Last month, we shared some information about the new Unipress Hurricane Double Buck Shirt Unit that was unveiled at the 2015 Clean Show. It is an impressive piece of shirt laundry equipment and will most likely entice many operators to upgrade. Translation – that Hurricane will have to replace something, and I see an opportunity for others to upgrade to a high-quality piece of Used Unipress equipment while saving some money. Here are three great Used Unipress pieces out on the market right now:
• The Unipress NT, the first in the Lightning Series, boasts features like a contoured chest, side air bags, and dual timers. It is a sturdy and reliable piece of equipment that has stood the test of time. While this press is no longer in production, parts are still readily available should a need for repairs arise.
• A piece of Used Unipress equipment we really like is the second generation in the Lightning Series – the Unipress AP. It can produce 90 shirts per hour on a double buck and 50 per hour on a single buck. Not only does the AP produce a beautiful shirt, it also has an open design for easy maintenance, microprocessor controls with self-diagnosis, and is easy to operate.
• Unipress LS – This press is the third in the Lightning Series and is designed to produce the highest-quality shirt, increase piece count, and reduce labor costs. Features we love include foot operated clamps, scheduled maintenance notifier, and microprocessor controls with self-diagnosis.
No matter what piece of used laundry or dry cleaning equipment you are looking for, make sure you work with a reputable company that discloses what repair work has been done on the equipment. We fully disclose all repair work before selling any piece of used equipment. Additionally, many distributors sell used equipment as is. We offer a 90 day parts only warranty many of our pieces of used laundry or dry cleaning equipment.
If you need assistance selling or purchasing equipment, call Kevin Lawson at 866-885-5218 or visit our website www.tristatelaundryequipment.com.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Unipress Hurricane
I love attending The Clean Show. It provides an excellent opportunity to check out the latest in technology and to talk one-on-one with the companies we partner with. Probably the most looked at and most talked about item at this year’s show was the Unipress Hurricane Double Buck Shirt Unit. I’d like to show you a photo of this unit, but as you can see, there was a mob surrounding it the entire time.
You can check out the Unipress website to see photos and to get more detailed information about this piece of shirt laundry equipment, but let me tell you what I like about it:
- The Unipress Hurricane has a touch screen to monitor production, but that’s not the end to the touch screen’s capability. When an error occurs, the screen lets the operator bring up the manual at the point of error and then identifies the parts needed to correct the issue. This gives the operator all the information needed to pinpoint and communicate the problem to the mechanic, who can show up prepared with all the parts needed to fix the problem.
- Unipress by far manufacturers the best shirt unit on the market. That being said, no piece of equipment is perfect. In the past, there have been issues with rubber hoses cracking causing units to lose vacuum. They’ve solved that problem in the Unipress Hurricane unit by re-engineering it to eliminate rubber hoses and vacuum lines and then replaced them with aluminum tubing.
- Finally, they did some fine-tuning on the tensioning arm by both beefing it up and adjusting it towards a more natural angle.
Apparently I’m not the only one impressed by this updated shirt unit. Sales of the new Hurricane far exceeded anyone’s expectations. I can see why. It’s a fantastic piece of equipment. If you’re in the market for a similar piece of equipment, Tri-State has a great selection of used Unipress equipment.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Refrigerated Air Dryers
A recent conversation with a customer in Texas about refrigeration air dryers led me to think about a pattern we have with our maintenance calls. As you know, every press in every dry cleaning facility operates by air-activated cylinders to either raise and lower or close and open ironing heads, transfer forms, and such. Each one of those cylinders has a rubber O-ring that is affected when moisture mixes with the lubricant at the seal. The problem that many facilities experience is that the air going to the equipment has too much moisture, which ultimately creates maintenance problems and costly repairs. Unfortunately, many folks tend to ignore this issue; however, with just a little planning and effort, this issue could actually not even be an issue at all. Here are my three suggestions to help remedy the problem.
1. Installing your air compressor in the boiler room seems like a logical choice given the amount of noise it produces; however, the boiler room has both a higher temperature and higher humidity than the surrounding area. Instead of taking in ambient air from that humid environment, we suggest that you pipe the intake to pull air in from outside the boiler room.
2. Install a refrigerated air dryer. Here’s how it works – warm wet air enters the dryer and is cooled down. The moisture that was in the air condenses to water, and that water goes into a water separator bowl and filter. What’s left is dryer air, which is reheated to room temperature to keep the outside of the pipes from sweating.
3. Your last line of defense is to install an oil water separator on each press. This device is designed to keep water from mixing in with the lubricants and getting in your rubber seals and valves, ultimately leading to premature valve failure. The photo below is of a combination separator/filter/regulator.
Protect your investment. If you are having water vapor issues, contact us at tristatelaundryequipment.com or call us at 866-885-5218. We are happy to help.
1. Installing your air compressor in the boiler room seems like a logical choice given the amount of noise it produces; however, the boiler room has both a higher temperature and higher humidity than the surrounding area. Instead of taking in ambient air from that humid environment, we suggest that you pipe the intake to pull air in from outside the boiler room.
2. Install a refrigerated air dryer. Here’s how it works – warm wet air enters the dryer and is cooled down. The moisture that was in the air condenses to water, and that water goes into a water separator bowl and filter. What’s left is dryer air, which is reheated to room temperature to keep the outside of the pipes from sweating.
3. Your last line of defense is to install an oil water separator on each press. This device is designed to keep water from mixing in with the lubricants and getting in your rubber seals and valves, ultimately leading to premature valve failure. The photo below is of a combination separator/filter/regulator.
Protect your investment. If you are having water vapor issues, contact us at tristatelaundryequipment.com or call us at 866-885-5218. We are happy to help.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Graying Garments
A common complaint among frequent dry cleaning customers is that their white and light colored garments look dingy – sometimes referred to as ‘graying’. This issue comes from redeposition – a situation where the dirt, dye, spotting agents, and body oils from dirty clothes get suspended in the dry cleaning solvent. Those soils are then redeposited back on to garments in future loads. Along with the garment’s dingy look, there sometimes can be an odd odor as well.
What causes redeposition? Actually a number of things, so we’ve come up with a list of the most common causes:
• Using dirty solvent. Most dry cleaners distill their solvent constantly so that each load is cleaned in clean solvent, but there are some discount cleaners that try to save money by running this process only periodically. The result is clothes being cleaned in solvent that is at best, murky and at worst, brown. Your solvent should always be clear.
• There is a lack of solvent exchange between the drum and filters. There could be a number of issues causing this including dirty or clogged filters that don’t allow the solvent to pass through; a clogged pump strainer; a malfunctioning tank inlet/outlet, filter inlet/outlet, or wheel inlet/outlet valves; the pump not pumping because of either a clogged button trap or a malfunctioning valve at the button trap causing the pump not to have suction.
• Clogged bleeder lines for the filter housings, an issue that is often overlooked. Each filter has a bleeder line to bleed off air and ensure that the filter is completely full of solvent. These lines can clog with lint, causing the filter to not completely fill. That means you could be operating with only half the filter area of your filter system.
• Dirty carbon filters. Carbon filters are used to remove dye and should be changed every 1200-1500 pounds of cleaning each.
• Improper sorting. Not only should you sort your loads based on color, you should also sort for weight. Be sure to run lighter weight garments separately from heavier weight items.
• Overloading the machine. If the machine is too full, it won’t allow the solvent to move around the wheel properly, causing removed soil to remain in contact with garments longer.
The good news is that the graying color can many times be removed by simply cleaning the garments again in fresh solvent. If you’ve had customers comment on their whites, do some investigating. If the list above doesn’t solve your problem, then contact us at tristatelaundryequipment.com or 866-885-5218.
What causes redeposition? Actually a number of things, so we’ve come up with a list of the most common causes:
• Using dirty solvent. Most dry cleaners distill their solvent constantly so that each load is cleaned in clean solvent, but there are some discount cleaners that try to save money by running this process only periodically. The result is clothes being cleaned in solvent that is at best, murky and at worst, brown. Your solvent should always be clear.
• There is a lack of solvent exchange between the drum and filters. There could be a number of issues causing this including dirty or clogged filters that don’t allow the solvent to pass through; a clogged pump strainer; a malfunctioning tank inlet/outlet, filter inlet/outlet, or wheel inlet/outlet valves; the pump not pumping because of either a clogged button trap or a malfunctioning valve at the button trap causing the pump not to have suction.
• Clogged bleeder lines for the filter housings, an issue that is often overlooked. Each filter has a bleeder line to bleed off air and ensure that the filter is completely full of solvent. These lines can clog with lint, causing the filter to not completely fill. That means you could be operating with only half the filter area of your filter system.
• Dirty carbon filters. Carbon filters are used to remove dye and should be changed every 1200-1500 pounds of cleaning each.
• Improper sorting. Not only should you sort your loads based on color, you should also sort for weight. Be sure to run lighter weight garments separately from heavier weight items.
• Overloading the machine. If the machine is too full, it won’t allow the solvent to move around the wheel properly, causing removed soil to remain in contact with garments longer.
The good news is that the graying color can many times be removed by simply cleaning the garments again in fresh solvent. If you’ve had customers comment on their whites, do some investigating. If the list above doesn’t solve your problem, then contact us at tristatelaundryequipment.com or 866-885-5218.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Professional Wet Cleaning
When did people start cleaning their clothes? I suspect it’s when they started wearing them. Though I suppose that they didn’t clean them quite as often as they should have.
Web sources site the first form of dry cleaning being used by the ancient Romans. According to ecocleanaustin.com, they used ammonia and fuller’s earth to launder their woolen togas. Fast forward to the 19th century where Jean Baptiste Jolly, a French dye-works owner, noticed that his tablecloth became cleaner after his maid spilled lamp oil on it. He then developed a clothes cleaning service using this process which ultimately became known as dry cleaning. According to drycleancoalition.org, perc became the solvent of choice for dry cleaners in 1962. In recent years, however, the use of perc has declined as more environmentally friendly options arose.
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with David Knight of Kreussler, Inc. about an ever growing in popularity alternative to dry cleaning – professional wet cleaning. David explained that Kreussler, Inc. developed this process in 1985 as a healthier alternative to solvent-based cleaning processes. Professional wet cleaning is the practice of cleaning dry clean only goods in water. But please take note - professional wet cleaning is not like doing laundry. Professional wet cleaners use specialized equipment and processes to safely care for garments. It takes more than just having the special equipment to professionally wet clean a garment. It also takes considerable knowledge and skill as most items being cleaned are not durable goods but rather more fragile pieces. The specialized detergent must do the cleaning so as to eliminate the mechanical action that could lead to shrinkage and dye bleeding. In addition to the specialized detergent, a conditioner must be used so that the fabrics won’t get hard and rough to the hand. Finally, garments must be properly finished.
Why might you want to add a professional wet cleaning system to your dry cleaning plant? First, there are lots of garments that cannot be dry cleaned. For instance, items like beaded dresses, wedding gowns, and silk items are sometimes better suited for professional wet cleaning. Second, water soluble stains tend to come out easier in professional wet cleaning; it’s not that dry cleaning cannot remove them, it’s just that there will be a lot of spotting to get the same result. Third, more of the garments manufactured these days are washable as opposed to 30 years ago when everything had to be dry cleaned. Finally, professional wet cleaning doesn’t produce any hazardous waste.
There are lots of great companies out there that are heavily invested in wet cleaning soaps, conditioners, and processes. Besides Kreussler, companies such as Electrolux, Fabritec, Faultless, and UNX are leading the way in this exciting industry. If you are interested in learning more about professional wet cleaning, feel free to contact us. We are happy to answer any questions you might have.
Web sources site the first form of dry cleaning being used by the ancient Romans. According to ecocleanaustin.com, they used ammonia and fuller’s earth to launder their woolen togas. Fast forward to the 19th century where Jean Baptiste Jolly, a French dye-works owner, noticed that his tablecloth became cleaner after his maid spilled lamp oil on it. He then developed a clothes cleaning service using this process which ultimately became known as dry cleaning. According to drycleancoalition.org, perc became the solvent of choice for dry cleaners in 1962. In recent years, however, the use of perc has declined as more environmentally friendly options arose.
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with David Knight of Kreussler, Inc. about an ever growing in popularity alternative to dry cleaning – professional wet cleaning. David explained that Kreussler, Inc. developed this process in 1985 as a healthier alternative to solvent-based cleaning processes. Professional wet cleaning is the practice of cleaning dry clean only goods in water. But please take note - professional wet cleaning is not like doing laundry. Professional wet cleaners use specialized equipment and processes to safely care for garments. It takes more than just having the special equipment to professionally wet clean a garment. It also takes considerable knowledge and skill as most items being cleaned are not durable goods but rather more fragile pieces. The specialized detergent must do the cleaning so as to eliminate the mechanical action that could lead to shrinkage and dye bleeding. In addition to the specialized detergent, a conditioner must be used so that the fabrics won’t get hard and rough to the hand. Finally, garments must be properly finished.
Why might you want to add a professional wet cleaning system to your dry cleaning plant? First, there are lots of garments that cannot be dry cleaned. For instance, items like beaded dresses, wedding gowns, and silk items are sometimes better suited for professional wet cleaning. Second, water soluble stains tend to come out easier in professional wet cleaning; it’s not that dry cleaning cannot remove them, it’s just that there will be a lot of spotting to get the same result. Third, more of the garments manufactured these days are washable as opposed to 30 years ago when everything had to be dry cleaned. Finally, professional wet cleaning doesn’t produce any hazardous waste.
There are lots of great companies out there that are heavily invested in wet cleaning soaps, conditioners, and processes. Besides Kreussler, companies such as Electrolux, Fabritec, Faultless, and UNX are leading the way in this exciting industry. If you are interested in learning more about professional wet cleaning, feel free to contact us. We are happy to answer any questions you might have.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
An Alternative to Perc
According to Wikipedia, the Kauri-butanol value ("Kb value") is an international, standardized measure of solvent power for a hydrocarbon solvent, and is governed by an ASTM standardized test, ASTM D1133. And why is this number important? Because solvents are typically used to dissolve materials, and the higher the Kb value, the better the solution dissolves and ultimately cleans. Unfortunately if the number is too high, the solvent can pull color from and possibly damage garments.
According to a Dow MSDS sheet, the Kb value of perchloroethylene (typically called perc) is 90. In the past, the benefit of using perc as your solvent was that it was a better cleaner. Perc easily dissolves most oils, greases, and fats in the cleaning process. But over the years the use of perc has declined as more environmentally friendly options have been developed.
At Tri-State, we are all for being more environmentally friendly whether it is ensuring best practices are followed or if a client wants to seek an alternative cleaning method besides perc. Over the years, dry cleaners have been trying more eco-friendly cleaning products, but few have performed at an adequate level. Customers ultimately were disappointed with the results.
Recently a long-time customer of ours, Bowen Cleaners in Greenville, North Carolina, switched from a couple of perc machines to a Realstar 80lb Dry Cleaning machine using DF2000, a synthetic hydrocarbon fluid which has a Kb value of 27. We were happy to be a part of that process and consider Rich Volk, the owner, an extremely knowledgeable resource as to the changeover of performance and results. So far, Rich has been pleased with the results. “I grew up using perc, and it is still the best cleaner by far,” said Rich. “But using the hydrocarbon solvent and upgrading to the optional Realstar solvent heater, I’m getting better results on water-soluble stains and my spotting has gone down 50-60%.” I learned a number of things during my conversation with Rich, and here is my takeaway:
• Perc is still the best cleaner, especially at getting out oil-based stains.
• Hydrocarbon, even with the lower Kb value -- as long as you are using the right soap, is a great alternative, and it is great at getting out water-soluble stains.
• Hydrocarbon produces significantly less waste than perc. Rich was disposing 4-6 drums every 5 weeks and is now disposing 1 drum roughly every 10 weeks.
• On a down side, his cycle times have increased significantly but he has combated that by using a machine with a larger capacity.
• He is getting better mileage out of hydrocarbon solvent, so he is recognizing a cost saving there as well.
• Hydrocarbon isn’t limited to just Realstar machines; he is also using the same process in a Union machine.
• There isn’t as much federal or state red tape involved with using DF2000.
If you are in the market for a new dry cleaning machine and are debating on which solvent to go with, weigh the pros and cons of all the options out there. As you weigh your options, be sure to speak with a machine manufacturer, such as Realstar USA, who can suggest an experienced distributor to help bring the project to fruition. You may just decide that hydrocarbon could prove to be a great choice for your business just as it has been for Bowen Cleaners.
According to a Dow MSDS sheet, the Kb value of perchloroethylene (typically called perc) is 90. In the past, the benefit of using perc as your solvent was that it was a better cleaner. Perc easily dissolves most oils, greases, and fats in the cleaning process. But over the years the use of perc has declined as more environmentally friendly options have been developed.
At Tri-State, we are all for being more environmentally friendly whether it is ensuring best practices are followed or if a client wants to seek an alternative cleaning method besides perc. Over the years, dry cleaners have been trying more eco-friendly cleaning products, but few have performed at an adequate level. Customers ultimately were disappointed with the results.
Recently a long-time customer of ours, Bowen Cleaners in Greenville, North Carolina, switched from a couple of perc machines to a Realstar 80lb Dry Cleaning machine using DF2000, a synthetic hydrocarbon fluid which has a Kb value of 27. We were happy to be a part of that process and consider Rich Volk, the owner, an extremely knowledgeable resource as to the changeover of performance and results. So far, Rich has been pleased with the results. “I grew up using perc, and it is still the best cleaner by far,” said Rich. “But using the hydrocarbon solvent and upgrading to the optional Realstar solvent heater, I’m getting better results on water-soluble stains and my spotting has gone down 50-60%.” I learned a number of things during my conversation with Rich, and here is my takeaway:
• Perc is still the best cleaner, especially at getting out oil-based stains.
• Hydrocarbon, even with the lower Kb value -- as long as you are using the right soap, is a great alternative, and it is great at getting out water-soluble stains.
• Hydrocarbon produces significantly less waste than perc. Rich was disposing 4-6 drums every 5 weeks and is now disposing 1 drum roughly every 10 weeks.
• On a down side, his cycle times have increased significantly but he has combated that by using a machine with a larger capacity.
• He is getting better mileage out of hydrocarbon solvent, so he is recognizing a cost saving there as well.
• Hydrocarbon isn’t limited to just Realstar machines; he is also using the same process in a Union machine.
• There isn’t as much federal or state red tape involved with using DF2000.
If you are in the market for a new dry cleaning machine and are debating on which solvent to go with, weigh the pros and cons of all the options out there. As you weigh your options, be sure to speak with a machine manufacturer, such as Realstar USA, who can suggest an experienced distributor to help bring the project to fruition. You may just decide that hydrocarbon could prove to be a great choice for your business just as it has been for Bowen Cleaners.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Why We Seek Out Used Unipress Equipment
I love purchasing good quality used equipment. In particular, I like to purchase later model Unipress Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry Equipment. Let me just tell you why I seek out to purchase and refurbish this particular line of used equipment:
• Unipress is based in Florida, and all their equipment is Made in the USA.
• Replacement parts are readily available and reasonably priced.
• Repairs made to used pieces of equipment stick a good 5-7 years.
• Unipress carries the highest resell value.
• Most American dry cleaners are loyal to Unipress, and when they are looking to upgrade equipment they too seek out Unipress.
• Unipress spends a significant amount of money on research and development.
Speaking of research and development, Unipress is constantly tweaking and making advances in their technologies. In the last 5 years, their advances have been noticeable changes but have not been so catastrophic as to change the way a plant operates. Therefore, companies that are constantly going with the latest and greatest will benefit from these upgrades without impacting the setup of their operations. Companies that are looking to replace equipment from the mid-1990’s are recognizing significant increases in efficiencies when they upgrade to a good quality used piece of Unipress finishing equipment dated around 2005-10.
In September, I shared with you the reasons why you should consider purchasing used laundry equipment. I touched on the fact that we clean and replace any broken or worn out parts on each piece of used equipment before placing them back on the market. That’s just it – I touched on it. I am certain that I didn’t stress how seriously we take this task, and I didn’t share with you the step by step process we’ve created for each category of used equipment – used laundry equipment, used coin operated equipment, used boilers, and used dry cleaning equipment. We want every piece of equipment that comes from Tri-State to be in peak condition before it is installed in your place of business.
For information on how we go about refurbishing used Unipress Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry Equipment, and all other pieces for that matter, check out our Process for Cleaning Used Equipment found in the resources section of our web site.
• Unipress is based in Florida, and all their equipment is Made in the USA.
• Replacement parts are readily available and reasonably priced.
• Repairs made to used pieces of equipment stick a good 5-7 years.
• Unipress carries the highest resell value.
• Most American dry cleaners are loyal to Unipress, and when they are looking to upgrade equipment they too seek out Unipress.
• Unipress spends a significant amount of money on research and development.
Speaking of research and development, Unipress is constantly tweaking and making advances in their technologies. In the last 5 years, their advances have been noticeable changes but have not been so catastrophic as to change the way a plant operates. Therefore, companies that are constantly going with the latest and greatest will benefit from these upgrades without impacting the setup of their operations. Companies that are looking to replace equipment from the mid-1990’s are recognizing significant increases in efficiencies when they upgrade to a good quality used piece of Unipress finishing equipment dated around 2005-10.
In September, I shared with you the reasons why you should consider purchasing used laundry equipment. I touched on the fact that we clean and replace any broken or worn out parts on each piece of used equipment before placing them back on the market. That’s just it – I touched on it. I am certain that I didn’t stress how seriously we take this task, and I didn’t share with you the step by step process we’ve created for each category of used equipment – used laundry equipment, used coin operated equipment, used boilers, and used dry cleaning equipment. We want every piece of equipment that comes from Tri-State to be in peak condition before it is installed in your place of business.
For information on how we go about refurbishing used Unipress Dry Cleaning and Shirt Laundry Equipment, and all other pieces for that matter, check out our Process for Cleaning Used Equipment found in the resources section of our web site.
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