Special Report Hotelier driven to ‘laundry despair’
Boutique hotelier, Gert Bach fromHillside, Ventnor, Isle ofWight, became so ‘chal- lenged’ by the laundry cleaning services on offer to hotels that he was encouraged to build his own on-site laundry. Hillside is a charming 18th century
thatched country house overlooking the Vic- torian town of Ventnor and backing ontoNa- tional Trust land at the foot of St. Boniface Down. Bedrooms aremodern andminimal- ist and offer Vi-Spring beds with goose down duvets in 400-thread count linen. Hillside recognised three years ago that it
was partly its linens that would give cus- tomers a lasting impression, so it bought its own high-quality linens and used a local laundry service together with outsourced laundry providers. Gert Bach said: “Even though we were
using an outsourced service to wash our own linens, we were still having issues re- taining control of the quality and consistency of the items coming back to us. It was start- ing to become a financial drain having to fre- quently replace costly linens that were lost, damaged and worn out all too quickly.” Hillside turned to Stalbridge Linen, spe-
cialists in linen hire for the catering, hotel and leisure industries. Although it was hiring linens, the quality was something it had very little control over and having it offsite still did not resolve the issues around stock control, and linen quality. “When chambermaids are ready tomake up the rooms for new guests and linen is in transit or not of suitable qual- ity, we have a problem,” said Bach. “There is nothingmore frustrating to a hotel than not having linen available tomake up the bed.” Weighing up the pros and cons of an on-
site solution, Hillside called in James Holmes fromSLS Solutions to provide ad- vice. During the off peak season he built a 25 squaremetre laundry behind the hotel building, removing tonnes of rock. He said: "We now have two stackableMiele PWT 6089 washer-dryer solutions and we couldn’t live without them. They are a good quality product, they are easy to operate and our linens seemto be lasting longer.”
Bach has provided his tips for hoteliers
looking to install an on-site laundry facility: • Processing your laundry in-housemeans you retain control, and stock is on-site en- suring there is always a plentiful supply. • Cut down on additional linen required. When using an outsourced solution you need at least four times the volume of stock. • Use teammembersmore effectively. When using an outsourced solution team members were spending an hour a day doing stock takes and packing and unload- ing outsourced linen. • Better
sustainability.No delivery routes needed to process laundry, lowering carbon emissions. • Life of linens prolonged.
www.miele-professional.co.uk
UnderstandingWRAS in healthcare applications
TheWater Fittings Regulations are national requirements for the design, installation andmaintenance of plumb- ing systems, water fittings and water-using appliances. Their purpose is to preventmisuse, waste, undue con- sumption or erroneousmeasurement of water and,most importantly, to prevent contamination of drinking water. They replace the formerWater Supply Byelaws, which each water supplier has administered for similar pur-
poses formany years. It is important that care home operators know about and understandWRAS regulations, especially when selecting products to use. Themain category that you will need to know about isWRAS Category 5 fluids. These are fluids thatWRAS sees
as carrying a significant health risk. Thismeans that if you are washing uniforms, fabrics and bedding that have been soiled, you need tomake sure that washingmachines and any other equipment comply withWRAS guide- lines. To comply withWRAS guidelines, the washingmachine or plumbingmust provide adequate backflow pro- tection to ensure that wastewater cannot flow back and contaminate the fresh water supply.
Top tips for compliance
• Ensure that the location of the stop-value is known for isolating the water supplied to each dedicated work area and that there is free access to each value. • No pipe or fitting shall be installed in ground contaminated or likely to be contaminated by faecalmatter or ef- fluent. • Plastic pipes and fittings shall not be used in ground contaminated or likely to be contaminated by hydrocar- bons (diesel fuel or petrol). • Ensure that the location of the watermeter and its controlling stop-tap is widely known. Also, check themeter reading regularly - high readings can indicate a burst or leaking pipe or wastage. • Pipes located in roof spaces or plumbing ducts need to be insulated for frost protection and heat ingress. Pre- formed pipe insulation should be used. Extra insulation will be required to delay freezing fromunusually pro- longed low temperatures. For further information onWRAS compliance andMiele Professional’s range ofWRAS compliant products:
www.miele-professional.co.uk.
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