The one-day seminar on textile purchasing and processing, which was held at The Wellcome Trust, was attended by more than 50 people from laundries and their textile suppliers. They heard about the changes are taking place in textile manufacture, which aspects of the laundry process are affected and whether processing problems can be resolved or prevented from occurring.
According to LTC's Steve Anderton, the mixture of different fibres used in modern textiles is imposing a wide range of additional technical issues on the launderer. New manufacturing methods are having a profound effect on the performance, appearance and handling properties of rental textiles.
He explained that all laundry processing conditions and equipment had been developed in the main to process cotton. However, the increases in cotton price and the need for improved processing efficiency within the laundry meant that many of the textiles now processed have increasing amounts of synthetic fibres such as polyester, polyamide and viscose mixed with cotton.
Anderton said: “It was essential that textile manufactiurers and distributors have an appreciation of the various laundry processes and procedures that have a direct impact on the performance of the fabric, just as it is also essential that the launderer has an appreciation of how the textiles are manufactured.”
