Formulating solutions for quality results

Many laundries have acted to decrease their WECO (Water, Electricity, Chemicals and Oil) costs and the detergent companies have been working closely with both laundries and machine manufacturers to achieve savings in these areas.

Mike Kalli of Ideal Manufacturing says that the company’s principal objective is to develop products and ideas that address concerns about water and energy consumption and diversification.

As a result the company has formulated a complete range of eco-friendly, low temperature products for the commercial laundry industry.

Christeyns says that the ever-increasing pressures mean that laundries will need to adopt systems that save resources and use chemicals efficiently, both for the operational costs’ benefit and on ecological grounds.

The company says that chemical specialists, such as itself, are broadening their expertise to include energy and water management systems as well as developing detergents and additives that operate at low temperatures and providing more accurate dosing systems.

Ecolab recognises that customers are becoming more focussed on environmentally friendly products that save energy and therefore reduce costs. It says that laundries now look for partners that can provide solutions that combine economic efficiency, care for the environment and profitability and help to ensure a sustainable future.

The company stresses the importance of training laundries not only in the correct use of chemicals but also in disposing of them correctly. Ecolab takes its responsibility for training its customers very seriously.

Mark Allsebrook, commercial manager at Rexodan International, says that the company has developed a range of laundry chemicals to cope with wash temperatures between 40 – 90C to suit a range of wash classifications.

Christeyns

Christeyns offers a complete range of laundry detergents in both powder and liquid forms as well as an extensive range of auxiliary products including degreasants, bleaches, starches and sours.

Christeyn’s Sanoxy process saves water and energy. The Sanoxy Plus system takes the savings a step further by recycling the fresh water used in the pre-wash and as a result it can reduce water consumption to less that 3litre/kg.

Christeyn’s Majestic and Crystal high-performance powders are designed to be used at low dosages.

The company also produces high quality pumps and central liquid dosing systems that have built-in Management Information Systems (MIS). It can provide both single pump dosing systems for decentralised applications and modular multi-pump dosing systems such as L5000E and L5000XL for individual, large and small washer-extractors.

DF1 and DF2 are centralised a centralised multi-pump dosing systems for washer-extractor lines and these also have built-in management information systems. The FluxMaster is a modular centralised multi-pump dosing system complete with integrated pumps and a small control unit.

KIV Industrial is a multi-pump, central dosing system with an integrated and extended management information system for commercial laundries with washer-extractors and tunnels.

Rudi Moors, Christeyns’ corporate marketing director for laundry technology, says the company plans to set up a department that will help the company serve its customers even more efficiently. The Belgian company will introduce several innovations in dosing and water and energy management at this month’s Expo Detergo.

Ecolab

Ecolab aims to set sustainable standards and is forming partnerships with commercial laundries and textile companies as part of this strategy.

Caterina Galani, marketing and product manager for the UK and Ireland, says the company is concentrating on liquid products rather than powders.

Its main liquid detergents are Triplex Emulsion and Turbo Emulsion. Triplex Emulsion is a fully-built detergent that is especially effective against oil, dirt and soiling found on workwear that also protects the fabric’s colour.

The Triplex system is designed to meet particular industry requirements such as preserving the reflective properties of high-vis workwear or complying with HACCP requirements for food processing companies.

Turbo Emulsion is a base detergent that is phosphate-free, can be used at 40C and dissolves stains and soiling, even in hard water.

In addition to liquid laundry detergents, Ecolab’s range includes fully-built detergents, specialist products such as alkaline boosters, surfactant boosters, starches, softeners, liquid neutralisers and bleaches.

Its dosing and energy-saving systems include turbo pumps, the Ecopump dosing system, Aquacycler, Energy and Vent optimisers and the HELMS laundry management system.

Perhaps Ecolab’s most significant development this year is the launch of PERformance 40, the latest addition to the company’s modular PERformance system.

PERformance 40 allows laundry to be washed at 40C. It disinfects in accordance with the disease prevention guidelines of Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

Previously this could only be achieved in washer-extractors with Eltra 40 dosed in powder form. Now low temperature washing and disinfection can be carried out in tunnel washers using Ecolab’s Dermasil emulsion and Ozonit 40 disinfection products.

Once the operating temperature is reached using existing heat sources (provided by Ecolab's Aquavent), the washing process does not need further energy inputs.

Ideal Manufacturing

Ideal Manufacturing, the UK’s largest independent specialist manufacturer of professional laundry and drycleaning chemicals, is celebrating 30 years’ experience in the formulation and application of laundry detergents and detergent sanitisers.

The company says it was the first to formulate effective fully-built powder detergents and to introduce fully-built automatically injected liquid detergents into the commercial laundry sector.

Recent developments include Ecowash LT, a fully-built high performance powder designed for general low temperature washing. It can be used with a low temperature emulsion for heavy soiling. It is also fully biodegradable.

EcoSour is a specially formulated, environmentally friendly, organic acid neutraliser.

EcoEmulsifier is a specially formulated economy emulsifier for general use in removing fats and grease. It contains biodegradable non-ionic surfactants, naturally derived solvents and aliphatic solvents.

Natural Liquid Starch is a long-life natural liquid concentrate starch for use with cotton and combination fibre fabrics.

Coloursafe is a specially formulated readily-soluble powder for effective stain removal, which can be used to recover stocks of mildewed linen.

Ideal produces the following products for liquid feed systems:

Solar is a specially formulated detergent for effective soil removal on all fabric types. It can be used with Ideal’s Alkali Boost on heavily soiled fabrics.

New Prime is a fully-built detergent with a concentrated blend of low-foaming non-ionic surfactants, polyphosphates, alkalis, optical brightener and soil suspending agents.

An effective development of Ideal’s Prime detergent, New Prime is designed for use on cotton and polycottons and for all types and levels of soiling. It is best dispensed through the Ideal Auto Feed injection system.

Purple Bio is a liquid soap detergent for all fabric types, best used with Alkali Boost or Pensol for heavy soiling and Ecowash LT Liquid is a built detergent for use at lower temperatures.

Ideal also produces the following products for powder feed systems:

Excel RJ is a fully-built detergent system incorporating a range of anionic and non-ionic surfactants, alkalis, sequesterants, soil suspending agents and optical brighteners.

Ecowash Green is a built detergent for industrial applications, which can be used at low temperatures. It consists of fully biodegradable surfactants and non-phosphate sequesterants.

Extra PD is formulated for general use. It is particularly effective for polyester regeneration and for removing soiling from catering and engineering garments.

Extra Phos is a built industrial powder that is suitable for use in very hard water.

Ideal also produces Pensol, an alkali booster for improved soil suspension and removal and Alkali Boost, a non-caustic booster alkali blend for removal of suspension and hardness salt.

Kreussler

Kreussler’s Christoph Richter says that cleaning agents are expected to produce increasingly higher standards of hygiene.

Laundries are also looking much more closely at their costs and as water and power charges continue to rise, laundries need chemical suppliers to deliver wash processes that are cost-effective and also produce quality results.

Kreussler’s aim is to achieve the best possible effectiveness with maximal use of active ingredients, minimal material consumption and best possible conservation of resources and environment.

The company developed its Derval Energy system to provide the best combination of cost reduction, cleaning quality, and textile life. it can be used at temperatures from 60 – 90C,

The system consists of Derval Power liquid detergent, wash boosters Derval Energy and Derval Bright and Ottalin Peracet active bleach.

This modular system provides, efficient, economical cleaning for various laundry classifications and soiling levels.

Derval Power is a highly concentrated liquid detergent that has the cleaning power of a powder and includes a basic optical brightener. It is suitable for cottons and for blended fabrics.

Kreussler says that just 3.5 – 6ml of Derval Power per kg of dirty laundry is sufficient to guarantee clean and hygienic results. The Derval Bright booster has been developed especially for white workwear in the food processing and the health sector, while Derval Energy can be used at low temperatures for coloured clothing soiled with the oils and greases used in machine construction.

It is highly concentrated, so that even low doses provide excellent results. Derval Energy provides high performance at 40C, helping to prolong textile life and retain protective finishes.

Reducing water and power consumption lowers costs and Kreussler’s Ecosan process uses only 4.5litre of fresh water per kg of dirty laundry. The process recovers water from the press and from the rinse and re-uses it in the pre-wash and main wash cycles.

Ottalin Ecosan is added to the water in the press tank to eliminate residual active oxygen from the press water before it is re-used in the pre-wash cycle.

This allows the press water to be used again in the pre-wash cycle without limitations. Ottalin Ecosan removes protein and blood-based stains in the pre-wash cycle and does not contain any organic sulphur compounds.

Compared with conventional laundering processes, the Ecosan process can save about 35% of the costs for water and power.

Further savings can be made when the Ecosan process is used with the advanced heat-exchangers offered by Kreussler

P&G Professional

P&G Professional, a leading manufacturer of professional laundry and cleaning solutions, has a product range specifically formulated to meet the needs of commercial laundry operators.

Professional Ariel is designed for high standards of cleaning and disinfection. It contains an enzyme that breaks down protein to deal with stains such as food and milk.

Ace A provides superior cleaning, optimising the wash conditions. It has been specifically developed for use in combination with Ace B, a formula developed for the removal

of persistent bleachable stains. Customers can also use the bleaching power of Ace C when washing whites, as it provides noticeably better whiteness, while Ace D is said to be particularly effective on greasy staining or soiling.

P&G Professional Starch, and Professional Lenor are also part of the range and complement all the cleaning solutions offered.

P&G Professional can advise on auto-dosing equipment and also provides a full customer support package, including a comprehensive range of added value services.

P&G Professional will help customers decide on the best laundry system to meet their specific requirements and will give an immediate response to customer enquiries.

Rexodan International

Rexodan International is a British manufacturer of high quality commercial and on-premise

laundry chemicals.

Rexodan’s Multi-Temp Technology reduces the demand for additional products.

The Multi-Temp is suitable for use in commercial and on-premise laundries, where both detergent costs and quality results are critical.

The range was introduced at the UK’s Society of Hospital Linen Service and Laundry Managers conference in Buxton in April and is now available to customers throughout the UK and Eire and to many international customers.

Multi-Temp Laundry Detergent is a high performance, fully-built, non-biological liquid detergent, specially formulated for washing a wide range of classifications. It does not contain enzymes, phosphates or bleaches and is suitable for delicate fabrics.

Multi-Temp Laundry Boost, a highly concentrated, liquid alkali booster and stain buster activator, gives extra outstanding soil removal and can be used on both whites and colourfast fabrics.

Also in the range are Multi-Temp Laundry Colour, a non-biological, liquid detergent which is free of OBA, enzymes, phosphates and bleaches; Multi-Temp Rexo-san, a last rinse sanitiser which kills MRSA and other bacteria and Multi-Temp Laundry Emulsifier, which breaks down and removes protein stains such as those from blood, milk and food. The range is complemented by Laundry Fabric Softener, Liquid Starch and Liquid Sour.