LAUNDRY CYCLE IN LAUNDRY OPERATIONS

LAUNDRY

DEFINITION OF LAUNDRY
'Laundry' can be defined as a place where the washing and finishing of clothes and other washable articles are carried out.

LAUNDRY CYCLE IN LAUNDRY OPERATION

a) COLLECTING SOILED LINEN

Room attendants will strip linen from beds and bath areas and put them into the linen bags, which attached on the maid's trolley. Do not pile the linens on the floor. These procedures are important to make sure that maid's will not misuse the linen to clean spills and wipe smudges. Misuse of linens also can permanently damage items that can leads to higher replacement costs. All the linen will be send to the laundry either hand-carried or using cart. Runners who carry the linen are not allowed to drag the linen on the floor because it can cause accident. The linen carts must be free from anything that can tear the linen.

b) SORTING AND STAIN REMOVAL

Soiled linen should be sorted according to the degree of soiling, colours and linen type. These types of sorting are important to prevent damage to the linen and prolonged the life of the linen.

• Sorting by degree of soiling

The linen divided into 3 categories which are:

1. Lightly Soiled
2. Moderately Soiled
3. Heavily Soiled 

Heavily Soiled
Heavily soiled items require heavy-duty wash formula and need longer washing time. 

Lightly & Moderately Soiled 
Lightly (bed sheets) and moderate (pillow cases) soiled linens are washed with gentler formula and in fewer washing cycle.

Sorting make the cleaning process more efficient and maintain the quality of linen. Without sorting, linen will be over processed and it will cause wastage of detergent, energy, water and damage to the linen and fabrics.

• Sorting by linen type

Different fibers, weaves , and color require different cleaning formula and washing methods. By sorting according to the linen type we can ensure the right temperature and formula for the fabrics. For example, wool requires mild formula and gentle agitation.

• Sorting by color or linen

The white items must be washed separately from other items. Colors should not be washed with chlorine bleach. Newly colored linen should be washed separately.


STAIN REMOVAL

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Firstly, soak the linen in cold water. Then, sponge with liquid detergent and rinse. Put a few drops of vinegar in rinse water.

BLOOD
Soak in cold water then wash with detergent in warm water. If stains persist soak in lukewarm water and add three tablespoons of ammonia to a gallon of water (at least half an hour). Then wash with detergent again.

COSMETICS
Sponge with heavy detergent suds. Repeat until the stains are removed. For some fabrics, wait until it dries to produce a better result.

EGG
For egg stain never use hot water because the stain will set permanently. If dried, scrape using sponge with cold water and use detergent. Treat stains from meat juice the same way.

PERSPIRATION
Sponge fresh stains with ammonia and older one with vinegar. You also can use cleaning fluid.



c) WASHING PROCESS

WASHING PROCEDURES

After linen are sorted, laundry workers collect batches of laundry and deliver them to the washers. Linen should be weighed to ensure that washers are not overloaded. Weighing is also important for measuring OPL output. Laundry worker at some hotels pre-treat soiled linen before washing them. Pre-treating laundry takes a great deal of time and can increase labour costs dramatically. Most OPL rely on chemicals used in the washer to clean linens. OPL washing equipment requires workers to choose from as many as ten cycles and from a range of detergents, soaps, and fabric conditioners. 

FOUR BASIC QUESTIONS MAKE THESE CHOICES LESS CONFUSING AND HELPS DETERMINE THE PROPER PROCEDURE :

TYPE OF CHEMICALS
Hotel and other commercial OPL use many more chemicals to wash linens than people use in their washing's at home. The hotel laundry 'fine tunes' its chemicals to ensure an effective wash that leaves linens looking as close to new as possible. 

1. Water 

Water is the major chemical used in the laundry processes. Two to five gallons of water are used for every pound of dry laundry. Water that is perfectly safe to drink may not be suitable for washing linens. Other chemicals can be added to water to help it clean.

     2. Detergents

The term detergent is actually a catch-all word of number of cleaning agents. Synthetic detergents often contain surfactants. These chemicals aid soil removal and act as antibacterial agents and fabric softeners. Builders or alkalis are often added to synthetic detergents to soften water and remove oils and grease. Neutral or pure soaps contain no alkalis, built soups do. Built soaps are generally used on heavily soiled fabrics; pure soaps are reserved for more lightly soiled items. Hard water reduces soap's cleaning ability and also leaves a 'scum' on fabrics that cause graying, stiffness and odor. Soaps are destroyed by sours.

    3. Fabric Brighteners

Brighteners keep fabrics looking new and colours close to their original shade. These chemicals are often pre-mixed with detergents and soaps.

   4. Bleaches

Bleaches cause strong chemical reactions that, if not carefully controlled, can damage fabrics. Bleaches help remove stains, kill bacteria, and whiten fabrics.

Two kinds of bleaches :

• Chlorine 

Used with any washable, natural, colourfast fiber. Safe for synthetic and destroys others. All synthetics should be tested chlorine bleach is used.

• Oxygen

Oxygen bleach is much milder and generally safer to use and works best in hot water and on organic stains.

There are 5 conditions for the use of laundry bleach

1. Know the strength of the bleach purchased.
2. The maximum strength of bleach in a machine should never exceed 5 grams available chlorine per gallon of detergent liquid or 3 grams available chlorine per pound of load.
3. Highest temperature should be 140 F.
4. The required amount of bleach should be diluted with water before adding to the washing machine.
5. The diluted solution should be added as the machine rotates downwards, so that the bleach is carried in the washing liquid immediately and not sprinkled over the work, as would be the case, if the machine were rotating upwards.

  5. Blue

It is very difficult to retain the whiteness of white linen and washed linen. Eventually it becomes yellow white. This yellowness can be corrected by applying a film of blue in the linen, which gives it the appearance of a better white. It is not possible to make a dirty fabric look white by blueing. The effect of blue would be able to make the colour further away from white, since the blue is used to correct yellowness.

  6. Alkalis 

Alkali detergents lather better and help to loosen stains from the fabric. It is also helps neutralize acidic stains.

  7. Anticolours

Anticolours are used in rinsing to ensure that all the chlorine bleach has been removed.

  8. Mildewcides

It is used to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungus on linens for up to 30 days. These stains are damage linens due to dampness and moisture. 

  9. Sours

Sours are basically mild acid used to neutralize any residual alkalinity in fabric after washing and rinsing.

  10. Fabric Softener 

Softeners make fabrics more supple and easier to iron and fold. They are added in the final washing cycle. They reduce flat work ironing, speed up extraction, reduce drying time and reduce static electricity in the fabric.

d) DRYING

Dryers finish the process of moisture removal. The general rule is that two dryers are required for every one washer; some properties stretch this to three dryers for every two washers. Since drying time is longer than washing time, often more than twice as long, more dryers are needed for efficient operations.

• As with washers, it is important to have sufficient capacity and automatic controls.
• Do not switch on the dryer before using because it will cause hot spots and can damage the fabric.
• Tumble dryer is the most popular. It has two drums, the first drum produces the  hot air and the second spin linens after washing.
• There are three levels of temperature; low, medium and high. This dryer also has a time controller that is from 0 to 60 minutes.
• After the drying process, it must be followed by cooling process to avoid damage and wrinkling. It will also help the workers to take the linens out easily because cooling process can decrease the heat of the lines.

e) IRONING

• The purpose of ironing is to tidy up the linens and to ensure the linens are free from wrinkle.
• Sometimes pressing must be done.
• The linens such as bed sheet, pillow cases, table cloth, and napkin must be a bit moisture before putting it in the flatbed iron. Ironers roll over the item; pressers flatten the item.
• Laundry must be free of soils, well rinsed and have a slight amount of moisture when it is fed into an ironer or placed on a presser.  
• Soil and chemical residues can adhere to the equipment's surface and result in stains on the fabric or cause items to roll.

Type of Iron

a) Steam Iron

• Steam iron is not suitable for all types of linens for example 'acrylics'.
• Use a clean container to avoid dirty mark on the line.

b) Rotary Ironer / Flatbed Iron

• This machine has a spinning steel heater. The flat fabric is placed in between the steel heater and it will automatically press the fabric.
• The advantage of this machine is it saves time during pressing but it is very expensive and need a wide space for ironing.

c) Flatbed Press / Dry Cleaning

• Fold the bed sheets and tablecloths before pressing.
• Heated the machine before using.

d) Dry Iron

• All irons are equipped with the thermostat to control the electricity to the heater in different temperature.
• Make sure the linens are dry before pressing because it will make the linens rough.

f) FOLDING

• The simplest folder anchors one end of the item so that it can actually complete the drying process and iron the item even stack it. Some also have spreader function that actually spreads out the item as it is fed into the machine.
• Folders with special counters free up attendants from the tedious job of having to count out how many napkins, sheets, or tablecloths are run through before adjusting the machine to a different width and / or length. Computerized units are self-adjusting.
• A master count of work can be set each day. Units without these features require the attendant to preset the quantity to be folded, and then rest it once adjustment is made for producing a different length or width.
• Small properties that do not have large or varied volume of laundry do not need such fully automated machinery. However, in large properties, speed and accuracy increase productivity markedly.

 
g) STORING

Let the linens rest for a day before using. This will increase linen life and decrease wrinkles.

h) DELIVERING 

Transferring linens to use area.
Keep the clean and folded linens off the floor. Do not jam a stack of linens into the room attendant carts or onto shelves ( may tear or wrinkle them ).




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