a niche slice to serve

In recent years many new types of fabrics have come onto the market offering better style, better performance, improved comfort and more protection. Less and less cotton and more synthetic fabrics requiring modified cleaning and drying processes are being used.

Laundries in the UK are, however, failing to recognise and exploit opportunities being presented by the new fabrics, notably in the area of the cleaning of PPE and industrial workwear, say industry analysts. Concern is instead being given to maintaining high levels of productivity.

This is due, in the main, to an ignorance of new legislation on recommended cleaning processes for the new fabrics. In particular, cleaning recommendations for PPE and workwear have been ignored.

Peter Cook, managing director, Peco Intenational, a fabric agent, believes that laundries need to invest in their expertise and establish a strategy to approach these new markets.

He says: “In most cases laundries are simply responding to demands for specialised fabrics offering anti-lint properties, protective characteristics or high-visibility features, when in fact they should be proactive in training their sales force to sell their expertise in the provision and the maintenance of specialised fabrics.” A lack of knowledge of best practice in cleaning specialised garments, and a failure to market their expertise, seem to be the reasons why laundries are failing to make the most of the opportunities.

High visibility garments, points out Mr Cook, are directly affected by poor laundering standards. “Poor laundering will often lower the performance below the legal standard. The key is not only in good soil removal but in getting the soil in suspension and out of the wash process with the use of a soil suspension agent.

“Otherwise the stains may be removed but the soil will reapply itself across a wider area of the garment. The garment may appear clean but there will have occurred a reduction in its illumination.” Retro-reflective tapes is an area where the wrong laundering procedures are often used, stifling performance. Retro-reflective tapes are, generally speaking, not as durable to the wash process as the garment to which they have been applied to during the manufacturing process.

Mr Cook argues that in such cases more attention needs to be paid to the laundering process. He says: “This scenario is made worse by careless laundering procedures—often high visibility garments with retro-reflective tapes are laundered in high alkaline wash processes. Alkaline will dissolve the glue which holds the tapes fabric beads together, ultimately causing a loss in reflectiveness.” Where knowledge of specialised garment laundering can be improved, more and more evident are opportunities for laundries to sell their expertise in niche areas. New European standards coming out of Brussels are, for example, presenting enormous opportunities.

Employers are now fully responsible for the provision and maintenance of PPE for their employees.

Mr Cook says: “European standard bodies have already looked at high visibility garments and flame retardancy. Currently, healthcare drapes and gowns are being looked at. Healthcare establishments will have to upgrade from cheap cotton to the use of modern synthetic barriers, which require high standards of professional cleaning.” Mr Cook says that laundries in the UK, unlike their continental counterparts, who have been highly successful at pushing their expertise in niche product areas, are missing out. “With the new fabrics on the market and the new standards being issued, there is an opportunity to seize for UK laundries. A strategy to market their technical knowledge of niche cleaning and drying processes will enable laundries to pitch themselves as specialised businesses,” he says.

Equipment suppliers and manufacturers are also beginning to recognise the opportunities in areas such as industrial workwear and PPE.

Electrolux, for example, invests heavily in developing cleaning systems which, in the case of the fire services’ are designed to restore full protection and comfort to the fire suit.

Currently, Electrolux is recommending its Nyborg fast-spin freestanding washer-extractors for washing fire service tunics and trousers. Designed to give maximum water-extraction to reduce drying time, the Nyborg machines provide four specialised wash programs to suit most requirements of the fire service including: a 40°C wash for tunics and trousers; a 50°C wash for towels and sports clothing; a pre-wash hose down program for mud and other soiling; and a HYG wash program for blood stained items and thermal disinfection.

Tom Lowes, marketing manager of Armstrong Commercial Laundry Systems, says that most fire departments launder their protective clothing in a standard washing machine on-premise or allow fire service members to wash their garments at home.

Best practice is not always adhered too. Fire service budgets are generally tight, and purchasing officers tend to prefer to invest budgets in active firefighting equipment including new apparel.

An opportunity, it seems, is available to laundries to persuade fire services of the benefits, in terms of wear, long life and maintenance of protective properties, of professional specialist laundering.

Mr Lowes says: “The important goal in laundering of fire service PPE is to remove the heavy soils that clog fibres and reduce its effectiveness. These soils are present at most fires and require cleaning after use as regular maintenance.” Mr Lowes believes that with the right knowledge and expertise most protective clothing can be effectively laundered, other than when tar, paint, asphalt or any hazardous contamination is present.

He says: “Tar and paint can be reduced through pre-spotting and scrubbing prior to washing. If hazardous materials are present then a professional handling or disposal company should be used to evaluate the level of contamination, identify whether the garments can be safely decontaminated, determine the appropriate method and put back into service.” On the equipment front, says Mr Lowes, domestic or fixed timer washers are not suitable for cleaning PPE. “Standard formulae do not account for the gross soils and many layers in today’s garment constructions.

“Different materials need different wash formulas and a washer-extractor must be fully programmable—such as the Unimac UC/UW range of washer-extractors which is capable of effectively meeting the variable needs of the fire service and other specialist requirements.”

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