gas-saving technologies are high-efficiency boilers, modular boiler systems, direct-fired hot water heaters, better extraction technologies to reduce the number of dryers and dry times, and the wide variety of heat reclamation technologies, including those that reuse heat from wastewater.

Another such technology, so-called “steamless” plants, is one that has gained a lot of attention over the past couple of years. The idea is to eliminate the need for steam, and therefore boilers, to heat water, ironers and other finishing equipment. When properly applied under the right circumstances, the energy savings can be striking.

Every wash room should be planned with an eye toward water reuse; this goes for conventional and tunnel washers. And don’t forget the fleet. There are a wide variety of energy-efficient vehicle technologies that should be considered, including EV, hybrid-electric, hydraulic-hybrid, diesel hybrid, and natural gas power plants, and composite or plastic bodied vehicles.

We should note one important caveat. Every situation is unique, and before a technology is applied or specified, we strongly recommend the performance of a cost-benefit analysis to ensure that there is a return for every investment. There is a wide range of technologies available, each with its own “gee whiz” and “coolness” factors, but what works in one operation may not necessarily meet the needs, requirements or vision of another.

CORFIELD

This would include any machine or system that reduces the number of “touches” required in packaging, finishing or transporting product. So, conveyors (belt or rail), pickers, auto strapping/wrapping, auto sorting, and stack transport systems are all high-value considerations.

Resource conservation should be a goal, but should not compromise production or quality. Wastewater heat recovery is essential, new high-efficiency dryers can use half the energy of old dryers, and if you have a tunnel, then upgrading your press is a great decision.

ALN: What effect does the type of goods that a laundry processes, or is going to process, have on the plant’s design?

KWASNICK

It has a tremendous effect on laundry design because it affects the type, size and location of equipment. Traditional linen products (e.g. tablecloths, napkins, sheets, pillowcases, etc.) are handled differently than industrial goods (e.g. uniforms, mats, shop towels, etc.). Soil processing for linen requires dedicated soil-count and soil-sort systems that are highly efficient at separating and counting linen pieces. This is typically not the case for industrial goods.

Linen plants can use tunnel washer technology with an extraction press, where industrial or mixed facilities with tunnel washers will typically use centrifugal extractors. Garments require steam tunnels and presses for finishing. However, linen is finished on an ironer or folded after drying. Flat goods are folded and placed in carts for storage and delivery. Garments are placed on hangers and placed on rails or trolleys for storage and delivery.

Large linen plants with tunnel washers and steam ironers require large boilers and mechanical rooms for those boiler systems. Plants that process only mats require hot water for washing, but no steam. Therefore, they don’t need boilers or traditional boiler rooms.

Healthcare plants also need to comply with new guidelines for soil/clean separation, airflow requirements, PPE requirements and other issues that non-healthcare plants do not need to address in their plant design.

Rental plants can process large batch sizes due to consolidation of like goods, while COG plants must process in smaller batches as they strive to keep customer products separated. Large vs. smaller batch sizes will determine the type and size of washroom equipment as well as flow through the finishing department.

As you can see, all of these issues have an impact on space, production flow, and plant design. And these examples barely scratch the surface.

BERNSTEIN

The type of goods being processed is an extremely important factor in determining the design and requirements of every new plant. Prior to putting pen to paper (or mouse to AutoCAD, as it were), there needs to be a detailed analysis of the products and associated volumes to be processed at start-up and at a future point in time. Every single classification, no matter how small the volume, needs to be included in this data-collection phase so that a laundry capacity analysis can be created and used to determine the new facility’s requirements for equipment, space, staffing and infrastructure.

CORFIELD

Healthcare plant vs. hotel plant design can be somewhat similar, with healthcare having 5-15 times more classifications to process. But healthcare is considerably more complex.

General linen (F&B, kitchen), industrial uniform, medical retail, and dust control all have elements that make their designs unique. All have a scale of volume for certain classes of linen or uniforms that makes sense for certain types of automation, washing or waste treatment. Each will also have specific compliance and regulatory issues that can impact design as well.

O’NEILL

Type of goods that a laundry process has everything to do with plant design. It dictates what kind of equipment is required, type of work flow, overall building height, amount of space required at the soil and clean sides, physical separation requirements, etc. For example, an F&B/mixed plant will need a lot more soil-sort classification compared to a hospitality/linen plant. A healthcare plant will need soil/clean separation while a linen or F&B plant will not.

PHILLIPS

Essentially that is one of the very first questions that must be discussed and resolved. If an end point cannot be reconciled on that point, then all other discussion points comes to a halt.

Tomorrow in Part 2: Renovation vs. building new; the biggest challenges; latest trends; and some final nuggets of wisdom

ROANOKE, Va. — A surefire way to improve the bottom line of your business or department is to increase the life of your linen. Increasing the number of quality servings you get from each piece of linen will dramatically decrease your cost of operation.

I recommend that the first step to increasing your linen life is to review each linen item with end-users to make sure that it is the proper item for the intended use.

If a bath blanket is being used as a lift sheet, excessive tears will develop. Are bath blankets or thermal blankets being used in place of mattress pads? Linen users find creative ways to use our linen and unless we engage in regular discussions with them, we will be unaware of just how our items are being used.

Bargain patient gowns usually do not have the sweep and coverage necessary to properly maintain a patient’s modesty. Ambulatory patients often use two patient gowns—one covering the front and the other covering the back—to make up for this shortfall. By purchasing a larger patient gown that provides greater coverage, you can decrease uses of the item by 30-35% and thereby increase its effective life.

I also recommend that you meet with your chemical vendor and review your wash formulas to make sure you are obtaining proper levels of cleanliness without excessively washing the linen.

Mechanical action and chemical action cause most fabric degradation. Wash each classification in such a manner to keep rewash below 3% of total volume produced. Some laundries sort all heavily soiled linen together and give it a special wash. High levels of alkalinity attack the cotton fiber and the finish on reusable barrier linen as well as the soil. One key to longer linen life is to reduce the alkaline concentration of the wash formula. Using enzyme detergents instead of traditional detergents can be an effective alternative.

Management should review the procedures for determining the proper size of each wash load. Overloading will cause poor quality wash and excessive stains. I have seen laundries that maintained excellent written procedures for weighing loads but their daily practice did not mirror what was on the page.

Carefully review all damaged linen to see if a pattern of abuse or product failure is evident. Once a trend is discovered, corrective action can be taken to adjust product quality or construction or to provide in-service education for personnel working in use areas.

We recently had a problem with small holes appearing in the barrier backing of our incontinent pads. We were unsure of the source but wanted to first eliminate the laundry. While brainstorming the problems, we figured that it could be happening in one of a number of locations: the soil-sort belt, tunnel washers, tunnel press, tunnel dryers, or one of the small-piece folders.

We determined to test our system by using brand-new pads. Our first step was to avoid the sorting belt and put the new pads directly into a sling. We ran a load through our No. 1 tunnel, its press and one of its dryers. The test load contained a number of damaged pads. We also ran a load through our No. 2 tunnel, press and one of its dryers and did not find any damaged pads.

We then ran a load through the No. 1 tunnel and press. Upon inspection, again we found damaged pads. Finally, we ran pads through the No. 1 tunnel and bypassed the press. This procedure still resulted in a number of pads being damaged. (It is interesting that we have not noticed damage to any other linen items going through this tunnel.)

Our short-term solution was to move all the incontinent pads from the No. 1 tunnel, where they had always been processed, to the No. 2 tunnel. This required us to make other changes in our pick lists to balance out the demand for the tunnel dryers. After a visual inspection of the interior of No. 1 tunnel, we found several possible causes for the linen damage. Today, we are still running pads through the other tunnel.

Check all dryers to make sure they are operating correctly. Excessive heat can damage linen and cause it to have a harsh hand. Inspect door seals and interior air-deflection blades to make sure everything is working properly. Dryers with poor seals that allow room air to enter the dryer without going through the burner area can cause artificially low outlet-temperature readings. These readings will cause the linen to be subjected to higher-than-programmed temperatures.

Thermal fluid ironers should not be operated at temperatures above 375 F. Ironing at higher temperatures will result in the loss of size stability in polyester fibers. Once the heat-set polyester fiber is no longer size-stable, the laundry will experience higher-than-normal shrinkage. I have seen contour sheets that started at 88 inches in length shrink to 76 inches. Resist the temptation to iron at higher temperatures to increase productivity, because you’ll be creating linen shrinkage problems.

These ideas do not represent an all-inclusive list, but they give you a good starting point. Determining ways to extend linen life is a never-ending task but one well worth the time and effort.

OAK CREEK, Wis. — When Crothall Laundry Services officially opened its new 83,000-square-foot plant during a June 27 ribbon-cutting ceremony, it marked a couple of important firsts for the Crothall Healthcare service line.

The $13 million state-of-the-art facility is the first that Crothall has built from the ground up, and it is reportedly the first laundry in the world to certify (its processing included) under certain LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environ-mental Design) standards. And Crothall managed to complete the construction project—aided by many industry vendors—in nine months.

A hundred dignitaries filed into a tent erected in the plant’s parking lot to listen to congratulatory remarks from Bobby Kutteh, CEO of parent company Compass Group; Steve Carpenter, president of Crothall Laundry Services; and others before touring the gleaming facility.

The plant can process approximately 25 million pounds of clean linen per year in one shift or up to 50 million pounds annually on two shifts. Crothall claims it is producing efficiencies exceeding 150 pounds per operator hour.

Crothall built the stand-alone plant south of Milwaukee after Aurora Health Care decided that its Crothall-run campus laundry in Milwaukee would be converted to another use. The facility processes 18 million pounds annually for 17 hospitals. Crothall has been processing linen for Aurora Health Care since 2000.

ARCO/Murray National Construction Co. was responsible for all construction phases. Various manufacturers and Pellerin Laundry Machinery Sales Co. provided design, installation, start-up and training services. Herb Fitzgerald Co. assisted locally.

Three PulseFlow® tunnel washers (150-pound modules) from Pellerin Milnor Corp. supply the needed washing capacity. Their patent-pending technology incorporates top-transfer batch processing. On average, the system is capable of laundering healthcare linen at a water-consumption rate of approximately 0.45 gal/lb, saving Crothall roughly 8.5 million gallons—or 39% compared to the traditional tunnel washing process—annually.

The E-Tech soil-sort area utilizes continuous sorting on rail, featuring LED-display sort windows and computerized tunnel-load sequencing.

A press-to-dry rail system automatically carries 300-pound bags of clean laundry on rails overhead to any available Milnor dryer, replacing the traditional shuttle.

Next page: The new plant processes laundry without using high-pressure steam boilers…

“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.

Once upon a time, a laundry manager went away on vacation for several weeks. Upon his return to the laundry, he found the department way behind its regular work schedule. The laundry’s customers were unhappy, and orders were being shorted and filled several hours late. Liberal amounts of overtime were not solving the problem.

The manager immediately set out to look through his laundry in search of the one thing—the “Silver Bullet”—that would restore his operation to normal.

LAS VEGAS — Since it was formed a decade ago at the behest of a local hotel, Brady Linen Services has experienced remarkable growth, prompting not one but two laundry expansions. Its three facilities collectively process in excess of 100 million pounds annually here.

The importance of washer-extractors or tunnel washers paired with dryers to an institutional laundry or textile services company can’t be understated. Simply, no cleaning, no laundry.

But having the necessary cleaning equipment is only half the equation. If a laundry doesn’t have an effective means to transport soiled linen through its facility and transport clean linen to on-premise end-users or outside customers, then what’s the point?

“In your experience, what are or have been the most stubborn stains to remove? What tips can you offer those of us who must contend with these most difficult substances that find their way onto and into our textiles?”

Consulting: Tom Mara, Victor Kramer Co., Oceanport, N.J.

“A laundry service is at a standstill — a key piece of processing equipment is out of commission, or a natural disaster has left the immediate area without power. What sort of contingency plan should a manager have in place to make certain his customers continue to receive clean goods in a timely manner?”

Long-Term Care Laundering: Albert J. Raymond, Healthcare Services Group, Bensalem, Pa.

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Bates Troy Healthcare Linen Services recently opened a 14,000-square-foot plant expansion and unveiled a new G.A. Braun batch tunnel washer system during a ribbon-cutting ceremony, press conference and tour of the facilities.

The expansion retains 165 jobs and represents a $4 million investment in the local economy, Bates Troy says.

The Braun tunnel system — including a state-of-the-art tunnel washer, extractor press, shuttle, dryers and overhead rail system — now gives the company additional capacity.