Products Sun spots
Tanning lotions are a growing blot on the linen landscape, leaving serious stains that often cannot be removed without expensive treatment. The worst offenders are developer tanning creams, which can soil fabrics during the three to eight hours they take to develop. TSA guidance advises hotels to educate guests to avoid contact with hotel linen during the tanning process by wearing onesies, and to shower off any residue after the development time. Another tactic is to encourage guests to switch to residue- free alternatives.
“Each year the hotel industry loses over 12.5 million pieces of linen” David Stevens,
Textile Services Association
laundry detergents will also cut costs and time, advises Berat Onur, UK and Ireland country sales lead at P&G Professional. Its Ariel Pro- fessional laundry system of liquid detergent, whitener and oxygen-based stain remover is designed to clean efficiently on shorter cycles at colder (30ºC) temperatures. “A simple step of switching to cold can save up to 40% on washing machine bills,” adds Onur. Striking a balance between stain removal
and sensitive skin, Lenor Professional fabric conditioners now include plant-based, Skin Health Alliance-accredited options that should not irritate guests’ skin. The migration from harsh, chlorine-based formulas can be seen in Micro-Fresh’s eco- friendly and hypoallergenic anti-microbial technology that uses ion exchange to curb the growth of odour-causing bacteria, viruses and fungi. This keeps bedding, clothing and textiles fresher and hygienic for longer, mean- ing less frequent laundering. The solution is either impregnated into fabrics during man- ufacture (working for 100-plus washes) or added to each laundry load. Meanwhile, JLA reports rising demand
for its eco- and fabric-friendly Otex dis- infection system, which injects ozone into JLA washers via a wall-mounted unit to eliminate harmful bacteria, viruses, moulds and yeasts. It works efficiently on short-
cycle cool washes (reducing hot water usage by 80% and electricity consumption by 60% compared to longer, hot- ter washes), expands fibres for a brighter, softer, fluffier finish and helps prolong linen life, especially delicates.
44 | The Caterer | 22 March 2024
Moral fibre Modern fabrics have evolved to com- bine guest-centric comfort with more effi- cient and sustainable laundering. Richard Haworth’s Biarritz knitted bathrobe is an 88% cotton/12% polyester blend designed to be soft, durable, and chemically-safe (it has Oeko-tex 100 certification) but is lightweight to reduce water use and drying times. Simi- larly, its lightweight Como 100% cotton sateen bed linen range has a high-comfort 300 thread count but is easy to maintain. “Laundry is one of the oldest industries
in the world, and the inherent nature of the operation is a circular model. The industry always aims to wash textiles as many times as possible while maintaining the functionality of the linen,” explains Stevens. A key focus of the TSA’s sustainability
drive is working with the hospitality indus- try to reduce the staggering volumes of linen
Washing to a tee
Stoke by Nayland, a luxury hotel, golf and spa resort near Colchester, turned to Girbau UK to upgrade its on-premise laundries to cope with increased laundry volumes. The three 25kg-capacity HS-6023 washers
and three 37kg ED 660 gas dryers mean the resort can now process all its hotel and spa laundry, outsourcing only specialist flatwork The washers process 15-16 daily loads of
hotel towels in 45-minute cycles (spa towels take longer) and six to eight daily loads of hotel linen and restaurant napkins. The dryers can tackle 75lb loads in 25 minutes and their textile-friendly humidity control automatically activates cool-down when it senses the clothes are dry.
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that are lost, stolen, damaged or irretrievably stained each year at huge cost to operators and the environment. “Each year the hotel industry loses over
12.5 million pieces of linen, which equates to 61% of the total stock of linen and towel- ling,” says Stevens. “Indeed, 50% of rented linen products last less than four months, well below the two-year working life they could achieve if looked after correctly.” Replac- ing this lost stock would take the equivalent of 937 million bathtubs of water just to grow the cotton and generate 39,000 tonnes of carbon. ‘Pasha the Pillow’ is the first of TSA’s planned series of animated video guides for hotel and laundry staff illustrating how cor- rect handling will prolong the lifespan of linen – meaning not using pillows as substitute cleaning cloths or using duvets to prop open bedroom doors. Jones concludes: “With the laundry room
being one of the most resource-intensive area of a hotel, it’s even more important that laun- dry teams work alongside the machines in order to fully optimise the process. For exam- ple, one of the simplest ways to increase a dry- er’s lifespan and reduce energy usage is to remove any build-up from the lint filter after every cycle. It should come as no surprise, but people are the most important part of the laun- dry process, after all.”
JLA
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PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/NEW AFRICA
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