Understanding Laundry

Definition
Types
Load study
List of Laundry Equipments
Category
Process
Elements
Wash wheel
Wash Cycle
Chemicals
Spotting chemicals
Wash formula
Wash steps
Laundry machines
Fabrics
Linen Basics
Common Laundry Symbols




Definition

Laundry is an art and a science.

It is an art because it requires a certain degree of
skill or perfection in an individual to complete the
job.

It is a science because it involves the use of water,
chemicals, machines and modern techniques
which is based on scientific principles.

Types of Laundry
There are five types of laundry
1. Institutional laundry or in house laundry such as
hotel and hospital laundry or any laundry which is on
premise. Such laundrys may or may not cater to
customers other than to those in the institutions in
which they are housed. These laundrys are usually
spread on an area measuring more than 2000 sq.ft
and make uses of industrial laundry equipment. For
e.g. Hyatt Regency Laundry, Bombay Hospital laundry.

2. Commercial laundry or stand alone laundry are
establishment which caters to anyone and everyone
purely on commercial terms and conditions. These
laundrys are slightly bigger than the institutional
laundry as they cater to more than one client at a time.
For e.g. Akash Laundry, Leach and Weborny,
Bandbox etc.,
3. Rental laundry are laundrys that not only cleans the
linens but also supplies the linens on rental basis to
hotels and other institutions at a nominal charge. Such
kind of laundry exists mostly in Europe and the US.

4. Retail laundry are laundrys that are very small in size
and processes only personal garments or customer
clothing's. For e.g. Three star laundry, Beauty Arts etc.,

5. Laundromat or coin operated laundry are laundrys
with washing and drying facilities which is normally
operated by the customer themselves. This is a small set
up usually in a mall or a petrol pump where people can
walk in and wash their dirty linens. One example in India
is the IFB Laundromat located at several petrol station in
Mumbai.
Laundry capacity
For an housekeeper it is very important to understand
the load generations in the hotel based on which the
laundry size can be determined.

Therefore one must know the following:
1. Washing capacity

2. Drying capacity (bath linens, uniform& guest laundry)

3. Pressing capacity (staff uniforms, guest laundry)

4. Ironing capacity (bed linens, f&b linens)




Washing capacity: The size of any in house laundry is directly
proportional to the number of rooms in that hotel. Therefore, if an
Hotel is having 300 rooms then we can do the following calculations.

Ttl no. of rooms x load generation/room = total washing capacity

300rooms x 10kgs = 3000kgs per day

Please note that loads generations per room includes everything
such as your room linens, f&b linens, staff uniforms and also your
guest laundry.

10kgs per room is an international benchmark for determining the
size of an in house laundry. Once you have identified your washing
capacity, you can now easily determined your drying, pressing and
ironing capacity.

Drying capacity: 60% of the washing capacity.
Pressing capacity: 20% of the washing capacity.
Ironing capacity: 40% of the washing capacity.

Example: Hotel in house laundry is operated on a 24 hour basis.
Total load per day = 3000 kgs (100% occupancy)
Average wash cycle = 1.20 hrs
Actual washing hours in a day = 24/1.20 hrs = 20 hrs
Thus washing capacity required per hour = 3000kgs/20hrs
150kgs per hour

The Drying Capacity required per hour (60% of washing capacity)
90kgs per hour

The pressing capacity required per hour (20% of washing capacity)
30kgs per hour or 30kgs x 2pcs(average 2pcs/kgs) =
60pcs per hour

The ironing capacity required per hour (40% of washing capacity)
60kgs per hour or 60kgs x 3.5pcs(average 3.5pcs/kgs) =
210 pcs per hour




List of Laundry Equipments
Based on the above the preceding figures laundry equipment can be
determined.

Washer Extractors:
55 kgs (2nos) + 25 kgs (1 no) + 10 kgs (1no)

Tumbler Dryers:
35kgs (2nos) + 20 kgs (1no)

Dry Clean Machine:
12-15 kgs (1 no)

Flat Work Ironer:
3000mm x 800mm x 1 roll chest heated (1 no)

Steam Utility legger:
2 nos

Cotton Utility legger:
2 nos

Cuff & Collar:
1 no

List of Laundry Equipments (contd)
Form Finisher: 1 no

Spotting Board: 1 no

Ironing Board: 1 no

Marking Machine: 1 no

Wet Linen Trolleys: 6 nos

Dry Linen Trolleys: 6 nos

Folding Tables: 4 nos

Mobile Linen Trolley: 4 nos

Flapping Table: 2 nos

Weighing Scale: 1 no

Double Bowl Sink: 1 no


Categories of laundry
Laundry job can be categorize into three
1. Flat
2. Plush
3. Form
Flat category : All room linens, F&B linens or guest laundry that
are flat such as bed sheets, pillow covers, table clothes,
napkins, etc., is washed and ironed without drying.

Plush category : All bath linens such as towels, bathrobes, etc.,
that are washed, dried and folded and need not be ironed.

Form category : All staff uniforms and guest laundry which has
got a shape and form such as trousers, shirts, dresses which is
washed, dried and pressed.
Laundry Process
The following are the main process in a laundry job.
1. Receiving
2. Registering
3. Marking
4. Segregation and Weighting
5. Pre-spotting
6. Wetcleaning/Drycleaning
7. Post spotting
8. Drying
9. Pressing/ironing
10. Checking
11. Sorting and packing
12. Billing
13. Delivering
Laundry elements
The important elements for a successful laundry
wash process are
1. Mechanical Action
2. Water
3. Chemicals
4. Temperature
5. Time




Chemical
Industrial washing
requires 9 -11 ph.
Time
It will depend upon
the fabric and
soilage.
Water
Ideal water condition
would be hardness
60ppm and upto 100 tds
Temperature
Ideal temperature will
depend upon the
fabric and soilage.
Wash wheel
Laundry Chemicals
Main laundry chemicals are
1. Emulsifier (Lauryl, octyl, nonyl phenol etoxylate
alcohol)
2. Detergent (Sodium silicate, Acid Slurry,
Sodium bicarbonate, Sodium
sulphate)
3. Alkali (Caustic Soda, Soda Ash)
4. Bleach (Sodium hypochlorite, Sodium
Hydrosulphide, Hydrogen peroxide,
Sodium perborate)
5. Neutralizer (Sodium bisulphite, )
6. Softener (Fatty acids, Silicone)
7. Solvents (Perchloroethylene, Trichloroethylene)
8. Enzymes (Amylase, Lipase, Proteas, Cellulase)

Reputed brand in laundry chemicals are Johnson Diversey, Ecolab,
Rexodan and Minikem (Indian brand)

Laundry spotting chemicals
Laundry spotting chemicals are used based on the nature of the
stain, fabric and colour.
Aqueous and Non-aqueous
Aqueous spotting chemicals are used for water based stains such
as blood, food, rust, dyes, earth etc., For e.g. ammonia, hydroflouric
acid, bleach, oxalic acid, acetic acid, sodium hydrosulphide, sodium
thiosulphate.

Non-aqueous spotting chemicals are used for oil based stains
such as ink, grease, paints, lip-sticks etc., For e.g. amyl acetate,
carbon tetrachloride, thinner and other forms of solvent.

Reputed brands available in the market are A.L.Wilson, Bussats,
Rexodan, Ecolab.

In India most of the chemicals are home made such as Green
mixture, BSR, HF, Cuff&Collar, Hydro powder etc.,


Typical washing formula
While making any washing formula one needs to consider the
quantity, soilage, fabric content and the colour. A simple F&B
linens wash formula would consists of the following steps.
1. Pre wash/Emulsifications
2. Main wash
3. Bleach
4. Rinse 1
5. Rinse 2
6. Neutralizing/Sour
7. Starching
8. Final Extract
Wash steps
Steps Time Water Level Temp Chem Process
Prewash 5 min Warm Medium 40 C Clax 200s Emulsifying
Main wash 12 min Hot Medium 80 C Clax 100 OB
Clax Build
Washing
Bleach 6 min Warm Medium 45 C Chlorine
Bleach
Bleaching
Rinse 1 3 min Cold High n.a. n.a. Rinsing
Rinse 2 2 min Cold High n.a. n.a. Rinsing
Sour 5 min Cold Medium n.a. Clax
neutralizer
Neutralizin
g
Starch 4 min Warm Medium 40 C Maize starch
powder
Starching
Extract 6 min n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Extracting
Laundry Equipments
The most commonly used laundry machines are
1. Washer/Extractor Auxiliary equipment
2. Dryers 1. Boiler
3. Dry clean machine 2. Compressors
4. Marking Machine 3. Dry set vacuum
5. Spotting machine
6. Cuff & Collar press Supporting Plant
7. Body & Bosom press 1. Water softening/RO plant
8. Mushroom press 2. Effluent treatment plant
9. Cotton utility legger
10. Steam utility legger Transporting
11. Form finisher 1. Wet Linen Trolleys
12. Touch up board 2. Dry Linen Trolleys
12. Flat work ironer 3. Mobile Linen Trolleys
13. Bed sheet folder 4. Folding Tables
14. Bagging machine 5. Linen Flapping Trolley
15. Shirt Body Unit 6. Pigeon Holes Rack
16. Towel Folder
17. Uniform conveyor

Fabrics
For a successful laundry operation it is very important to
have a good knowledge about the fabrics because that is
the main responsibility of the laundry.
There are various kinds of fabrics that are used in the
hotels for different purposes such as

Linens - used for making especially room linens
such as bed sheets, pillow covers, duvet
covers etc., This is mostly derive from the flax
plant.
Cotton - used for making towels and especially F&B
linens such as table cloths, dinner napkins,
trolley covers etc., This is derive from the
cotton plant.


Blend These fabrics are mixture of synthetic and
natural or two different kinds of synthetic
yarns used mainly for stitching uniforms,
upholstery and drapery. For e.g.
polycotton, terrycotton, polyviscose, etc.,

Classifications of fabrics
Fabrics are classified into the following
Natural Silk, Cotton, Wool, Linen, Jute

Synthetic/man-made Polyester, Nylon, Spandex,

Regenerated Viscose

Linen Basics
It is important to know the basic parameters while
selecting any linens for use.
Bed linen
1. Count
This determine the fineness of the fabric. The higher
the count, the finer the fabric. The acceptable standard
in a star hotel is 40/40.
2. Reed pick (weft)
This determine the strength and the stability of the
fabric. The higher the reed pick better the quality. The
acceptable standard is above 300 reed pick per square
inch for bed sheets and around 250 for f&b linens.
Here it is important that the threads counts are equal
vertically and horizontally to maintain the dimensional
stability.





Toweling-
Toweling fabrics are specially made as it consists of a base
clothes and a piled surface. Therefore, a good toweling cloth
will have the following parameters.

2. Base cloth
The base cloth must have a minimum reed pick measuring 115
to 118 counts per square inch.

3. Piles length
The piles length must be minimum 5.2 to 5.5 mm in height.

4. GSM
It is also know as grams per sq.meter. Higher the GSM thicker
the towel. Hotels normally use 600 to 650 GSM. For bath mat
the GSM will be slightly higher around 800 GSM.


Common Laundry Symbols
60c
Cl

Any questions?????
Thank You