In the field of professional laundry service, the washing results of white and light-colored garments are the key to service quality. Garment dullness and graying have long been a challenge for laundry practitioners. This not only affects customer satisfaction but also directly impacts the store’s professional reputation. This article will explain the root causes of this challenge and provide two professional solutions.
Reasons
Unlike water cleaning, dry cleaning uses chemical solvents (perchloroethylene) as a medium. During the washing process, there are two unavoidable problems:
- Secondary pollution in solvents
During the dry cleaning process, dissolved soluble soils cannot be thoroughly removed by filters. These soils adhere to garment fibers again as the solvent circulates through the system, becoming even gray films. White garments are sensitive to these soils.
- Static attraction the drying stage
The washing and drying stage of dry cleaning is completed in the same machine. While drying, garment friction makes strong static. Dust falling off garments, lint, and other airborne particles are attracted back onto the garment surface. Therefore, white garments may lose their brightness and feel rough to the touch.
By contrast, water cleaning removes soils and detergent residues during the washing, rinsing, and extraction. It has a better cleaning performance for white garments. Therefore, professional wet cleaning should be considered whenever possible when processing white garments. If dry cleaning is unavoidable, it is necessary to minimize the impacts through detailed process management.
Five Practical Measures
For “dry cleaning only” white precious garments, the following systematic solutions can be considered.
- Pre-treatment
Before washing, localized heavy stains (soil, oil, and perspiration stains) must be thoroughly removed. All the pockets should be carefully inspected. Adding specialty builders and anti-static agents to dry-cleaning detergents is acceptable. These products improve cleaning performance and reduce static during drying.
- Solvent cleanliness
This is important for cleaning. Ideally, using distilled solvents is preferable. At the same time, equipment maintenance cannot be ignored. Laundry shops should regularly clean working tanks, button traps, as well as filter and distill solvents. When cleaning white garments, the solvent circulation system should run through the filtration cycle to maximize the filter’s capacity.
- Color-separated washing
White and light-colored garments should be processed separately. They should never be processed with dark-colored or color-fading garments. This step can fundamentally avoid dye transfer.
- Wash cycle optimization
– If not using a regenerated filter, use a pump circulation (filter-free). This can avoid residual color pollution inside filters.
– After washing, properly extending drain time allows contaminated solvents to drain from the garments.
– Gradual extraction: In the early stage, use low spin speed or “intermittent extraction” (high-speed extraction). It can avoid residual liquid splashing caused by the drum spinning in a high speed. This also helps prevent redeposition rings from forming on the fabric.
- Air system cleanliness
Regularly clean air ducts, lint collectors, and condensers. This ensures the cleanliness of airflow and reduces floating pollutants.
Professional Wet Cleaning
With the development of fabric technology and detergents, many fabrics (such as wool, silk, and high-end blends) traditionally labeled as “dry clean only” can now be processed through professional wet cleaning. It has become a more premium and eco-friendly choice. It avoids problems caused by dry cleaning solvents. But professional equipment and technology are essential.
The success of wet cleaning depends on three points:
- Controllable gentle mechanical actions
Washing equipment must provide very gentle lifting and tumbling actions. For example, a professional wet cleaning machine operates at speeds as low as 15 rpm. It can smartly adjust the rotation-to-rest ratio. This ensures damage-free cleaning for delicate fabrics (mulberry silk and cashmere).
- Flexible stage settings
Water level, temperature, wash time, and spin speed can be set for prewash, main wash, rinsing, and extraction.
- Professional finishing process
Professional drying (low-temperature drying) and finishing are vital to restore garment shape and texture.
Professional wet cleaning brings better cleanliness, loft, and softness for white garments. It also fits with the increasingly strict global sustainability trend. For laundry service, professional wet-cleaning equipment can be a valuable investment. Kingstar SHS-2025P smart wet cleaning machine offers a safer and more eco-friendly advanced washing solution. This significantly improves the service competitiveness of laundry shops.
Q&A
Q1: How should I select between dry cleaning and professional wet cleaning for a white garment?
A1: Read the care label and then follow the manufacturer’s instructions. If the care label allows wet cleaning or water washing, prioritize wet cleaning. It can achieve better results. If stating “only dry cleaning”, you should communicate with the customer and tell them the risks of dry cleaning. After that, use the above strict dry cleaning process. For valuable garments with unknown fabrics, an inconspicuous-area test should be considered first.
Q2: What is the most important step to do dry cleaning for white clothes?
A2: Use clean solvent and separate clothes based on colors. Before each wash, flush the solvent circuit to avoid color transfer.
Q3: If equipment is limited, how can laundry stores improve cleaning results?
A3: Sort garments properly before washing. It is necessary to separate white and light-colored garments from dark garments. Pay attention to using premium laundry powder or oxygen bleach (for white cotton and linen fabrics) and ensure adequate rinsing. This is a key to removing residual detergents and avoiding garments from yellowing or graying. For fabrics that don’t require high-temperature washing, low-temperature or cold-water programs help protect fiber brightness.
