Thursday, September 8, 2011

Keep The Air Flowing

Lots of people say I keep the hot air flowing but enough about me.....

Air flow during the dry cleaning dry cycle and cool down is incredibly important. Why? There are two reasons. First, when the air flow is restricted by clogged filters and coils it extends the dry cycle. Second, you can get incomplete drying resulting in poor solvent mileage. How does it get restricted? Lint just builds up over time.

In a perfect setup here’s how it should work: The air during the dry cycle flows freely from the blower through the steam coil into the wheel then through the condenser housing (refrigeration coil) and button trap. The cycle repeats until the sensor moves to the next step.

Within this cycle are several filters. What I find when I visit plants is filters that are in poor condition and badly clogged from inadequate cleaning. All the filters should be vacuumed thoroughly and kept clean without embedded lint for proper air flow. Filters should also be replaced if they aren’t in good condition. If your filters have holes, all those little lint bunnies will pass through the holes to land in your condenser coil. This also slows air flow, reduces heat transfer, and prolongs the dry cycle.

The solution is simple. Clean all filters after each load. Keep an eye on the condition of your filters and replace those that are worn out. Once a year pull out your condenser coil and spray with coil cleaner then rinse.

The bottom line is this. If you keep your coil and filters clean, you’ll enjoy faster more complete drying times; produce more loads per hour; and save in labor, utility, and solvent costs.