Laundry Equipments for Textile Care

Karthi Krishna
Department of Fashion Technology
Sona College of technology, Salem, Tamilnadu
Email: [email protected]

Laundry Equipments:
A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, or washer) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and is performed by specialist businesses) or ultrasonic cleaners. The user adds laundry detergent, which is sold in liquid or powder form, to the wash water. There are various types of laundry equipments are used in industrial washing. In this article I will discuss about it.

Methods of Washing:

Manual washing:
Laundering by hand, involves soaking, beating, scrubbing, and rinsing dirty textiles. Water for the laundry would be hand carried, heated on a fire for washing, then poured into the tub. Removal of soap and water from the clothing after washing was a separate process. First, the soap would be rinsed out with clear water. After rinsing, the soaking wet clothing would be formed into a roll and twisted by hand to extract water. The entire process often occupied an entire day of hard work, plus drying and ironing or pressing.

Machine washing:
A clothes washer technology developed as a way to reduce the manual labor spent, providing an open basin or sealed container with paddles or fingers to automatically agitate the clothing.

Study of Modern/Industrial Washing Machines (Laundry Equipments):

Rotary washing machine:
The early rotary washer consisted of a hand-turned crank that rotated, or turned on an axis, a perforated cylinder inside a wooden shell. That allowed the water to be forced through the clothing inside the cylinder as someone turned the hand crank to rotate the cylinder.

Motorized rotary washer:
Modern rotary washing machines for clothing operate on the same principle as the original, but an electric motor causes the rotary action now. Although the early rotary washing machines were loaded from the top, front loading rotary washing machines are now available. In addition, rotary washers are often called rotary drum machines. Rotary washing machines are often used in textile laboratories as garment washing / drying machines when performing tests on fabrics.

Swirling washing machine:
Swirl is an innovative concept that simplifies the hectic process of laundry in developing countries by eliminating the need of carrying water from distant supply areas and carrying heavy laundry to and from the source of water. This human focused design shapes like a ball that contains a swirled sphere like basket and lid, joined to a steel tube handle. After putting water and the cloths inside, the user have to simply roll the washing ball back and forth by pulling or pushing the handle that is screw-locked with the ball. This playful concept provides a convenient and functional washing alternative.

Pressure washing machine:
The pump squirts out the hot, soapy water through the reinforced, high-pressure exit hose. The narrow nozzle on these attachments helps to increase the pressure of the water jet even more. The high-pressure of the jet cleans more effectively and reduce water consumption.

Steps involved:

1. Detergent flows in from a bottle or container through one hose.
2. Cold water flows in from a faucet (tap) through another hose and is filtered on the way in.
3. An electric motor or diesel engine powers the washer.
4. Powered by the engine or motor, a water pump (impeller) draws in the detergent and water and mixes them together. Most washers also heat the water to a temperature of 50–70°C (125–155°F).

Tumble type washing machines:
In tumble wash system, the low speed spin portion spins the wash basket in the horizontal direction. When the wash basked spins, the clothes start to tumble, which gives this system its name. Tumble washers use a lot of detergent to get rid of all the dirt from the clothes. This system is mainly seen on front load washing machines.

Some of the benefits of a tumble wash system are:

1. Clothes do not get tangled during the wash process
2. These washers make use of the limited amount of water during the washing process
3. As the spinning speeds are low, tumble washers consume less power

Agitator wash system:
The Agitator wash system is mostly seen on top load washing machines. In this system, agitators are placed in the center of the washer. These agitators are tall vertical spindles which are finned. The agitator rotates and rubs around the clothes in different directions to ensure that the dirt is removed thoroughly. Some of the benefits of choosing a washing machine with an agitator wash system are:

1. The agitator rubs against the clothes to remove stubborn stains and dirt
2. Washing machines with agitators mostly come with a high energy star rating
3. These washers soak clothes in the water that is re-circulated from the wash cycle

Impeller and pulsator wash system:
Washing machines with impeller or pulsator wash systems are completely opposite than the one seen on the agitator wash system. The impeller wash system comes with a cone, wheel or disc that revolves or rotates so that the clothes rub against each other to get rid of the dirt.

Furthermore, just like the agitator wash system, even the impeller system is mainly seen on top load washing machines. Some of the benefits of an impeller or pulsator wash system:

1. This wash system utilizes a minimum amount of water to wash the clothes
2. Pulsator wash systems are easy and gentle on the clothes and also provide efficient washing
3. With only a disc or cone at the bottom, washing machines with an impeller wash system have more room in the wash bask

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3. Front Loading & Side Loading Washing Machine: Features and Differences
4. What Types of Garment Washing Machine Used in Washing Plant

Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. He is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.

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