In the daily operation of the laundry shops, the treatment of heavily soiled clothes is definitely one of the highly technical and complex challenges. This kind of clothes often has abundant stubborn stains. If it is not treated well, not only will the expected cleaning effect of the customer not be achieved, but it may also lead to the spread of stains, fiber damage, and even cause customer complaints and disputes. As a result, establishing a practical, systematic, and delicate laundry process for heavily soiled clothes is really important.
Effective Communication In the Clothes Collection Section
The first step in treating heavily soiled clothes is effective communication. It can effectively avoid disputes afterward. The customers should be told that some ty pes of stubborn stains: old macules, heavy oil penetration, severe pigment staining, and the solidification of protein-based stains (blood stains, milk stains), may not be completely removed due to their special nature or long retention time. In this circumstance, customers may not question the professionalism of the laundry shop if their expected effect was not achieved after washing.
Classified Washing
The heavily soiled clothes must be separated from the slightly soiled clothes. In the laundry process, with the mechanical forces and water flow, the dirt on the fibers of the clothes will be stripped off and dispersed in the detergent liquids. If the heavily soiled clothes are washed with other clothes, these highly concentrated dirt particles and pigment molecules will be embedded in the fibers or surfaces of other relatively clean clothes along with water. It will cause secondary pollution, and it may cause originally clean or slightly dirty clothes to develop new stains or turn gray and dark as a whole after being washed.
As a result, the laundry shops must establish strict classification standards to make sure heavily soiled clothes are washed in batches.
Multiple Cold Pre-wash
Before the official laundry process, doing a thorough cold water pre-wash of heavily soiled clothes can effectively enhance the decontamination effect.
By soaking and mechanical forces, cold pre-wash can effectively dissolve some water-soluble stains and avoid the denaturation and solidification of protein-based stains when exposed to heat, making them more difficult to remove. Cold water also doesn’t lead to certain stains (such as tannic acid in tea, coffee, and red wine) to bind more tightly with fibers either.
❑ Key points of operation
- Sufficient water
Make sure the clothes are completely submerged and there is enough water to dissolve and suspend the dirt.
- Change the water many times
Clothes with many stains ( garments full of mud and oil) should be pre-washed many times to achieve a good effect. After the first pre-wash, the turbid sewage should be drained ( a large amount of dirt has been carried away), and new cold water should be added to do the second and third pre-washes until the water is no longer turbid. This step can greatly reduce the burden of following the main wash and significantly improve the final cleanliness.
Several Times in Moderation
The main wash is the core step of removing the stains. Facing the heavily soiled, a more optimized strategy should be chosen.
❑ The choice of detergents
Choose heavy-duty laundry detergent or liquid detergent. These products usually contain a higher proportion of surfactants, powerful emulsifiers, dispersants, and special enzyme preparations (protease, lipase, amylase) for stubborn stains such as oils, proteins, and starches. Choose the most matching products based on the fiber composition (cotton, linen, chemical fiber) and the color of the clothes.
❑ Temperature
According to the fabric characteristics, properly increasing the water temperature can greatly increase the activity of the detergents, speed up the chemical reactions ( like saponified oils), promote the work of enzyme preparations, and improve the solubility of dirt.
❑ There are some tips:
- Check the maximum tolerable water temperature on the clothing care label.
- Confirm the type of stain (for protein stains, high temperatures should still be avoided during the main washing stage).
- Dark, easily shrunken, or delicate fabrics should be used with caution at high temperatures.
❑ The method should be adopted:
Washing multiple times and adding an appropriate amount of detergent each time is far better than putting in a large amount of detergent at one time and extending the duration of each wash. Because though the detergent concentration is high, the cleaning power will not increase linearly. Instead, it may affect the mechanical force due to excessive foam or increase the risk of residue. Excessive washing duration will increase clothing wear and energy consumption.
❑ Operation
- First main wash
Add appropriate heavy-duty detergent (Refer to the lower limit of the recommended amount of heavy scale in the product manual, or slightly higher).
Choose the proper water level, time, and water temperature for washing and draining all sewage completely.
- Dehydration
Do short and medium-speed dehydration (for example, 1 to 3 minutes). The purpose is to squeeze out the remaining dirt-rich washing liquid as much as possible to prevent it from re-staining the clothes or being carried over to the next washing cycle.
- Second Main Wash
Add water and proper detergent ( okay to be less than the first time), do the second main wash, and drain all sewage as well.
Whether to do the third main wash or not can be determined by the cleanliness level of the clothes and the dirt residue. (Generally, a second main wash is enough.)
High-efficiency Rinse
The number of rinses can be increased. The residue of the washed heavily soiled clothes is heavy and needs one or two more times of rinses than normal clothes. Enough rinse is key for preventing clothes from turning yellow and stiff or causing skin irritation.
When we use Kingstar industrial washing machines, we can set up specialized washing programs according to the above details to achieve fully automatic washing.
Conclusion
Washing heavily soiled clothes is a job that needs professional knowledge, delicate operation, and scientific progress. By honest and effective communication and proper laundry methods, washing quality and customer satisfaction can be improved.
