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Month: May 2019

There are lots of things to consider when it comes to hotel laundry planning – not least whether to keep things in-house or outsource your washing, drying and finishing to a hotel linen service. One of our hotel laundry specialists, Martin Aston answers some common questions we’re asked by owners, managers and laundry decision-makers when scoping out the commercial laundry equipment process in their hotels.

Should I run an in-house hotel laundry or use a contract linen service?

If you’re able to do everything yourself, you’ll be able to take full control of what you wash, how and when – and you won’t need to depend on a third party to pick up and deliver your laundry on time or wash things to the standard you need. Plus, there’s no risk of your linen getting tangled up with another hotel’s pile.

While outsourcing laundry services in hotels may seem like it could free-up staff time at face value, you need to think about how long it will take to count linen in and out, manage your contract (admin time for PO’s and payments, chasing late deliveries and filing complaints can all steal staff time).

Choosing to have onsite hotel laundry facilities means you can also control your own electricity and water costs, reduce the amount of linen stock you need (no need for as many spares/pars). It’s also easier to react to changing demands like illness outbreaks or changing and seasonal occupancy levels – contracts often come with minimum monthly charges which can leave you paying more than you need to in low season.

Check out the ‘Hotels’ section of our testimonials >>

What are the benefits of an in-house hotel laundry?

  • Save money – Outsourcing your wet or dry cleaning requires double the PAR stock compared to on-premise laundries, and with expensive fees per item, this multiplies your spend significantly – as do minimum charges.
  • Save time – Rather than waiting for laundry bag deliveries, counting stock in and out, processing paperwork and maintaining storage areas, staff can concentrate on their front-end duties. Operating commercial laundry machines is a straightforward, quick process and will free up hours of labour time
  • Take control – Choose the quality of items you want to use and extend the life of your towels and linen. If an emergency arises – such as a spillage, you have the in-house facility to deal with it quickly

I’d like to keep things in-house but we don’t have much space?

If space is an issue, bringing just your towel laundering in-house with can instantly make a difference. Towels, bath mats and robes are some of the heaviest, yet easiest items to wash. And because they don’t require ironing, you don’t need to account for space for finishing equipment.

Blog: How to get soft, fluffy towels

The more labour intensive items such as tableware and bedding can continue to be outsourced if absolutely necessary, but with expert advice there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to create a ‘compact’ hotel laundry room layout that allows you to process items that would cost more to wash (and take longer to turn around) as part of an external hotel laundry contract.

Isn’t running an in-house hotel laundry expensive?

With external services you could be paying a premium for your laundry without knowing how old, how good or how environmentally unfriendly their equipment might be. The added benefit of choosing your own equipment for your own laundry onsite is the ability to install energy-efficient. Commercial washers and commercial dryers are highly efficient and designed to provide a high quality wash experience whilst reducing utility costs.

Blog: Are you making these hotel bedding mistakes?

Clever features mean the most intelligent machines on the market can determine how much water and detergent your fabrics need in each load ensure you’ll only ever use the amount required per wash load – saving you money and ensuring optimum wash quality on every cycle.

What are the key features I need to look for when choosing washers and dryers?

Firstly, to run a professional hotel laundry service,  you must have laundry equipment that’s purpose-built for business use. While this might sound expensive at first glance, the benefit here is that such machines are often available as part of all-inclusive supply and service packages which include emergency breakdown cover (yet another thing that’s good to have in your control if something happens – linen hire companies may have long SLAs on any repairs which could leave you without towels or sheets).

We used to use contract towels but it was decided to have our own on-premise laundry so we could give the guests a better service, with a daily towel change if needed. The towels smell fresh and stay fluffy, and OTEX ozone laundry means we can disinfect lots of them at a lower water temperature and make a saving on utilities too. Read more…>>

Penny Thomassen, Head Housekeeper at Bembridge Coast Hotel (Bourne Leisure)

Commercial washers and dryers are by their nature larger in capacity – and let you do bigger loads, less often. That’s less time spent on laundry itself, and less money spent on energy bills.

Choosing the right hotel laundry equipment

The washers, dryers and finishing equipment a hotel laundry needs varies depending on each individual requirements. However, a general guide would be:

10-50 bedrooms…

Combination to consider: JLA 22 SMART washer, SD35 SMART dryer and a 1.5m rotary ironer

100+ bedrooms…

Combination to consider: JLA50 SMART washer, SD80 SMART dryer and a 1.9m dryer ironer

Contact us with your hotel laundry planning questions >>

According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), there are more than a million cases of food poisoning every year in the UK. Many of these cases are the result of eating food prepared in a professional kitchen, while Salmonella causes the most hospital admissions – about 2,500 per year.

What is the Food Safety Act?

The Government’s Food Safety Act of 1990 makes it an offence to “render food injurious to health” or to sell food that doesn’t meet safety requirements – with severe penalties – including unlimited fines, or even imprisonment for failure to comply.

“The Food Safety Act 1990 (as amended) provides the framework for all food legislation in the England, Wales and Scotland. The main responsibilities for all food businesses under the Act are to ensure that food businesses serve or sell is of the nature, substance or quality which consumers would expect.”

The Food Standards Authority

Why is the Food Safety Act important?

Working in line with the Food Safety Act can dramatically reduce your exposure to risk; helping to protect your customers, and your hard earned reputation.

Food Safety Act 1990

Focus on food poisoning

Of course, the best way to stop your customers getting food poisoning is to maintain the highest standards of personal and food hygiene. To help do this, the FSA has prepared a helpful food safety management pack.

Where hygiene standards are not met, the court may forbid you from using certain processes, premises, or equipment. You could also be banned from managing a food business and face fines or even prison.

It goes without saying that correctly cleaning and cooking food is essential to meeting food safety regulations. However, it is just as important to adopt the upmost care when it comes to chilling and avoiding cross-contamination. And to do this, you need commercial catering appliances that are up to the job, and regularly maintained.

Chilling food in line with the Food Safety Act

All commercial kitchen operators know the importance of keeping food at the correct temperature to prevent harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. However, to help avoid food poisoning it’s also essential that cooked food is cooled as quickly as possible. Indeed, if you’re chilling cooked food, you’re required by law to meet the requirements of the Food Safety Act.

This means that, whenever cooked food is chilled or frozen, it must be in the ‘Danger Zone’ – where bacteria multiply fastest – for as little time as possible.

Current food safety guidelines recommend that cooked food should pass through the Danger Zone in no more than 90 minutes, and, subsequently be stored at 8°C or less. A temperature of below 5°C will further reduce the likelihood of bacteria multiplying and should be achieved wherever possible.

However, standard refrigeration equipment is incapable of extracting heat fast enough to comply with these guidelines. As such, specially designed rapid chilling apparatus such as a blast chiller is required by law to ensure the necessary rapid reduction of temperature is achieved.

Designed to give caterers complete control over the chilling process, JLA’s blast chillers deliver performance that exceeds food safety legislation, is HACCP compliant, and meets guidelines for cook-chill catering systems worldwide.

Preventing cross-contamination

The food and catering industry in the UK has changed dramatically over the last few years in the face of changing dietary requirements, allergies, and food intolerances. Today’s commercial kitchens MUST be structured in a way to avoid cross contamination.

Cross-contamination occurs when bacteria are transferred from one food (usually raw) to another. Catering equipment such as fryers carry a particularly high risk of allergen cross contamination. It only takes a minuscule amount of a food substance to cause an allergic reaction, so in many cases, separate or twin tank fryers are recommended.

Another way to prevent harmful bacteria from spreading is to store raw and ready-to-eat food in separate fridges, freezers, and display units.

As well as the right catering equipment, it’s vital that commercial kitchens use specially designed catering detergents. Not only do these result in a consistently high quality of finish – but they also maximise the performance of your dishwasher and prevent cross-contamination.

Maintenance = compliance

Effective maintenance is essential to meeting the requirements of the Food Safety Act, and to ensure your cooking, hot holding, and chilling equipment is working correctly and doesn’t let you down.

It’s a false economy to wait until something goes wrong, with the expense of calling out an engineer every time you have a problem (not to mention the risk to your reputation), far exceeding the costs of regular planned maintenance. 

When it comes to the health of your customers, ignorance is not an adequate defence. And to ensure a conviction, the prosecution only has to prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that food safety requirements have not been met.

Are you considering upgrading your catering equipment to help improve hygiene standards and protect your valuable reputation? Get in touch to find out how JLA can help.

Now is the perfect time to get ahead of the annual rush, and consider a boiler upgrade to make sure your business’ commercial heating system is ready for when the cold comes back to bite in autumn – especially if your system has been out of action for longer than it might otherwise have been during the COVID-19 lockdown.

September provides the ideal opportunity to upgrade or replace your commercial heating equipment, or book a new boiler installation, and make sure your heating is ship-shape for the autumn/winter period, when any loss in heating or hot water can cause major disruption.

Do I need a new boiler? >>

Engineers and installers tend to be less busy at this time of year, because fewer premises will be using their central heating, so any problems remain ‘hidden’. That means you’re more likely to secure an appointment quickly to explore your options for boiler replacement – and you’ll have more time to look into a new boiler cost as well as getting a new heating system properly designed and installed.

Do I need A New Boiler?Download our Top 5 Heating Headaches GuideOnce autumn returns – especially where businesses are re-opening after Coronavirus closure – many staff, owners and facilities managers will be turning on their heating for the first time in months, only to find that there are problems with their boiler… so demand for engineer appointments tend to rise significantly rise making it difficult to get work completed quickly.

Replacing a boiler can take up to two days to ensure that everything is sited appropriately and works properly. Two days can feel like a long time in winter with no hot water or heating, so avoid this by scheduling any work in over the warmer months.

If your boiler is older, it’s probably not as efficient as it could be, which means that you could be paying more than you need to for your energy when you turn it on in winter. Boiler efficiency has improved considerably in the last decade, and upgrading your heating system now could see you make huge savings. For example, replacing your boiler with a condensing model that has a gross energy efficiency level of 98% could significantly reduce your winter outgoings.

Ask us about a boiler replacement cost >>

An older, non-condensing boiler simply wouldn’t be able to keep up with a condensing model because it has to raise its temperature to such a degree that water vapour doesn’t condense and start to corrode the heat exchanger.

We can help you review your heating and hot water systems, and prevent something going wrong at a critical moment. Contact us today for boiler prices and to learn more about the best boilers (wall hung and floor standing) we offer for your business, as well as our range of robust hot water cylinders. and hot water storage tanks.

The build-up of fats, oils and greases (FOGs) from cooking can cause real headaches for commercial kitchens, attracting vermin and insect infestations if you aren’t cleaning them properly. If you’re pouring them away, you could also risk blocking your drains.

If you think it’s only your fryers that are to blame for FOGs, think again. Your combi ovens, ranges, grills and even your dishwashers could be generating excessive amounts of grease. Failing to take precautions against FOG build-up in your kitchen means that you’ll be violating some important regulations:

  • Environmental Protection Act 1990 – under Section 34 of the Act, FOGs are seen as hazardous waste and must be disposed of via special collection. Tipping waste FOGs down the drain or into rubbish bins can result in fines and prosecution.
  • UK Water Industry Act 1991 – it is an offence under Section 111 of the Act to tamper with or obstruct the flow of a sewer, and failing to minimise the build-up of FOGS could result in action from your local water undertaker.
  • Food Safety Act 1990 – poor management of FOG disposal on your premises could result in a bad hygiene score from your local authority during an inspection – or even hefty fines and the shutdown of your premises.

Last October, a restaurant near Wolverhampton received a £5,495 fine for blocking the area sewers with FOGs because they had not installed grease traps. A spokesperson for Severn Trent Water, who brought the prosecution, commented that the water undertaker cleans up “around 45,000 blockages a year and fat contributes to the majority of those.”

What You Can Do to Fight FOGs

There are three accepted and approved methods of reducing the amount of fats, oils and greases that make their way from your kitchen into the sewer system. Grease traps and grease removal units are the most widespread methods, but you will still need to store the excess FOGs until they are collected for disposal by a specialist, and keep receipts of these disposals for at least two years.

The most effective way to deal with FOGs is by using a biological degrader equipped with an auto-dosing system. This method uses bacteria to digest and break down FOGs, destroying them at the source – your sink and drains – instead of pushing them into the sewer to re-coagulate and cause blockages later. The auto-dosing system injects the degrader down your drains after the kitchen has shut down for the evening, which means you won’t have to handle any chemicals.

If you’re ready to tackle FOGs and prevent your commercial kitchen from turning into a grease disaster, fight back with a specialist bacteria-based degrader.

We know the current lockdown measures are having a huge impact on lots of businesses, particularly in hospitality and retail – whether you’ve been forced to close fully, or scale back significantly. However, closure also presents a rare opportunity to catch up on maintenance that could help you hit the ground running when things return to normal. 

Adjusting to current challenges and working out how your premises needs to be maintained during this time can feel daunting – but by taking advantage of a challenging situation and using the ‘spare’ time you now have, you can ensure your most critical facilities and equipment are ready to work at their best when lockdown is lifted. Below, we‘ve put together a quick list of the basic things you can do to look after your key equipment and core systems.

Review your fire safety plans and processes

Even at the best of times, day-to-day priorities can get in the way of properly taking stock of the way you approach fire safety. Now, with changes to the way we all work, as well as changing restrictions and possibly reductions in your staff numbers, it’s more important than ever to make sure your plans are up-to-date.

From legally required inspections of your alarms, fire doors and extinguishers to carrying out a full fire risk assessment, there’s plenty to check across your premises. This list of the vital things you should review while your building is closed for business is a good start, but it’s important to seek help from a fire safety expert if you need further all-round support.

Put your heating into lockdown mode

Although you may not need to keep customers and staff warm while your business is closed, leaving your heating on (and even having it managed remotely) can continue to protect your building’s pipes, furnishings and electrical devices.

While the latest lockdown has left the hospitality and retail businesses with unwanted time on their hands, it does provide the perfect opportunity to carry out basic preventative boiler maintenance and also get any essential servicing works completed without disruption.

Maintain your fridges and freezers properly

It’s important to fully clean and maintain your chillers and freezers before leaving them unused during lockdown. By following a few simple steps, you can make sure your most important kitchen appliances are ready to get back up and running when your business is able to re-open.

‘Hibernate’ your dishwashers

Preparing your commercial dishwashers by going through the right care and maintenance checklist can protect them during downtime when the time comes to use them again – the last thing you need when you can re-open is a breakdown that leaves you with a pile of dirty dishes and stops you serving your customers for even longer.

Carry out laundry housekeeping

If you have an onsite laundry for uniforms and tableware, you’ll want to ensure your washers and dryers are in full working order (and hygienic) when you need them again.

This handy laundry maintenance guide will help you tick off some important boxes and make sure everything’s done safely and that your machines are in the same condition when you switch them back on.

Double check the support that’s available

A number of schemes have been put in place by the government to support businesses, including grants up to £9,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure; the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme for smaller businesses; and the Job Retention Scheme which helps you protect your workforce.

You’ve probably looked into these before, but some schemes have been improved upon and extended, so it’s worth using this time to double-check the financial support you could be eligible for.

If you need help with maintenance or compliance during lockdown and beyond, contact our friendly team – we’ll be happy to talk through any legal obligations you need support with, or arrange site visits where possible to assist with any servicing or repairs you might need.

Get expert help

The risk of infections spread by contamination is an ever-present concern for many businesses. And for a number of hospitals – and those looking to meet laundry guidelines for care homes – one of the major tools in the battle against contamination has proven to be an ozone washer system – which uses a natural gas to kill 99.999% of infections.

What is an ozone laundry system?

An ozone laundry disinfection system uses safe O3 gas at low temperatures instead of high heat or chemicals that can damage garments and linen fabrics. Harnessing the natural power of ozone, this innovative way of washing kills bacteria, moulds, yeasts and viruses and eliminates the risk of cross-infection in laundry.

The process provides disinfection verification for audit trails and inspection documentation, with simple controls to ensure effective use. O3 itself leaves a pleasant fragrance, and leaves towels fluffier that traditional methods will.

How does ozone laundry work?

By converting ‘free’ air from around the washing machine into 90% oxygen, splitting this into ozone and injecting particles into a wash, the system removes the need for water heating and safely lifts stains out of fibres while the natural gas eliminates the smallest trace of harmful bacteria. Natural disinfection also eliminates wastage on the balance sheet, cutting detergent, energy and water costs by up to 35%.

Watch our ‘How OTEX works’ guide here.

Why choose an ozone washer system?

For healthcare organisations, OTEX’s built-in validation provides the means to prove that their methods meet ‘Essential Quality Requirements’ as well as ‘Best Practices’, as set out by the new Choice Framework for local Policy and Procedure (HTM 01-04).

9 ozone laundry benefits for your business >>

With the ability to print ‘disinfection verification receipts’, OTEX users can comply with the guideline that “linen should be processed using a disinfection cycle complying with the specified level of reduction in bacteriological contamination and this process will be required to be validated”. Training is provided by JLA and advice is also given on how to categorise contaminated or soiled linen, as well as the handling of laundered items.

Easy installation

OTEX machines from JLA are installed on-site, with a Total Care package that provides 7-day breakdown cover for your commercial laundry equipment and a 24/7 helpline, ensuring businesses have total peace of mind that their laundry system is both effective and reliable.

Find out more about OTEX ozone disinfection >>

Case study: York Hospital

York Hospital, the flagship hospital of York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, installed the OTEX ozone disinfection system for the disinfection of their microfibre cloths and mops as part of its plan to bring Domestic Services back in-house.

Wendy Dale, domestic services manager at York Hospital, says:

“Microfibre mops and cloths basically act like magnets for bacteria. What impressed us most about JLA was their OTEX innovation. The system’s ability to thoroughly disinfect and also reduce costs was a major factor when it came to choosing them as our supplier.”

“The OTEX washer system uses mostly cold water and faster wash cycles, dramatically reducing utility and detergent costs, and cutting labour bills by saving time.”

“Our laundry is in operation round the clock seven days a week, processing over 4,000 microfibre mops and cloths a day,” continues Wendy, “so being able to save energy was vital. JLA actually metered the electricity supply to the laundry and established that OTEX was saving us 82% compared to a conventional laundry. An added bonus is that we are using half as much detergent because of the way the system processes laundry.”

The disinfection system is so successful that York Hospital bosses recently announced the passing of a year without a patient acquiring the MRSA superbug infection.

The latest Hospitality Report from accountancy firm Gerald Edelman has revealed that food accounted for more than 25% of pub sales in 2018/19 and the food-led pub industry will be worth a huge £19.5billion within the next 5 years.

By choosing the right commercial catering equipment and ‘heavy-duty’ kitchen appliances, there are ways to maximise your existing space, make it cost-effective and manage your processes more efficiently. Take a look below for the most important factors to consider when selecting kitchen equipment.

Key things to consider when selecting commercial appliances for your kitchen...

Is your equipment suitable for a commercial kitchen?

It goes without saying that you should never use domestic equipment in commercial kitchens.

Not only are such appliances unable to keep up with the day-to-day demands of professional kitchens, but understandably, most manufacturers won’t honour warranties for products designed for domestic use when used for commercial purposes.

Are your kitchen appliances fit for purpose?

Will your catering equipment be able to meet demand and produce food in the quantities you require?

As well as the size and quality of the kit, also consider its power capabilities. Less powerful equipment is unlikely to be able to keep up, while you could end up shelling out more on maintenance costs due to regular breakdowns.

Discover the benefits of a commercial combi oven

Are they energy efficient?

When it comes to kitchen equipment, rather than focusing on the up-front expense, it pays to consider the whole lifetime cost.

Commercial kitchens consume approximately 2.5 times more energy per square foot than any other commercial space. However, significant savings can be achieved by using energy-efficient appliances. Indeed, energy efficient kitchen equipment could result in a 20% reduction on your utility bills, delivering savings that drive straight to your bottom line.

Does your equipment meet current and impending legislative requirements?

Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) is legislation that could actually save your business money.

MEPs for commercial refrigeration products aim to steer us all towards more energy efficient models, with the efficiency of refrigeration products tested and ranked on a scale of A-G. All commercial kitchen operators should now consider upgrading their equipment to help lower costs.

Do your commercial appliances meet food safety requirements?

There are more than a million cases of food poisoning a year in the UK. Many of these cases are the result of eating food prepared in a professional kitchen.

It is an offence to ‘render food injurious to health’ or to sell food that does not meet safety requirements – with severe penalties, including unlimited fines, or even imprisonment for failure to comply. Specially designed catering equipment such as blast chillers can help ensure this legislation is met, reducing your exposure to risk, looking after the health of your customers, and protecting your hard-earned reputation. You can read our guide to the Food Safety Act here.

Are your commercial kitchen appliances future-proof?

If your business has ambitious expansion plans, will your catering equipment grow with you or hold you back?

Once you’ve selected the kitchen equipment you want, also check to make sure a new model isn’t coming out anytime soon. If it is, is it worth waiting a couple of months to secure the new kit? If not, can your current model be upgraded, or will it become obsolete and/or difficult to maintain and find replacement parts for?

Will your equipment fit?

Consider your existing space and how any new commercial kitchen appliances will work alongside your current layout.

Where space is at a premium, modular kitchen equipment may offer a more practical solution. Likewise, multi-functional items such as combi-ovens provide an excellent space saving solution.

Can your commercial appliances cope with emerging food trends and dietary requirements?

The food and catering industry in the UK has changed dramatically over the last few years in the face of changing dietary requirements, allergies, and food intolerances.

As such, today’s commercial kitchens must be structured in a way to avoid cross contamination and cater for broader customer tastes. Today’s commercial kitchens should have a layout that means you can avoid cross contamination when using ingredients like nuts, eggs, wheat and other common allergens. Fryers carry a particularly high risk of allergen cross-contamination, and it only takes a minuscule amount of an ingredient to cause an allergic reaction. In many cases, planning for separate or twin tank fryers is recommended.

Does renting commercial kitchen appliances make financial sense?

In many cases, renting equipment may end up making far more sense than purchasing outright, particularly if this includes a regular maintenance package to keep your kit in top-notch condition. Rental options may also make long-term sense – allowing you to upgrade with the needs of your business – without any significant up-front financial outlay.

How much will your kit cost you to maintain?

Keeping your catering equipment in perfect working order isn’t just essential for ensuring food quality and consistency; it’s business critical. As such, maintenance costs should always be taken into account when choosing new kitchen equipment.

It’s a false economy to wait until something goes wrong; with the expense of calling out an engineer every time you have a problem far exceeding the costs of regular maintenance. Not to mention the impact of unnecessary downtime. Likewise, you should always consider the reliability of any equipment, and whether, if it breaks down, it will be easy to source replacement parts.

Find out about our unique Total Care subscription package

Are you considering upgrading your catering equipment to help improve hygiene standards and protect your valuable reputation? Find out how you can do just that – while saving money:

Contact our experts
Jim Thompson works at Golden Care Ltd and as the Governance and Compliance Manager, he is responsible for the running of managerial and clinical processes at three care homes across Wales and England – all of which have been established for over 20 years.

With three homes and 140 beds in total to consider, Jim needed to find a brand he could be confident in, with reliable and effective equipment which could cope with large capacity use – products and services which would be adaptable and easy for staff to use. Over five years ago JLA products were introduced into one the homes – Jim explains:

"We already had a JLA washer within one of the homes, we were happy with the product and how it met the needs of that home. We were also happy with the support received if and when any problems occurred."

It was this experience that prompted Jim to roll out the JLA range across all three homes – this included commercial washers, dryers, irons, dishwashers and sanitisers. Most recently came the installation of the ground-breaking OTEX system in two of the homes. Jim confirms that staff are very complimentary about the products, having noted for themselves the increased speed and effectiveness with which laundry can be completed…

Jim has the added responsibility of ensuring management teams are able to provide and implement up-to-date training for staff at each home, including infection control issues. Jim’s commitment to use the JLA Sanitiser product has sound benefits:

"The sanitiser provides a fantastic turnaround in the decontamination of individual rooms and day spaces. We can now clean a room in a matter of hours and utilise it for a new resident within 24 hours, whilst before a room would be out of use for at least 3 days and often over a week to allow deep cleaning/ shampooing processes to be put in place and we would also need to bring in extra housekeeping staff to carry out the deep cleans. The latter has been eliminated due to the introduction of the sanitiser."

Jim’s experience and involvement in care extend much further than Golden Care – with 40 years service as a nurse in health and social care across primary, community and secondary settings and having held senior positions in clinical, educational and managerial environments. He is also registered with the CSSIW in Wales and the CQC in England, and additionally holds the role of Trustee of an independent hospice within South East Wales, which is the largest care provision hospice in Wales.

It is without doubt that Jim knows what he is looking for when it comes to choosing a commercial laundry partner, and having already seen a reduction in utility costs, an improved working environment and a faster laundry turnaround for residents, Jim is able to express his thoughts about the benefits very clearly:

"Products are reliable, from installation to ongoing service and maintenance and staff are supportive, accessible, responsive and understanding of the important needs of the home and the residents we care for. A first class service which we are very happy with!"

Laundry in a care home, hospital, hotel or any other busy business is about more than just meeting the challenge of keeping up with a constant flow of linen. It’s also about getting the job done in the most cost-effective way and ensuring your balance sheet looks as good as your bed sheets…and towels…and microfibre cloths…and clothes…and anything else you need to wash every day.

Here are our top five laundry tips to help you keep your energy consumption down and reduce bills when it comes to commercial laundry.

1. Bring everything in-house

If you’re considering an on-premise laundry (OPL), you’re already well on your way to cutting your laundry costs.

You’ll be able to take full control of what you wash, how and when – and you won’t need to depend on a third party to pick up and deliver your laundry on time or wash things to the standard you need. Plus, there’s no risk of your linen getting tangled up with another client’s pile.

Going in-house is also a more effective way of staying compliant if you’re in a sector that demands constant compliance for infection control.

Take a look at the Laundry Guidelines For Care Homes here >>

Advantages of an in-house laundry:

  • Control your own electricity and water costs
  • Ensure the quality of your own washing process
  • Reduce the amount of linen stock you need (faster turnover so no need for as many spares)
  • Keep a close eye on your own compliance practices
  • React to changing demands (i.e. illness outbreaks or changing occupancy levels)

Time is money – and an OPL will help you save both

Doing everything in-house will cut the time you spend on laundry, as well as the money you spend on it…

We were constantly having problems with the towels we sent off to be cleaned, and staff were spending a lot of time counting towels or re-washing them. Getting our own small laundry in the salon has lifted a weight off our shoulders as they get through the washing quickly with no fuss. The time and money JLA has saved us has made a huge difference to the day-to-day running of the salon.

Teagan Halliday, Salon Manager at Strokes Salon

2. Choose energy-efficient commercial machines

While it may be tempting to stick with what you know and use domestic machines in your business, doing so can be a false economy and will not achieve the same results or consistency.

A high-performance commercial machine is designed to complete up to 35,000 cycles, while even the best domestic high street washers are generally only built to exceed just 10,000 cycles (and the cheapest may only keep going for around 600 hours).

Most domestic machines also only come with a one or two-year warranty (which may become void if you use the machine in a commercial laundry room), whereas commercial alternatives can be bundled with inclusive maintenance, repair labour and parts cover as part of a business contract.

Commercial washers and dryers are by their nature larger in capacity – so you can do bigger loads, less often. That’s less time spent on laundry itself, and less money spent on energy bills.

 

Smart Washer

3. Consider ozone laundry

The way an ozone washer system works – and disinfects – means it can give you significant savings across all types of wash cycle. This can be extremely useful whether you’re working in healthcare, hospitality or any other business which requires a high – and hygienic – laundry turnover.

JLA’s OTEX ozone disinfection kills 99.999% of micro-organisms on laundry at lower temperatures. That means you can add another layer of reassurance to your laundry process, while increasing the lifespan of your fabrics and keeping your utility bills down.

An ozone washer system  has design features that reduce water use on every cycle compared to a traditional ‘thermal’ process, looks after your linen and even helps you get soft, fluffy towels.

Discover the key ozone laundry benefits for your business >>

It is effective at lower temperatures too, so it’s a great way to eliminates wastage on the balance sheet by significantly cutting your detergent, energy and water costs. Avoiding higher temperatures also means your towels, sheets and other linen will last longer – saving money on unnecessary re-stocks and replacements.

 

4. Educate your staff

To really get the most out of your in-house laundry, it’s important to make sure those who look after your linen understand how to run your machines efficiently.

Here are three simple things they can do to save your business money…

Avoid overloading your machines

Your staff will also spend more time on laundry than they should be doing, reducing the value for money you might get from their shift.

Clean dryer lint filters regularly

Linen and towels will take longer to dry, putting your energy bills up even higher. And your items could get damaged due to exposure to high temperatures, meaning you’ll have to spend money on new stock more frequently than your balance sheet might like.

Wash according to laundry type and state

Remind your staff to always check labels and washing instructions, especially if you’re cleaning more expensive items. A quick wash won’t do the trick on stains or heavy soiling (so you’ll end up re-washing and using more costly energy) and using high temperatures on the wrong garments or linen will damage fabrics which will force you to buy replacements sooner).

Read our guide on avoiding hotel bedding mistakes in your laundry >>

5. Go all-inclusive with a supply and service package

Having a constant supply of clean linen is vital for care and service businesses, so down-time is not an option when it comes to your washers and dryers. When shopping around for new (or upgraded) laundry equipment,  always look for an option that allows you to source the kit you need together with quick emergency response that will get them back up and running quickly if anything goes wrong.

Business-friendly laundry machine ‘rental’ options often combine equipment supply with breakdown cover for a simple monthly payment, with nothing to pay upfront and provide a cost-effective alternative to purchasing equipment outright.

Considering food hygiene in care homes should be the first thing on your To-Do list if you’re building or refurbishing cooking and preparation areas. Here we look at the key areas you should focus on when planning your kitchen layout, choosing your commercial catering equipment and finalising your food safety management processes.

Why is good food hygiene important in the care home?

Monitoring food safety and achieving the highest level of general hygiene is vital in residential care homes, where meals are prepared and cooked on-site for elderly and vulnerable residents who can be more at risk of illness. The Food Standards Authority states:

“Food poisoning can lead to gastroenteritis and dehydration or potentially even more serious health problems such as kidney failure.”

Older people could be more at risk from food poisoning and associated illnesses, while outbreaks of E.coli could be more likely due to their weaker immune systems. This guide will give you an overview of things to consider as you plan, design, run and maintain your commercial kitchen with resident wellbeing front-and-centre of the processes.

Consideration #1: Meeting CQC guidelines

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an independent regulator established by the Health and Social Care Act 2008. It is responsible for inspecting care homes across the UK and plays a vital role in the development of regulations for care as a whole.

Food Hygiene Regulations

Kitchen inspections

CQC inspectors expect to see a safe and sanitary care home with healthy and happy residents, and your kitchen areas will face specific scrutiny in terms of gauging your overall approach to cleanliness.

The regulations they measure you against include a specific section (Regulation 14) on Nutrition and Hydration, which instructs care homes to ensure all residents have their nutritional needs met.

The overall inspection rating is based on five key questions they ask themselves – is your home…

    1. Safe?
    2. Effective?
    3. Caring?
    4. Responsive?
    5. Well-led?

Inspectors then assign scores for each of these areas: ‘Inadequate’, ‘Requires Improvement’, ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ and issue a public report on their findings. This – as well as highlighting any shortcomings – often forms a key part of research for a resident or their family when they are choosing a home.

Risks of not complying

The CQC has the power to place homes into special measures or even shut them down if they decide that the wellbeing of residents is at risk. They may also initiate prosecution in extreme cases where a resident has been harmed.

Consideration #2: Food Standards Agency Guidance For Care Homes

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is a government department responsible for protecting public health in relation to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is led by a board appointed to act in the public interest to ensure that the food they consume in businesses such as care homes, is safe.

As a care home, you must have a food safety plan based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles – in the same way as those running food businesses.

According to Article 5 of HACCP Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004, commercial kitchens are required to have a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan in place at all times, and must also provide their local food safety authority with evidence that the plan is being followed in order to provide for the safe preparation and distribution of food.

HACCP covers everything from the process you follow before you start working with food including hand washing to working with the food itself. If you’re unsure how HACCP applies to your business, contact our expert Catering team to go through what’s needed in your home.

The Food Safety Act 1990

Monitoring food safety and achieving the highest level of general hygiene is vital in residential care homes, where meals are prepared and cooked on-site for elderly and vulnerable residents who can be more at risk of illness.

The Food Safety Act 1990 focuses on the preparation, storage and service of food – and the CQC requires that care homes ensure that the food and drink they provide is handled, stored, prepared and delivered in a way that meets the requirements of the Act. In particular, the Act outlines that businesses such as care homes should ensure that there is: “Provision for securing the observance of hygienic conditions and practices in connection with the carrying out of commercial operations with respect to food or food sources.

Consideration #3: General Food Hygiene In Care Homes

Food Hygiene Ratings help residents and their families gauge the quality of your catering offer, as well as your commitment to food health and safety. The Government run the Food Hygiene scheme in partnership with local authorities who can visit your premises at any time to inspect your kitchen.

Food hygiene ratings

Considering food hygiene in care homes should be the first thing on your To-Do list if you’re building or refurbishing cooking and preparation areas. Here we look at the key areas you should focus on when planning your kitchen layout, choosing your commercial catering equipment and finalising your food safety management processes.

0

URGENT IMPROVEMENT IS REQUIRED

1

MAJOR IMPROVEMENT IS NECESSARY

2
SOME IMPROVEMENT IS NECESSARY
3
HYGIENE STANDARDS ARE GENERALLY SATISFACTORY
4

HYGIENE STANDARDS ARE GOOD

5

HYGIENE STANDARDS ARE VERY GOOD

If you receive a rating of 3 or below, it could damage your reputation and ultimately impact revenue as current and future residents and families seek out alternatives.

Consideration #5: Safe food handling, storage and preparation

There are strict food hygene guidelines not only for hot food temperatures but also for food that neds to be cooled down – see the table below for more details on how to manage chilling in your kitchen.

PROCESSTEMPERATURETOP TIPS
RefrigerationA food temperature of 8ºC or below is effective in controlling the multiplication of most bacteria in perishable food. It is recommended practice to operate refrigerators and chillers at 5ºC or below.Commercial fridges and freezers with external thermometers make this easy and ensure you don’t have to open the fridge more frequently than necessary. They are also designed to maintain the correct temperatures which a domestic fridge or freezer would struggle with.
FreezingFreezing of food at temperatures of -18ºC or below will prevent bacteria from multiplying.A blast chiller can ensure food is cooled rapidly before storing in a freezer, reducing bacteria. They are also so efficient they can minimise costs.
CookingTemperatures of 75ºC or above are effective in destroying almost all types of bacteria. However, cooking temperatures below this level are also effective provided that the food is held at these temperatures for a suitable time period.Using a combi oven with an inbuilt temperature probe ensures you are able to accurately record cooking data which can be invaluable for audit purposes.
Hot holdingTemperatures above 63ºC will control the multiplication of bacteria in hot food.Hot cupboards are an ideal way to maintain temperature while transporting food to be served.
CoolingFood should be cooled as quickly as possible and then refrigerated. This will limit the growth of any bacteria or germination of spores that might be present.Blast chillers exceed regulatory requirements by rapidly chilling food before refrigerating, minimising the risk of bacteria.
ReheatingAll food that has previously been heated and is to be reheated must be raised to a temperature of 82ºC, which will ensure that food has been reheated to a safe and, in some cases, legally required temperature. Using a suitable time/temperature combination will also ensure that the food has been reheated safely should higher temperatures be detrimental to the quality of the food, for example: reaching a core temperature of 70ºC for 2 minutes.Using a combi oven can ensure that all of the vitamins and nutrients are locked in the food during the cooking and regeneration processes, while allowing you to accurate record the core temperature.

Consideration #6: Food safety for those on special diets

When caring for vulnerable residents and service users with allergies and special dietary requirements, your care home kitchen MUST adopt the practices and processes necessary to avoid cross-contamination – one of the most common causes of food poisoning.

Catering equipment such as fryers carry a particularly high risk of allergen cross-contamination, it only takes a minuscule amount of an ingredient to cause an allergic reaction, so in many cases separate or twin tank fryers are recommended. If serving gluten-free food, commercial dishwashers must be used to ensure the complete removal of gluten from food contact surfaces, as unlike some domestic dishwashers, those designed for commercial kitchens can reach the sanitation temperature required by law.

Other things to consider for good food hygiene in care homes

Water safety

The Water Regulations Advisory Scheme (WRAS) was implemented to prevent contamination of public water supplies. Every item of equipment which is connected to the mains water supply must meet the Water Fittings Regulations and Bylaws, to ensure that no water which has been contaminated by equipment or use of chemicals flows back into the fresh water supply.

All the dishwashers in your care home must be WRAS approved to Fluid Category 5, which is the highest category.

Risks of not complying

If an inspection from your local water authority finds that you aren’t meeting WRAS standards and you don’t pass a second inspection, your machines will be condemned and failure to take action could result in your care home’s water supply being disconnected. You could also be fined or prosecuted, as contamination of the water supply is a criminal offence.

Gas Safety

Gas Safety Regulation 35 requires businesses such as care homes to ensure that gas appliances, flues, pipe work and safety devices are maintained in a safe condition. Annual gas safety checks are a legal requirement and play a vital role in minimising risk to property, meeting compliance requirements and increasing the efficiency of your equipment.

Non-compliance with the Gas Safety Regulations is an offence and could result in an unlimited fine or a prison sentence, and invalidate any insurance claims.

Ventilation

Kitchen ventilation systems present a particular fire hazard due to the potential accumulation of grease. Without proper care, flames or high-temperatures can ignite this grease, causing a fire to spread through the duct. In a worst case scenario, sparks could ignite surrounding materials, putting your staff, your residents, and your premises in danger.

Effective kitchen ventilation should reduce the risk of fire by removing cooking fumes at the source, removing excess hot air, and generating cool, clean air. Proper ventilation is also required by law to provide an adequate supply of fresh air, prevent the build-up of carbon monoxide, and protect the health and safety of your employees.

TR19 – Duct cleaning

TR19 is a standard that was defined by BESA (The Building Engineering Services Association – previously known as the Heating and Ventilating Contractors’ Association or ‘HVCA’), as ‘a way to standardise duct cleaning and kitchen extraction systems’. To meet the standard, it is recommended that testing be carried out at intervals ‘not exceeding 12 months’. Monitoring of grease deposits may need to be carried out more frequently, so it’s important that proper ventilation is installed, and that the system is maintained as regularly as possible.

Remember – your insurance company will not pay your claim if your ducting has not been cleaned. If you don’t comply with TR19 you could be risking a fire that destroys your business.

Where there is a ventilation hood over the cooking area, there should also be a gas supply cut-out mechanism in place, so that, should extraction fail, the provision of gas to the kitchen equipment will automatically turn off. Any new kitchen (or one where more than half of the appliances are replaced) using a fan-assisted extraction system must have an interlocking system in place.

Tips for meeting food hygiene regulations best practice:

  • Ensure you are meeting the fundamental standards set by the CQC, including the five key questions they ask themselves during inspections.
  • Choose commercial equipment to make meeting your nutrition and food safety obligations easier.
  • Seek guidance from a JLA expert who can help you ensure your layout and processes will meet regulations.
  • Stay prepared – the CQC can arrive unannounced – be sure that you are always inspection-ready.

As with any part of commercial kitchen design, it’s important to ask a JLA expert who can advise on layouts, workflows, regulations and maintenance. Our team can help you make informed choices, and find the best kit for your specific needs.

"I am always impressed by the professionalism of JLA. Whether they’re advising us on choosing new laundry equipment or helping us during engineer visits, their expertise is the best I’ve experienced.

We set and maintain high standards of care within our homes which means our laundry equipment has to provide continuous, reliable and high quality service. Over the years we have found that ‘normal’ domestic machines are simply not robust enough to cope with the high demands placed upon them – which results in regular mechanical or parts failure.

As the personal care and hygiene needs of our young people and staff need to be met on a daily basis, we must have machines that are fit for purpose and up to the task. We also need fast response if we require an engineer to attend to any issues we may experience."

Guy Brewer, Assistant Head of Service at Aberlour Sycamore Services

Nothing quite says ‘professional’ like crisp, clean white sheet or fluffy white towels. However, a number of common washing mistakes (many of which you may not even realise you’re doing) can leave your once bright whites a washed out shade of grey or yellow over time.

Whether you run a laundry room in a care home, school, hospital, spa, restaurant or another busy business, here are four simple steps for keeping whites white – and they’ll work at home too.

How to wash whites

By following these simple tips for your white laundry, it’s easy to ensure that your sheets, towels and other items stay as bright as the day they were bought. Here’s how to keep your whites white in a busy business laundry…

Separate colours and fabrics

While it may be common practice to not mix black and white laundry garments in the wash, it’s easy to overlook the mixing of other, lighter shades (such as blue, green and pink) with white items. This won’t necessarily result in colour transfer or ‘bleeding’, but white fabric is prone to picking up fluff from darker items, which will make it appear dingy and unclean.

If you’re in a hard water area, this can discolour your whites.

Ask a laundry expert about water softeners.

As well as colours, you should also take into account fabric types when washing whites for residents, uniforms for staff, chef whites or things like table cloths and towels. This is due to the fact that some delicate materials will require laundering at a lower temperature, or even by hand.

To make separating your fabrics as simple as possible, refer to the following guidelines: 

  • Acetates and acrylics can be washed together
  • Cotton, linen and similar materials can be washed together
  • Wool should be washed separately
  • Delicates should be washed separately (often by hand)
  • Do not skip rinses as detergent carryover will discolour items when drying

Avoid overloading your washer

Packing laundry into your machine might seem like a good way to get more done in less time, but it could lead to poor results on your load of whites (and re-washing which uses up more water and electricity and will bump up your bills). Always leave enough space between items for the water to flush away the grease, grime and dirt to get the brightest whites.

Wash at the highest temperature possible

As a general rule, white garments should be washed at a temperature of at least 65 degrees. This is typically the best option for white clothing or sheets as higher temperatures are the most effective at removing ingrained dirt (as well as sanitising and killing germs).

However, as we already know, wool and similarly delicate fabrics will shrink or obtain further damage if laundered at too high a temperature. To ensure such items retain their original brightness without their quality being compromised, you could add a whitener or brightener to the wash (please ask our experts for advice on this).

While the above guidance is a good ‘rule of thumb’ guide for keeping whites white, it’s also possible to get the same results or better at low temperatures – using ozone laundry. This natural (disinfection) method also opens up fibres more than a traditional thermal wash, which can help you get soft, fluffy towels that impress your guests.

Discover OTEX Ozone Laundry system and get bright whites at low temperatures >>

Use the correct detergent

White laundry, black and brightly coloured garments all have different requirements to keep them looking their very best. To boost the brightness of your items and prevent dingy whites, opt for a detergent with an added bleaching agent. Be warned though…bleach shouldn’t be used to get the same effect on bright colours as this will fade them.

Once you’ve found the most suitable detergent, it’s important to use the right amount during each wash cycle. While items may not be badly stained (leading many to believe that they only need to use half of the recommended amount of detergent) this can have a detrimental effect on your washing equipment. Find out how detergent auto-dosing could help.

By not using the recommended amount of laundry detergent, grease and limescale will build up in the washer, resulting in garments picking up more dirt during the wash. Use too much, and your items will come out of the wash with sticky residue that attracts dirt quicker than a fully rinsed item.

Prevent and pre-treat stains

We’ve all had those moments – you’re wearing a new white outfit, when suddenly you’ve spilt something down the front of it. The same can happen with new bedding, uniforms, towels and other expensive-to-replace items. Luckily, it’s easy to salvage your items with these simple tips…

  • Check each item before you put it in the laundry. If a stain is visible, it should be treated before it goes into the washing machine.
  • ​Don’t let the stain dry – soak and treat it as soon as possible, ideally within 15 minutes. As soon as it becomes ingrained in the fabric, it will be all the harder to remove.
  • Immediately pre-treat the garment with a stain removal product (ideally oxygen based or a product from a professional detergents range rather than vinegar or lemon juice as some might suggest) formulated specifically for the stain type (such as sauce or ink). Alternatively, you can use a small amount of detergent.
  • Use chlorine bleach as a pre-treatment only as a last resort– it has the potential to damage delicate garments, so always check the inner care label before applying to the fabric.
  • After pre-treating, try a cold wash (or look into ozone laundry) – in some instances, hot water can seal in stains, making them harder to remove in the long-run.
  • If your stain isn’t removed after laundering, don’t let the garment dry. Pre-treat and wash for a second time (or until the stain is considerably faded or removed).
  • To prevent yellowing from everyday wear, simply add half a cup of baking soda to each wash. ​Bonus tip: use a colour remover – they can be very effective on whites too.

Remember: if in doubt, check the clothes washing labels before washing or treating garments.

Iron carefully

Always check the recommended ironing settings for the clothes or fabrics you’re washing. Too hot and you could scorch the fabric, too cool and you won’t remove all the wrinkles, which can leave your whites looking dull due to ‘crease shadows’.

Our friendly commercial laundry team has all the advice you need when it comes to tips on how to wash whites to keep them white, so please get in touch if you’re having issues.

Need help? Call us on

01422822282

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