The paper presents results concerning the sustainability of laundering processes which were achieved by BMBF research projects of the wfk Cleaning Technology Research Institute on reduction of energy and detergent in professional laundries (01 RT 9973) and by the development of economical laundering processes with optimised water-, energy- and detergent consumption to achieve an appropriate particle content for operating theatre textiles (0330466). General reduction of water and energy consumption was reached by optimisation of mechanical agitation in tunnel washers (continuous batch washers). Investigations in laundries showed significant increase of soil removal by rotating drum in comparison to oscillation drum systems with consequence of reduced dosage of detergents. This is especially for soil which is mainly removed by mechanical action. At the same time no higher values of textile damage occurred. In addition, the total water consumption was reduced to 4 L/kg. In research project 0330466 economical washing processes were developed with appropriate particle release for surgical textiles (drapes, gowns, clean air suits). The investigations were carried out with respect to textile material and its making up, washing and rinsing technology, drying technology as well as detergents and laundry aids. By use of suitable textiles, optimisation of laundering and drying processing, application of suitable detergents and installation of an online-particle control system in the tumble dryer, the specific water consumption was reduced from about 40 L/kg to 20 L/kg. In addition, the detergent dosage was reduced to 60%.
A wide range of test methods are used worldwide for testing the performance of laundry detergents. Principally, all methods need tracer stains. Uniformly stained standard tracer stains are occasionally considered ‘artificial’ while manually prepared or circular stains are at the same time accepted as ‘natural’. This distinction is not helpful, it is even incorrect. Uniformly stained tracer stains were developed to improve reproducibility. Only few existing stains are additionally heat treated or represent combinations of several stain substances ((effect stains)). All tests are supposed to provide performance results reflecting reality (i. e. consumer perception); suitability of any of the model systems depends solely on their ability to provide results for reliable performance assessment. Extensive comparative tests using different stain systems confirmed that preparation of small batches using different fabric substrates, finish and pre-treatment is beneficial for testing e. g. soil release polymer performance. Apart from that, uniformly soiled standard stains in general showed better reproducibility while providing comparable performance results. We could confirm that standard stains are a good solution for addressing issues with dissatisfactory reproducibility.
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