How deep is the "water" in the laundry industry
Release Time:
2011-09-16 13:48
Source:
Suzhou Daily
The proper water washing process should be like this: according to the different characteristics of fiber types and different sources, separate items such as bed sheets, pillowcases, and tablecloths for washing, and finally disinfect and iron them at high temperature, then automatically fold them. As shown in the picture.
What is the current development status and specific operation of the Suzhou water washing industry? During the reporter's interview, it was found that in some laundries, how to wash and what counts as clean is entirely decided by each owner.
Tablecloths, bed sheets, and towels are almost always washed mixed using "strong powder".
According to Cui Liyong, general manager of Hezhong Laundry Service Department, according to the proper water washing operation, after receiving the items sent by customers, the first step should be sorting, which means separating heavily soiled items from lightly soiled ones; then during washing, according to the different fiber characteristics and sources, tablecloths, placemats, bed sheets, pillowcases, towels, etc. should be classified and washed separately.
The reporter saw at a factory area on Langlifulu Road in Xiangcheng District, where a signboard of Lantian Ribbon Factory hangs at the door, that workers in three small laundries there seemed to have no concept of classified washing, but mixed tablecloths, placemats, bed sheets, and towels all together for washing.
At around 3 p.m. that day, a delivery van stopped at the easternmost laundry. A laundry worker opened a bundle of linens dragged down by the driver and immediately put it into the washing machine. Inside were hotel bedding items such as bed sheets and duvet covers, as well as restaurant items like napkins, placemats, and work clothes. The worker explained, "The quantity is not much, so no need to separate."
At this laundry supervisor's place, there is a notebook recording daily workloads, showing that most units sending public textile items here for washing are local and nearby small and medium-sized hotels and restaurants, about 20 or so daily.
The reporter also saw on site that each washing bucket used by workers had the words of a certain brand of strong powder, a laundry detergent specially used for washing public textile items. Besides this, no other detergents were used. Workers smiled and said this detergent can clean everything, so why use others? When someone mentioned chlorine bleaching, neutralizing acid, and other processes, workers said, "Never heard of them." Regarding how the washed items are disinfected, a worker from one factory said, "No need to disinfect."
At Lusheng Road in the park, the reporter saw a small laundry washing towels for some local bath centers, which were just hung on trees to dry in the sun. Whether this was for disinfection is unknown.
Clothes not fully cleaned but steamed and ironed emit unpleasant and pungent odors.
The laundries wash public textile items, which are not only numerous and frequently used but also dirty, requiring higher washing standards. Besides detergent, emulsifiers are needed to remove oil, disinfection is done through color or chlorine bleaching, and finally neutralizing acid is used to remove chlorine and rust to ensure hygiene, cleanliness, and prolong service life. However, some small and medium laundries seem to only use strong powder and do not disinfect these items.
Among the three laundries in Lantian Ribbon Factory, one laundry's washing machine discharged water that was black and dirty, full of white foam, and the worker had already taken out the items and sent them to the next step—ironing. On site, the steam emitted during ironing had an unpleasant smell.
A worker from the neighboring factory told the reporter that to save money, items without obvious stains were only rinsed with clean water and not washed at all.
The root of the "chaos" lies in the fact that proper water washing costs are too high.
How did such chaos form in the water washing industry? Cui Liyong believes one important reason is that the cost of proper water washing enterprises is too high, allowing some irregular small businesses to take advantage. He cited his own company's situation: currently having dry cleaning and water washing workshops, 20 fully automatic washing machines, one large automatic folding machine, and one large automatic ironing machine. Although the workload is not full, they only dare to accept washing orders from hotels and bath centers outside Suzhou city because they lack a "household goods access permit" for trucks entering the city. Each month, they pay over 5,000 yuan in fines for transporting linens to some city hotels, making costs too high.
Meanwhile, the current water washing industry mainly serves budget hotels, foot baths, and sauna bath centers, which are generally small in scale and accept low washing prices. When the cost of proper water washing enterprises rises, these clients seek cheaper small laundries.
Industry thresholds need to be raised and supervision must be stricter.
According to Suzhou Administration for Industry and Commerce statistics, by the end of June this year, there were 1,357 catering and tourism hotels in the Suzhou metropolitan area, with nearly 120,000 beds in the urban area. Therefore, as a senior figure in Suzhou's washing industry, Vice President Gui Meihua of the Washing Industry Association hopes that while the industry self-regulates, the government can introduce relevant support policies to guide the industry to eliminate the weak and let standardized enterprises grow stronger.
Industry insiders say that the water washing industry's low entry threshold has to some extent "contributed" to the current chaos. They hope that health supervision, environmental protection, and other regulatory departments will strengthen supervision. Whether these departments can strictly enforce licensing conditions, raise entry thresholds, and promote industry standardization improvement.
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