LAUNDRY
In any residential establishment, a lot of dirty linen accumulates in the various units and departments. It is
essential to ensure a continuous supply of linen, which is well laundered, so that operations can be carried
out smoothly and efficiently. Linen is an expensive item, so how it will be laundered requires serious
consideration. People involved in handling linen should have some knowledge of the process. Although it
is essential that good quality linen be purchased, the life of the linen depends on the care of linen in use
and the treatment it gets at the laundry. A good laundry facility ensures the following: - Careful handling
of linen articles while laundering - Correct processing and use of a suitable laundry agent - While
materials are kept white, excessive bleach is not used - Proper counting and records maintained to avoid
shortages of linen - Speedy operations to meet with operational requirements -Sound policies regarding
damages or loss
TYPES OF LAUNDRIES
Commercial & On-site Laundry
A commercial or off-premises laundry refers to laundering activities performed outside the establishment
i.e. it is given on a contract basis to specialists in the field. In a rare circumstance, the laundry is
contracted and on-premises. The laundered items can be expected to be returned to the hotel in one to two
days.
Contracting out the laundry services comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages:
1. Heavy investment in space and equipment is avoided.
2. Reduction in labour costs.
3. Expensive technical experts need not be employed
Disadvantages:
1. Higher linen par stocks are required.
2. Reduced control over standard of cleaning.
3. Greater chances of loss and damage of linen.
4. The contractor may be less flexible in case of emergencies
On-Site Laundry
An on-site or on premises laundry refers to laundering activities carried on within the establishment by
staff employed by the hotel. The decision as to whether to buy your own laundry or to use a rental service
that provides clean linen according to a contract is difficult and many factors must be considered.
Whether there should be a laundry on the premises in a property is a decision that the management must
take long before the building is built or is extensively remodelled. Only occasionally is it possible to fit a
Module-1
LAUNDRY
AISHWARYA ARYA
2 | P a g e
complete facility into a property after construction is completed. The decision is made after careful
comparisons that take into consideration not just the fairly substantial cost of equipment, but also of
labour and supplies.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF AN ON-PREMISES LAUNDRY
Advantages
1. Time taken for laundering is reduced because transportation is eliminated.
2. Linen is readily available especially in the case of emergency requirements.
3. Control can be exercised over the wash process and the laundry agents used making the wear and
tear on linen comparatively much lesser.
4. Pilferage is reduced.
5. The ‘par’ stock required is reduced.
6. Revenue is earned from guest laundry.
Disadvantages
1. Cost of equipment and its maintenance is fairly high.
2. Related expenses like water taxes, energy costs, printing of forms, employee taxes and insurance
are high.
3. A larger number of technically qualified staff is required.
4. Investment must be justified by an adequate amount of linen.
Laundry Equipment and Machines
1. WASHER-EXTRACTORS- It consists of a large perforated drum of stainless steel that hold the
laundry encased in an external stationary shell which holds the wash water of varying capacities
ranging from 7-350 kg. Soiled linens are fed into the drum and suitable temperature, detergent
and water are introduced at appropriate times. The inner drum washes and rinses by rotating
backwards & forwards agitating the water & articles inside. The alternating of the rotating
direction ensures prevents the roping of the items in the drum. To extract water, the drum spins at
a high speed using the principle of centrifugal force. The spin will whirl out 70-80% water which
is suitable for ironing. Machines may be programmed to give specific number of different wash,
rinse or extract cycles. Water temperature is generally kept between 30-95˚C The compact mass
of hydro-extracted clothes is referred to as ‘cheese’ and the water level is referred to as ‘dip’
2. WASHING MACHINES- may be top or Front loaded, semi-automated or fully automated.
Some machines have automatic sensors to monitor, overloading, wash or excess detergent and
give alerts. These sensors are known as Fuzzy Logic.
3. LAUNDROMATS- are self-service laundries where washer-extractors and tumble dryers are
available for the individual user, operated with the help of a coin, card or token. They may be
found in public areas like hostels, apartment blocks etc.
Module-1
LAUNDRY
AISHWARYA ARYA
3 | P a g e
4. HYDROEXTRACTORS/ SPIN DRYERS- Separate spin dryers of a small capacity may also
be installed. They, too, have a dual drum like the washer-extractors but are designed solely for
hydro-extraction at high speed using centrifugal force.
5. TUMBLE DRYER- Dryers are machines that dry laundry by tumbling it slowly in a perforated
drum exposed to hot air ranging from 40ºC to 60ºC in low capacity dryers and going right upto
85ºC in an industrial dryer. There are programmes for delicate articles with low or no heat. For
speedy drying and less wrinkling the volume of the dryer should be 25% more than the
washerextractor. Most dryers have a microprocessor computer control system. The length of the
cycle is dependent on the absorbency of the fabric, the residue of moisture and whether them
fabric is to be completely dried (approximately 40 mins.)
6. CALENDER/ROLLER PRESS/ FLATWORK IRONERS- It consists of pairs of heated,
padded rollers which rotate and iron flat items of linen such as tablecloths, bed sheets etc. These
are fed in from one end, pass between the rollers and are retrieved ironed from the other end.
Only large and flat linen items like bed sheets, napkins, table cloths can be pressed and ironed. It
is not suitable for napped items such as blankets.
7. TUNNEL WASHERS/ BATCH WASHERS- It has many separate compartments to process the
linens. Linen are loaded from one end and removed from another end. These machines take linens
in large capacities example 500- 2000KG hence installed only in commercial laundries Machines
are fully automatic They are time saving and efficient.
8. FOLDING MACHINES- Machines may be semi-automated which do not exactly fold the linens
but holds the ends of the linen from the other end. Fully automated machines may fold the linens
automatically immediately after being calendered.
9. SPOTTING UNIT- This is a machine which aids in cleaning and removing stains from fabrics.
It consists of a spotting board, spotting gun, vacuum and a steam nozzle. Fabric is laid onto the
board, spotted with gun, steam is applied and the stain is removed by vacuum.
10. CABINET DRYER OR DRYING ROOM- This is a chamber where low-crease garments are
suspended on hangers and steam or hot air is circulated through the cabinet.
11. TUNNEL DRYER- Clothes are hung on conveyor belts that pass through a tunnel. Hot air
blowing in the tunnel renders the articles completely dry by the time they exit. It is a fully
automated process that also transfers the linen to the next area of activity.
12. PUFFER OR SUZIE- This is used for coats and articles that do not crease heavily. The articles
are put onto a dummy that is inflated with steam to remove creases and then with hot air to
remove the moisture created by the steam. It is ideal for ironing gowns, coats.
13. SHIRT PRESS UNIT- This consists of several units designed for pressing different parts of the
shirt which are padded and shaped appropriately. These units are:
i. Cuff, collar and yoke unit
ii. Body and bosom unit
iii. Sleever
14. HOT HEAD/ TROUSER LEGGER PRESS/ FLAT BED PRESS- This consists of a flat
padded base on which to lay the fabric along with an attached hot head which is controlled with
Module-1
LAUNDRY
AISHWARYA ARYA
4 | P a g e
the help of foot pedals to lower and raise it in a scissor like fashion to iron the garments. The
application of heat, pressure and steam helps to iron the article.
Laundry Agents/Chemicals
Detergents Strictly speaking, the term detergent can be applied to any cleaning agent. Its usage is known
generally restricted to those cleaning agents containing significant quantities of a group of chemicals
known as surfactants. A number of other chemicals are frequently included to produce a detergent
suitable for a specific use.
Essential properties A good detergent will possess many or all of the following properties:
 Reduce the surface tension of water so that the cleaning solution can penetrate the soil and
surface.
 Emulsify soil and lift it from a surface.
 Suspend soil in the cleaning solution.
 Be soluble in cold water.
 Be effective in hard water.
 Be harmless to user and surface to be cleaned.
 Rinse easily to leave no streaks or scum.
 Be economical in use
CLASSIFICATION OF CLEANING AGENTS
1) Builders- are alkaline chemicals that influence the effectiveness of a cleaning agents in one or
both of the following two ways:
 They sequester (combine with) calcium ions in hard water to form water-soluble salts,
thus preventing the adverse effects of calcium.
 Enhance the emulsifying and dispersing properties of the detergent.
 Complex phosphates e.g. Sodium Tripolyphosphate, are included in many detergents
powders and act in both of the ways described.
2) Foaming- AgentsIncrease or stabilize the foam formed by a detergent. Foaming can be used to
indicate surfactant activity, the level of foam being dependent on the amount of surfactant
active in a cleaning solution. Alkalonamides derived from coconuts oil are frequently used for
this purpose. Other foaming agents can be used to produce stable, relatively thick foams in
which the other chemicals are dispersed. The foam will stick to non-horizontal surface and the
cleaning chemicals.
3) Chelating agents- are relatively complex chemicals which are included in many liquid
detergents to sequester calcium ion. In simple terms a combination of sodium carbonate or
metasilicate and a chelating agent will have a similar effect to tripolyphosphate alone.
Tripolyphosphate is not normally included in a liquid detergent because ittends to break down