May 2023

JLA chemist Lucy Cripwell talks us through the differences between the everyday laundry detergents you’ll find on supermarket shelves, and the specialist products available from JLA.

Even if you deal with detergents day-in, day-out, you might still wonder how commercial detergents actually differ from domestic products. While it’s generally understood that commercial detergents are beneficial in professional settings, the ‘why’ is less talked about.

So, why is commercial laundry detergent better than domestic detergent?

1. Commercial detergents are specialised for larger commercial machines ensuring a more effective clean

Commercial detergents are specially formulated to cope with the high demands of a professional laundry set up, from enhanced stain removal to controlled foaming, using commercial detergents will prove more beneficial than domestic detergents in a professional setting. Whilst the presence of some suds in your machine isn’t a problem, too much, and the mechanical action of your washing is compromised – domestic detergents can cause excessive foaming in larger commercial machines. This excessive foaming will negatively impact your wash quality, and could potentially even cause damage to your machine.

Stain removal is another key part in achieving excellent wash quality, commercial detergents contain active ingredients that can effectively clean and remove the tough levels of soiling seen in a professional environment.

2. There’s a much broader range of commercial products for different requirements

As domestic washing machines are designed to be used within the home, domestic detergents are generally enough to sufficiently tackle these day-to-day dirt and stains. Commercial machines, however, deal with much more varied laundry from a mixture of environments, sometimes even communal. This means commercial washing machines are more likely to handle heavy soiling and hard-to-remove / complex stains, such as oil and grease. It’s because of reasons like this a broader range of specialist products are needed to give a higher performance of washing.

For example, certain industries rely on powerful emulsifiers to remove oil and grease stains from their linen. If these garments are cleaned solely with a domestic detergent, these types of stains might not be removed correctly. This can lead to safety risks, as when oil and grease are not effectively removed from linen in the wash process, there is a risk of a fire when the linen is placed into a tumble dryer. In a similar way, those in the healthcare sector rely on a greater selection of commercial products including destainers, to provide superior wash quality.

3. They give an added layer of reassurance

We (and manufacturers like us) work closely in partnership with our customers to not only get the results they need, but formulate products that are kinder to the environment. Both JLA and our chemical manufacturers are accredited to ISO 14001, which means our customers enjoy the assurance that all our raw materials and packaging materials come from sustainable sources, and that our products have minimal impact. We believe in reformulating products for the right reasons, backed by the latest in scientific research, and will continue to seek new ways to improve them.

Another way commercial detergents can offer reassurance comes from the specialised detergent auto-dosing systems which are available. Auto-dosing accurately and automatically dispenses the correct dose of commercial detergent into your washing machine. Some further benefits to auto-dosing include protection to staff as there is no need to manually handle and dose chemicals. Plus, reduction in waste that can come from user error or spillages which can further minimise cost and energy use.

To learn more about our detergents range, simply get in touch. If you’re a Total Care customer, you can also browse our detergents store in MyJLA.

Glossary:

Suds – foam made from soap and water

Emulsifiers – laundry additive to improve the removal of grease and oil from fabrics

Destainers – laundry additive to enhance stain removal

ISO 14001 – an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system

Auto-dosing – commercial laundry detergent dispenser – an automatic dosing pump specially designed for commercial washing machines

As a care home owner or manager, you’ll know how challenging it can feel to provide high-quality care while balancing your books – especially during the current energy crisis. The good news, though, is that you don’t have to weather this tricky time alone. In this post, we’ve pulled together details of some of the financial support and resources that are currently available.

The new Energy Bills Discount Scheme

(April ‘23-March ’24)

The government’s Energy Bills Discount scheme has now replaced the UK Energy Bill relief scheme, and could provide some help with your energy bills until 31^st March 2024. Through the scheme, non-domestic energy customers automatically receive a baseline discount from May.

The scheme is open to private and public organisations, including care homes that are:

On existing fixed price contracts agreed on/after 1^st December 2021
Signing new fixed price contracts
On deemed/out of contract or variable tariffs, or on flexible purchase (or similar) contracts
On variable ‘Day Ahead Index’ (DAI) tariffs (Northern Ireland only)

If your care home is eligible, you’ll receive a per-unit discount to your energy bill, subject to a maximum discount. This will be phased in as wholesale prices exceed certain threshold prices:

Electricity: £19.61 per megawatt hour (MWh) with a price threshold of £302 per MWh.
Gas: £6.97 per megawatt hour (MWh) a price threshold of £107 per MWh
The discount is calculated as the difference between the wholesale price associated with an energy contract, and the price threshold.
The discount is phased in when the contract’s wholesale price exceeds the floor price, until the total discount per MWh reaches the maximum discount for that fuel.

The discount is only applied to the wholesale element of your bill, so the final per unit price will differ because it includes network charges and operating costs. For this reason, it’s still worth shopping around to find the best deal.

For more about the scheme, visit gov.uk/guidance/energy-bills-discount-scheme

Warm Home Discount scheme

The Warm Home Discount scheme (sometimes called a cold weather payment) gives eligible households a one-off discount on their energy bills during the winter months. Some energy suppliers also pass on this discount to care homes, so it’s worth checking in with your supplier to see if you’re eligible.

It’s also worth mentioning that the scheme works differently depending on where you’re based – England and Wales, or Scotland. Again, your supplier should be able to help.

Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme

The government’s Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme provides energy supplier funding towards energy efficiency improvements in homes and other buildings, including care homes. It’s designed to reduce carbon emissions and improve a building’s energy efficiency, which in your care home could improve comfort for residents and staff alike.

It’s important to note that ECO4 is not a grant scheme. It is up to the energy companies to determine which retrofit projects they choose to fund, the level of funding they provide, and the Retrofit Coordinator and installers that they choose to work with.

If you’re eligible for support under the ECO scheme, you could be looking at fully funded improvements including new insulation, boiler or heating system upgrades, and other measures to help reduce energy consumption and cut your energy bills.

To see if your care home qualifies for ECO4 upgrades, contact your energy company directly to find out if they may be able to help you.

Local council energy grants and business programmes

In a similar way to the ECO scheme, local councils and energy companies sometimes offer energy efficiency grants directly to care homes. These grants are made to help you cover the cost of important energy-saving upgrades like insulation, more efficient lighting, and new heating systems.

Similarly, some local councils offer a Business Energy Efficiency Programme, which provides advice and funding to help businesses, including care homes, reduce their energy consumption and costs.

Eligibility for these programmes and schemes will vary depending on where you’re based, as well as specific circumstances. Check in with your local council or energy supplier to see what support is available.

Further support with care home energy costs

If you’re concerned about your care home’s energy costs and you’d like to explore other ways you can reduce your energy bills, JLA’s experts are always here with guidance and strategies, so please feel free to get in touch. We also recently launched our energy savings hub, which offers practical tips on ways to save.

Total Care

Existing customers

Month: May 2023