An on-premises laundry system is convenient for many food services and lodging facilities. The convenience of doing laundry on location can be a great advantage in various aspects. First, it means that all your linen requirements will be solved at your facility without relying on outside sources.
This also means that by performing this service at your company, you frequently spend less and save inventory in transit, increasing the possibility of lost and stolen linen. With your staff washing linens, you have total control of the wash process. This sometimes proves to be a more intelligent thing to do because now you can wash your loads on the correct cycle designed by your chemical provider, just for your specific needs. This possibly can result in reduced wear and tear on the linens and decreased stains. What I have seen as the best advantage of doing the linen in the house is the desire of the management and staff to decrease the abuse of linen. When an outside company does laundry off-premise, you will see the tablecloths and napkins used to wipe up grease and such, which helps no one. When your establishment owns the linen, you tend to take care of it better because all parties feel they have more “skin in the game”.
Advantages and Disavantages
However, even though an on-premise laundry service has its many advantages, one of the disadvantages is the possibility of fire dangers. Some incidents have left places facing losses from thousands to millions of dollars in facility damage.
Reports have suggested that the cause for most of these fires is not the dryers but spontaneous ignition. This is because dryers do not produce temperatures high enough to cause an explosion. Commercial dryers installed on location must also meet the American National Standards Institute requirements for safe operation to obtain certification from the American Gas Association.
However, spontaneous ignition, when looking at past cases, has been the more common culprit in the laundry areas. This means that something can self-ignite because of combustible material through a chemical action such as oxidation of its components.
Oxidation is the combination of materials like linen with fuel with air that produces a breakdown of the material. The oxidation causes decay and can reach an internal temperature of 200 degrees. That temperature with a fuel source of grease and then oxygen can then create a fire.
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I have seen more than my share of fires, and I will use one for example – Think of the operators who wash their dirty grease rags towards the end of their shift. They then put them in the dryer and dry as they go home for the day. When the dryer cycle is complete, just let it sit in the dryer overnight in one big pile.
Because the laundry machine and chemicals did not get all of the greases out, they sit in a pile, and they start cooking by being somewhat still warm already. All they need now is fresh oxygen hours later to ignite. What happens later when a security guard smells something on his midnight walk and opens the dryer door?
This could have been avoided if the staff had been trained properly.
Recomendations
Staff should be trained to
• Not allow rags with grease to sit in any type of pile
• Wash greasy rags at the highest temperature of the water
• Have staff use a cool-down cycle and remove all linen from dryers at the end of the day.
• Clean lint traps at least every other load.
• Clean dust around the back of the machine, especially on gas dryers.
• Check outside ductwork to be sure of a good clean flow of air without any obstructions
• Never store linen or chemicals near boilers or furnaces.
• Prevention through education is best, and many resources, including your chemical provider, the insurance company, and the local fire department, can help.
Again, thanks for reading about (Preventing On Premise Laundry Fires) and I hope it adds some insight. Please share and like online, so others find me. Also, send me a response if you have any other comments, questions, or stories.