GETTING THE DIRT ON LAUNDRY ISSUES
by Chris McBeath

The Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini once remarked, “Give me a laundry list and I’ll set it to music.” Although this might have been a boastful whim in the 1800s, there is no doubt that today a modern laundry can run with an orchestral harmony Rossini would have been hard pressed to imagine. Laundry management has become an art; equipment is a must-change every five years to keep up with technology, and eco-aware compounds are finally beginning to find an edge over their chemical counterparts. 

Unfortunately, too many hoteliers still regard the laundry as a necessary evil where washers are ergonomic hazards-in-waiting and steam pressers recreate tropical hell holes. But as profit margins, environmental issues, changing demographics, and labour shortages come under increasing scrutiny, hoteliers are having to rethink “The Big L”. And in doing so, they are seeing significant returns in water conservation, lower utility bills, and a happier, albeit smaller, laundry workforce.

Toxic or Non-Toxic
Most properties start their laundry review with operational green steps such as earth-friendly cleaning products, low-flow systems for faucets, and towel/linen reuse that guests now take for granted. Indeed, for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants that operates over 40 properties across North America, the use of non-toxic cleaners alone eliminated over 48,596 gallons (974 bathtubs) of toxic cleaners from its water supplies in just one year.

The perception that green cleaning products are expensive and do not perform as well as traditional cleaning products might have been true of the first generation of green, but with the emergence of government mandates and regulatory guidelines, green cleaning is becoming a real and viable option. 

In a high volume, traditional laundry, however, non-toxic doesn’t always prove an acceptable alternative, and chemical blends continue to be the bane of most Directors of Housekeeping. At Vancouver’s Listel Hotel, controlling the degree to which chemicals are used is done via automatic dispensers and machine cards that eliminate the problem of mixing and inconsistency. 

At the Magnolia Hotel in Victoria, the solution is in finding the right balance, which Judith Browning, Housekeeping Manager, admits can be frustrating. “To date, green products simply aren’t meeting our expectations so until they do, chemicals are still a part of the mix, although we’ve changed the mix so we have been able to cut back considerably without impacting the bright, white results we want.” When the Magnolia opened, it used an offsite commercial service but quickly switched to an onsite laundry. “A hotel’s needs are as diverse as they are particular, and when some of our robes were returned to us in shreds, we realized the need for hands-on control,” Judith explains. The Magnolia laundry can process some 1,500 pieces a day in sheets, towels, and face cloths. 

Performance Efficiencies
A purpose-designed laundry has its advantages, which for the Marriott Victoria, has helped this two-year old property achieve Number One status for housekeeping standards, in the entire Marriott family, for two consecutive years. More than that, Executive Housekeeper Richard DeZoysa, is turning the laundry into a profit centre. “Our state-of-the-art facilities have enabled us to outsource our services to other hotels,” he says. “We have an innate understanding of a hotel’s unique needs and a track record of excellence, so the consistency and empathy of our service can be very appealing to smaller properties that have neither the space nor budget to create their own laundry.” 

“Equipment is key to controlling operational costs”, says the manager of a Vancouver-based laundry firm. “It influences energy consumption, space efficiency, labour, and water conservation (saving as much as 40% water, which is especially important in drought-prone locations).” 

The Senior Sales Consultant another laundry company agrees, “Because hotels are using higher quality sheets with increased thread counts, delicate covers as well as more pillows and duvets, equipment manufacturers have responded with energy-efficient commercial size models that have multiple programs for various cycles.” Laundries often experience high turnover and training issues, so equipment with multiple, easy-to-program features makes it easier for in-house staff. “The demand for finishing equipment is on the rise in part because of upgraded sheets and pillows, and in part because of an increasingly well travelled and well heeled traveller. Ironers deliver a standard of product guests have come to expect. Even workwear has a front-of-house visibility these days so maintenance overalls, for example, need a crisp crease.” 

Textiles, too, are much more multi-dimensional. Once cotton was the fabric du jour, but now poly blends and eco-textiles proliferate, and as a consequence, so has the need for automatic sorting systems and tunnel finishers. Where these specialty fabrics cannot be laundered, they are sent out for dry-cleaning which up until recently, has been a solvent-laden process.
But changes are afoot.

“Dry Clean Only”
Across North America, dry cleaners are also opting for green solutions. An Ontario-based company is at the forefront of developing eco-friendly alternatives to hazardous cleaning pollutants such as phosphates, nitrates, enzymes and artificial dyes. “The company was born of a dream which a decade or two ago was really ahead of its time,” describes the CEO. “Yet now, we’re in the middle of a mega trend that will last a generation. We recognize that the world is one inter-connected place and that the environment we have taken for granted, is arguably the most pressing, serious life issue of this time. The day is fast approaching when all products will be more or less environmental through legislation, if not consumer demand.” 

Unlike land-based hotels, cruise ships need to demonstrate a singular self-sufficiency in all of their front to back operations. A new wet cleaning option is being used by Holland America as an environmentally friendly alternative to on-board dry cleaning. This process does not use the solvent commonly associated with dry cleaning, perchloroethylene (perc). Instead, it incorporates advanced cleaning solutions formulated with soy, banana, and orange extracts to process “Dry Clean Only” garments by using water instead of hazardous solvents.
After Enlightenment, The Laundry! 

Traditionally one of the most labour intensive, resource guzzlers in the industry, external forces of the last decade have dictated that laundry services not only change their modus operandi, but that they reinvent themselves as clean leaders. Even if total enlightenment seems elusive at times of wavering occupancies, rethinking your laundry can still deliver valuable cost savings and earth-friendly efficiencies that, if nothing else, should provide some clean food for thought!