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Hygienic hotel textile care process

Hotel textiles are cared for in specialized hotel textile laundries. The process involves collecting dirty laundry from the customer, sorting, washing, drying and finishing, quality control with repair and replacement when necessary, folding, packing and delivery to the customers.

Sorting
Dirty laundry is sorted according to textile material and colour, dirtiness and different wash categories. At this stage, all foreign objects are removed from the laundry.

Washing
The laundry is washed in either a washer extractor or using a continuous bath washing machine. The washing temperature is 70°C for 10 min. However, laundry can also be washed using the low-temperature-process. This uses a washing temperature of 50-65°C.

Drying and Finishing
Towels are dried in tumble driers, after which they are mechanically folded using a folding machine. The temperature of the out-coming air at the end of the drying cycle is 80-90°C. Flat linen is dried in an ironer before being mechanically folded using a folding machine. The ironer's temperature is set to 170°C.

Quality Inspection
Each textile undergoes quality inspection during drying and finishing. Textiles still evidencing stains are washed again or removed from circulation. Damaged textiles are sent away for repairs.

Packing
According to packing requirements, the mechanically folded textiles are packed either into cloth covered trolleys or laundry bags.

Delivery
The packed textiles are delivered to the customer via a delivery vehicle and to the agreed upon location. The delivery vehicle is also responsible for picking up the dirty laundry from the customer, which should be covered with a cloth or come in laundry bags. Clean and dirty laundry can be transported in the same vehicle as they are separately packed to avoid cross-contamination. The laundry bags and trolley covers are washed after every use. Customers are visited by the delivery service in accordance with the scheduled timetable, which can vary from 1-6 times per week.

Biocontamination Control
All laundries offering hotel textile services work according to the ISO 9001 Quality Management System Certification, which also includes an internal laundry hygiene control system. The system is designed around standard EN SFS 14065 - Laundry processed textiles - Biocontamination control.

The textiles' microbiological hygiene is ensured during the washing process through thermo- or chemical-disinfection. Thermo-disinfection occurs at 70°C for 10 minutes. Chemical-disinfection is carried out using the right combination of washing chemicals and conditions. Once the disinfection has taken place, it is essential to protect the textiles from recontamination. This is done by thoroughly following the correct working methods and instructions during the drying, inspection, repair and packing stages.

The laundries' working and operational instructions contain an RABC - Risk Analysis and Biocontamination Control and hygiene requirement in accordance with standard SFS-EN 14065. Internal audits are used to ensure compliance with the instructions. The functionality of the washing process is guaranteed through internal controls, which include regular monitoring of wash temperatures and times, washing powder dosage and drying temperatures, as well as the mangle's speed. In addition, microbiological test samples are regularly taken from laundered textile surfaces and the remaining control points listed in the supervisory control program.