Shirt laundry is an important aspect of drycleaning. The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute recently updated its Laundry Performance Evaluation (LPE) diagnostic tool to help member drycleaners improve their shirt cleaning quality. The evaluation measures a wash formula’s ability to maintain whiteness, minimize fiber damage and remove soils. It also measures the effectiveness of bleaches in the cleaning system. Since many laundry operations no longer use chlorine bleaches, DLI’s Research department updated the Laundry Performance Evaluation with a pink fabric swatch stained with red wine to measure the effectiveness of non-chlorine bleaches, including hydrogen peroxide, sodium perborate and peracetic acid.
Member cleaners receive evaluation towels containing white and soiled fabric swatches to test their system’s effectiveness in several categories. Cleaners run the test piece in a regular load and return it to the Institute for evaluation. After the Institute receives the processed test piece reserachers evaluate how well the system performed and offer suggestions for improving the cleaning quality.
“DLI is always updating and improving its services to be more useful to its members,” said Mary Scalco, DLI CEO. “This has always been a great, easy to use tool that was long overdue for an update. Now with the new bleach swatch this service will appeal to a greater number of our members.”
