Friday, November 15, 2013

Commercial Washer Extract Speeds

Spin, extract speed, G-force -- what does all that mean to your business? Those words are crucial in having a more efficient commercial laundry production, reducing utility costs, and reducing your impact on the environment. Today I want to touch on the first two benefits.

I’ve been in the commercial laundry and dry cleaning business for almost 30 years now. I remember when utility expense hardly impacted the bottom line, perhaps because our volume was so high that we operated full force all day. But with the change in fabrics and dress style, volume isn’t what it used to be. And as a result, many of us may need to consider making changes to improve efficiencies. One way to do that is by updating our commercial washers.

Today’s commercial washers are in one word – impressive. They offer options that can fit any situation and budget. They have extract speeds, which is really the key to production and energy savings, anywhere from 90 to 450 G-force. Of course the higher the G-force, the higher their cost. But in evaluating washers, you must consider the long-term payback in both production time and utility savings. For example, a 100-G extract machine’s all cotton load will require around 39 minutes to dry in correctly matched dryer to washer while a 450-G extract soft mount washer, the load will dry in around 27 minutes. Those 12 minutes per load, over the course of a day, can make a huge difference in pounds per shift, per person and so on.

There is so much to discuss in relation to the latest in commercial washers and extract speeds. Look forward to future posts where we will examine more closely how these savings work and a bonus benefit – longer linen life due to reduced drying times.