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What detergents do you need for commercial laundry?

August 15, 2022 / Wolf News

Flow detergents from Wolf Laundry
Commercial Laundry Detergents from Wolf Laundry

Invested in a great commercial washing machine? Confident of the fresh scent of laundry success in the future?

We don’t want to rain on your parade, but the right equipment is only part of the battle.

To be sure of getting the best from a commercial washing machine, it’s essential to use the right detergents too.

Not sure what they are? Here the team at Wolf Laundry, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of commercial laundry equipment, offer professional insight into everything you need for a high quality clean. 

What you need and why

Detergent

Water alone can’t sufficiently clean fabrics and it’s a given that you’ll need to invest in a quality detergent for your washing machine.

Detergents help to break up and remove stains. Containing surfactants – which help to reduce fabric surface tension and ensure even soaking and cleaning – you can choose between biological and non-biological options.

Biological detergents contain enzymes and work well even at low temperatures (between 30°C and 50°C). Non-biological detergents don’t contain enzymes – making them kinder for sensitive skin – but they typically need higher temperatures to achieve the same results.

Destainers

The demands put on commercial laundry invariable means particularly tough stains. To make sure these are removed first time, you’ll need the help of a destainer.

If your linen needs to be washed at a low temperature watch out for a specific low temp destainer, for effective stain removal in washes as low as 20°C. And for heavily soiled items, it’s worth seeking out a pre-soak option that can be washed at higher temperatures.

Emulsifiers

Working with grease, fat or oil? Whether it’s fragrant essential oils used for spa treatments, kitchen fat or engine grease splattered across overalls, to get shut you’ll need an emulsifier.

Safe to use on whites and coloured loads, emulsifiers enable water and oil to mix, helping to ‘lift’ greasy stains and wash them away.

Fabric conditioner

Constant use and washing puts stress on clothes and fabrics but a little fabric conditioner can counter this.

By lightly conditioning textile fibres, using fabric conditioner helps to maintain materials’ texture and elasticity. But they’re not the only benefits. Adding fabric conditioner to a wash also reduces static – and particularly clever conditioners also feature quick drying and easy iron technology.  

Starch

Nothing says laundry perfection quite like the starched whites of freshly laundered tablecloths, chef whites or crisp clean bed linen.

Adding starch to a wash makes ironing easier. Add to this the fact it also increases a fabric’s resistance to creases and stains and it’s easy to see why it’s a favourite to use.

Alkali wash boost

If you’re new to commercial laundry, there’s every chance you haven’t even heard of this option!

Adding an alkali boost increases the pH of your wash. Why might you need this? Hard water can impact the performance of detergents. Adding an alkali boost will ensure chemicals work at their optimum levels and help to shift even the most stubborn stains.

What about dosing?

Now you know what you need but how do you make sure you’re using the right amount?

Easy.

The simplest way to guarantee you don’t use too much (wasting money), or too little (reducing the effectiveness of your clean), is to look for automatic dispensing options.

This takes the guesswork out of dosing and does the hard work for you. Ensuring the right amount of the right product is used… you guessed it… at the right time during the cycle.

Talk to the professionals

At Wolf Laundry, we’ve developed our own range of industrial washing detergents. With destainers, emulsifiers and everything in-between, we offer all you need to achieve the perfect wash with every load. 

View our range of detergents now and to place an order, or find out more about our automatic dispensing options, get in touch with the team.