Plain sailing

Although the demands and needs of running a shipboard laundry vary significantly from their landlocked counterparts, the main aims are the same. Namely, to clean to the highest standard of hygiene, the huge variety of textiles coming through its doors.

With the average cruise liner accommodating 3,000 guests and over 200 crew members, it’s no surprise that the on ship laundry room is a busy place to be, says Clare Humphrey, category manager at Miele Professional . “From bedding and towels to uniform and clothing, washers and dryers will have very little downtime. Often, there can be long delays for cabin attendants and staff to use appliances, resulting in a pile-up of soiled items. This is especially true for ships that only have one laundry facility.

“To avoid disruption, cruise liners need to invest in reliable equipment that can maximise laundry throughput while adhering to excellent hygiene standards. Additionally, with many liners offering guest laundry services, washers and dryers should also offer programmes that can process sophisticated and delicate garments thoroughly and gently.”

Miele Professional’s WetCare programme helps avoid shipping and handling dangerous chemicals while at sea. “WetCare has been integrated into Miele’s professional washers and dryers for more than 20 years and hygienically and carefully processes garments made from wool, cashmere, silk and other specialised materials – this is both ideal for guest clothing and crew uniforms. It has also been awarded the highly prized ‘Blue Angel’ label; a certification given to products that are particularly environmentally friendly,” says Humphrey.

Complementary to WetCare, is Miele’s honeycomb patented drum designed for optimum laundry care. Textiles glide gently on a thin film of water while the perforations in the rear drum panel assist with the removal of water. The new EcoSpeed wash rhythm reinforces this effect – slowing down the drum’s speed, so that the drum ribs can transport as much water as possible to the top of the drum which then rains down onto the load. Then, at higher speeds, water and particles are rinsed out with greater force, thoroughly washing even the most delicate of items.

Small spaces

For a compact laundry room, the new generation of Miele Professional Little Giants can be installed as a washer-dryer stack boasting a footprint of less than 1m2.

Comprising the Performance and Performance Plus washing machine and dryers, the new range offers short cycles of just 49 minutes for washing and 38 minutes for drying; the ideal solution for ships that need to tackle high volumes of laundry while meeting stringent hygiene standards. With sustainability at the forefront of Miele’s innovative design, the washing machines require 22% less water and 28% less energy than previous models, while cycle times on heat pump dryers have been reduced by one third compared to previous models. The range has also been extended to include an 8kg load capacity.

Benchmark

For cruise liners that have a little more space to spare, Miele’s new generation Benchmark washers and dryers strike the perfect balance, says Miele, between cost-efficiency and premium results (available from 1 September 2021). Load capacity sizes range between 12kg – 20kg for washers and between 14kg – 44kg for dryers to ensure maximum laundry throughput. Innovative technology is instilled throughout each model, including powerful, frequency-controlled asynchronous motors which promise smooth cycles at high speeds as well as Miele’s patented honeycomb drum 2.0 for optimum laundry care. This, combined with low consumption values, saves both time and energy, while also keeping overall laundry costs low.

Specific needs

For more than 60 years, the Alliance UniMac brand has been focused on providing for the specific needs of the maritime industry and works closely with customers to identify and address the key concerns they face every day and claims to offer the lowest cost of ownership in the industry .In a marine environment, durability is an absolute requirement, says the company, and Alliance pledges “unmatched durability, backed by an exceptional warranty and the largest service and support network in North America”.

For maritime vessels that travel the world, Alliance's global distributor network offers access to parts, service and support wherever the next port of call may be. 

Highly adaptable

Girbau, meanwhile, has a wide range of laundry equipment available which can be adapted to the dimensions and needs of every cruise ship.

Easy to install, the Girbau kits high quality washing, drying and ironing machines - offer:

• Installation in small spaces
• Savings on water and energy consumption
• Customisation and flexibility in the design for each project.
• Optimal production
• Strength and durability.

Global reach

Headquartered in Sweden, and with global reach, Loipart is an expert in marine laundry equipment and marine waste management.

Loipart's main partner for its laundry installations is Electrolux Professional. Loipart can supply marine or offshore installation with everything from small, stackable machines to large barrier type washers for floating hospitals. With the Electrolux lagoon Advanced Care wetcleaning system, cruise laundries can replace traditional drycleaning units eliminating the need for solvents.

According to Loipart, a typical rig out for a passenger ship carrying 1000 passengers, might look like this:

• 1 x lagoon® Advanced Care (Absolute set)
• 6 x Front Loaded Washers (11 kg)
• 5 x Tumble Dryers (33 kg)
• 1 x Ironer.
   
• Cruise laundry managers frequently deal with high value clothing. Turn to What Went Wrong, in the main part of the magazine, where LCNi's drycleaning and wetcleaning experts explain how to avoid some potentially very expensive pit falls