Hotel Housekeeping Module 18: Laundry Operations

Paper 15: Hotel Housekeeping Module 18: Laundry Operations THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM Principal Investigator Prof. S. P. Bansal, Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi University, Rewari Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Prashant K. Gautam, Director, UIHTM, Panjab University, Chandigarh Paper Coordinator Prof. Ashish Dahiya Director, IHTM Maharshi Dayananad University, Rohtak, Haryana Content Writer Prof. Ashish Dahiya Director, IHTM Maharshi Dayananad University, Rohtak, Haryana Content Reviewer Prof. S.C. Bagri Director, Centre for Mountain Tourism & Hospitality Studies HNB Garhwal University, Uttarakhand ITEMS DESCRIPTION OF MODULE Subject Name Tourism & Hospitality Paper Name Hotel Housekeeping Module Title Laundry Operations Module Id Module no-18 Pre- Requisites Basic knowledge of laundry and its operations Objectives To understand the various types of laundries & the various operations which are carried out in them. Keywords Laundry, Laundry operations, Laundry handling, Stain removal, Dry cleaning TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Learning Outcomes 2. Introduction 3. Types Of Laundries 4. Laundry Process 5. Stain Removal 6. Dry Cleaning 7. Handling Guest Laundry 8. Summary 9. Learning Outcomes QUADRANT – I LEARNING OUTCOMES After completing this module students will be able to: I. Develop an understanding of concept of Laundry II. Discuss the process of Laundry. III. Come to know about stain removal and the procedures of removing stain from linen. IV. Understand about dry cleaning and the process of dry cleaning. V. Define the procedure of handling of guest laundry. LAUNDRY OPERATIONS Introduction The term ‘laundry’ is used to define a room in a house, hotel or institution where clothes and linen can be washed and ironed. Types of Laundries A hotel can operate its laundry services through the following types of laundries. Commercial/Off-site/Contracted Laundries These are the laundries, which render their services to hotels on contract basis. It is a very good option for those hotels, which do not want to invest a lot of money in the setting up of their own laundry or do not have sufficient space for constructing the laundry in the hotels. A hotel can take the services of the commercial laundry by entering into contract with it. This contract specifies the rate at which the different articles of linen will be laundered, the time taken for laundering, and so on. Usually the soiled linen after laundering is returned back to the hotel within 24-48 hours. The stained and other linen which require special treatments for cleaning are hold back by the laundries, as their cleaning requires more time than the normal soiled linen. The laundries generally keep 3-5 per cent of the soiled linen for this purpose Advantages to the hotel The commercial laundries give following advantages to the hotel property. The costs of labor are saved. Little requirement of technical expertise. No capital outlay Disadvantages Contract laundries have some disadvantages as well. They are as follows: Delays in the collection and delivery of linen Hotels have very less control over standards Hotels have to maintain higher stocks of linen as the whole process of cleaning and returning of the linen takes longer time. Incidents of loss of linen increases Hotel has to bear extra costs for special treatments of the linen. On-premises/on-site/in-house laundry They are those laundries which are located within the premises of the hotel. On-site laundries are also called as hotel’s own laundry. It can be run by the management of the hotel or managed on a contract. They require huge investment of the capital in the beginning. Many hotels opt for this option to provide quality service to guests. In-house laundry gives more care in laundering the linen as all the responsibility now vests on its shoulders. Par stocks are reduced as the in-house laundry takes a maximum of 8 hours to return laundered articles. Chances of loss of linen are reduced as the linen does not leave the premises. This facility increases the life of linen as there is better supervision and control than off-premise laundry. However, if an equipment failure occurs, a contingency plan should be ready to cope up with this situation. Advantages to the hotel The OPL has following advantages: It is a capital asset for the hotel. Emergency requirements of linen can be dealt easily Its laundry cycle is fast. Hence, hotels have to maintain fewer stocks. Chances of loss of linen articles are reduced. Disadvantages It increases the cost of labour. One has to do huge initial capital investment for establishing it. It has high cost of maintenance, repairs and overheads. OPl requires special management team or technical expertise for managing it. Laundromats It is a self-service laundry, coin laundry or coin wash laundry, generally found in motels. They are called coin laundries because they are utilized by using coin slots to pay according to the load or by making a fixed monthly payment. Long –stay guests of some resorts also utilize this equipment. The Laundry Process The main stages of the laundry process are as follows: 1. Pre-washing 2. Washing 3. Rinsing 4. Hydro-extraction 5. Finishing Pre-washing The steps undertaken at the pre-washing stage are as follows: Collecting and Sorting soiled linen The GRAs are responsible for the collection and sorting of soiled linen. They carry a room attendant’s cart with them, which has a separate soiled linen bag for collecting the soiled linen. The GRAs remove the soiled linen from beds and public areas and put them directly into this bag. Linen of F & B is kept in hampers for delivery to the laundry. To make the process of sorting easy, the stained linen is knotted in one corner. Soiled linen must be sent to the laundry immediately so that stains do not set in. several hotels send the soiled linen to the linen room before sending it to the laundry where it is sorted, counted, and recorded. If hotel uses off-site laundry service, then the soiled linen is marked in the linen room before being transferred to the off-site laundry. Transporting soiled linen to the Laundry To facilitate the movement of the soiled linen to the laundry, large hotels consists of a linen chute which moves down the whole height of the building to the laundry’s soil and sort area. Other hotels use linen carts and laundry sacks for the transportation of the laundry. GRAs should only use those carts that are free of protrusions because they could snag or tear items. Sorting Sorting is done in the soil and sort area in the laundry. This area should have adequate for storing a day’s worth laundry. The soiled articles in this section are sorted out according to the following parameters: Firstly, the soiled linen is sorted according to the degree of soiling into various categories like stained, unstained, heavily soiled, medium-soiled, and lightly soiled articles. The articles are further sorted by color and fastness of dye. They are then sorted according to the type of fibre used in making them. Before washing, the linen which require repair is separated and sent to the tailor who will mend it. And if the article which needs mending is heavily soiled, is first washed and then sent for mending. The new linen should be monogrammed before washing so that it can easily be identified and controlled for pilferage. Condemned or discarded linen is separated from the soiled linen and cut down before washing. Light linen are also sorted out and washed separately. They are linen which have lost their standard condition. All fancy accessories and attachments such as rings, buckles, false collars of curtains etc. should be removed from linen to be washed. One should also keep in mind that all pockets are emptied and folds are checked before washing. Weighing and Loading Now, the sorted articles are weighed while dry. It is a useful step since each washing machine has specific loading instructions which must be followed. Washing The machines have to be operated according to the manufacturer’s instructions for maximum efficiency. One should also vary the temperatures, washing times, and processing chemicals on the basis of the types of fabrics being laundered. Determine the right washing program The following parameters depict the proper washing program: Duration While choosing the right washing program, one should consider the level of the soil on the linen. Because, the more the soil is on the linen, the more time the washing program will take for removing the dirt from the linen. The other factor which must be taken into account is the rate at which the soil is removed from the linen during the washing program. In the beginning of the wash cycle it is highest and then gets slower with the passage of time. Temperature The laundry workers usually to save energy select the lowest possible temperature to accomplish their tasks. But some types of soils need high temperatures for their cleaning and some detergents and chemicals perform their action only on high temperatures. Hence, one has to keep in mind this factor while selecting the right temperature for the wash cycle for example sheets and pillowcases require 95 degree Celsius washing temperature. Agitation It is the scrubbing action of the machine. Overloading the washers causes agitation which contributes to inadequate washing. Hence, one should not overload the washers as it will cause wear and tear in the equipment too. Chemicals One should also decide on the chemicals that will be used in washing, as some chemicals work best on particular types of soils and fabric. Hardness of water Hard water consists of salts which upon mixing with soap and synthetic detergents forms a sticky substance known as ‘soap curd’, which gets deposited on the laundry and makes articles stiff.

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