November 18, 2009

Written by: Chris Cairns

Ever wonder why you can't quite achieve the same level of white & brightness home laundering your chef pants, coats & aprons? Here's the skinny.

Since Kenmore has yet to market the home wash boiler, the typical home washing machine only attains a water temp of about 130 degrees farhenheit.

 As we know, the active ingredient in bleach is CI Chlorine. This chemical's molecules create a process calles oxygenation which flushes the dirt and impurities out of the fabric.

The typical commercial laundry plant heats their wash water to over 180 degrees. Basic physics tells us that "heat" is the result of fast moving molecules crashing into one another. The more heat, the more intense molecular mosh pit.

Here's the tip... BAM, kick it up a notch (sorry Emeril) try boiling water on the stove top and add to the bleach cycle during washing. This will increase the water temp thus improving the activity of the chlorine molecules. 

Of course, the home washing machine's agitation pales in comparison to the airliner sized industrial washing machines but perhaps, if you were to drop your Whirlpool off the second story balcony during the wash cycle, you may achieve similar results (I digress once again).

Braun Linen is a commercial linen sales & service company specializing in the restaurant, hospitality and medical industries. For more info, visit our site  braunlinen.com