3 intro to ozone laundry

7/22/2019 3 Intro to Ozone Laundry

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Ozone in the Laundry Industry Today

Ozone has been used in various applications in Europe for over a century and in the UnitedStates for over thirty years. Within the last decade, ozone has been applied in the laundryindustry through advances in technology and safety. Ozone technology has been recognized by

major commercial washer manufacturers and has accommodated their washers to accept ozonewithout damaging their product, making the installation processes seamless.

Within the last few years, ozone has become overwhelmingly popular in the laundry industry.Major OPL manufacturers are now endorsing and building ozone equipment directly onto theirwashers at factory. They are doing this for several reasons; the OPL market has turned flat,

meaning there hasnt been any new major advances (besides pretty lights and interfaces) in the

industry in several years. Selling ozone systems as an upgrade package will create new andexciting profit centers for the manufacturer and dealer. Last but not least, the results of usingozone in a wash cycle are very beneficial to the customer.

Ozone is the earths strongest natural oxidizer; it is 150% stronger and 3000x faster acting thanchlorine-bleach. Ozone also works best in cold environments and leaves no harmful by-productsbehind. The most recognized benefits of using ozone in a laundry application are:

Energy reduction Reduce hot water by 85% Reduce natural gas by 55% Reduce water consumption by 20% Reduce electricity by 5%

Cut chemical use by 10% or more Extended linen life by 20% or more Better Efficiency in the facility Kill bacteria, viruses and superbugs better than hot water

1. Energy ReductionBecause ozone works best in cold environments, the need for hot water is reduced by85% and in some cases eliminated. For example; one sixty-pound washer completingeight loads per day could save over 535,820 therms per year! Like hot water, ozoneactives chemicals and helps to oxidize soils, making them easier to remove from washwater. Ozone has an additional benefit of relaxing linen fibers. This will help removesoils from the linen and extract more water on the last spin cycle, shortening dry times.

Dry times are shortened for two reasons. First, the reduction in alkaline based chemicalsprevents the buildup of calcium deposits in the linen. Calcium deposits make the linenfeel tough and also hold moisture in the fibers. Reducing the chemical will let the linendry faster and feel softer. Secondly, by opening up linen fibers the washer is able toextract more water in the last spin cycle. By using ozone properly in the wash cycle, thereduction of tumbler/dryer energy wouldbe no less than 20%, thats over 135,225 thermsper year with a 150,000 btu/hr machine.


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Cutting natural gas costs and reducing carbon footprints is just the start. Most washershave factory programmed wash cycles for the different types of linen being washed. It isnot uncommon for a facility to use nine or more different cycles. With this type ofprogrammable washer it is relatively easy to reprogram the wash cycles to the ozonewash cycle program. In most cases the chemical representative will complete the

reprogramming of the washer.

By reprogramming the wash cycles the facility will gain many benefits, including waterreduction, electrical savings and better efficiency. A typical white towel wash programcan be changed as follows.

a. Remove flush stepb. Combine detergent (suds) and bleach stepsc. Add intermediate extract after first rinsed. Reduce one high fill rinse to low fill

One sixty-pound washer that completes eight loads per day can save over 65,000 gallonsof hot water per year. That is enough to fill an average hotel swimming pool three times!

The electrical savings and better efficiency in the facility follow the same principle, lessrun time on the washer equates to electrical and labor savings.

2. Chemistry in the wash cycle

Saying that the chemical empire created by the Ecolabs and P&Gs of the world iscomplex is an understatement. The best advice The Ozone Company could provide totheir ozone equipment dealer is, befriend the chemical provider. They can be your bestfriend or your worst enemy. The chemical provider in your area could help yourorganization explode or squash everything you are trying to accomplish with ozone.

Chemical reps are fishing from the same pond and are into hotels, resorts, hospitals,nursing homes, etc. on a daily basis. If you are able to achieve a positive workingrelationship with the chemical rep, there is no reason why your ozone laundry equipmentshouldnt be hanging on the wall of every facility in your area.

The chemistry of an ozone wash can become very complex. After all, this is a resultsbased business. Work very closely with the chemical rep to test water quality, alkalinity,titration values and pH levels. If there is poor water quality (abundance of iron,manganese, sulfates, etc.), chances are you will have some challenges providing goodresults. Insist on having a quality water softener installed on the hot and cold water linesprior to the washer, this should help eliminate most problems from the start.

Ozone provides large amounts of oxygen in the wash water enhancing chemicaleffectiveness and reducing the required amount. Ozone and oxygen work together torelax fibers, oxidize compounds and sanitize. It has also been found that lessening harsh,high pH chemicals has become a common practice. High pH chemicals are traditionallyused for fats, oils and greases (FOG) which breaks molecular bonds so it can be easilyremoved from the wash water.


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Bleach is an oxidizer and can be reduced from 10% - 50% depending on the customerscurrent setup. Using too much bleach can damage and destroy linens. By reducing theamount of bleach used, extending the linen life by 30% or more is not uncommon. Sinceozone is a strong oxidizer also, it helps to prevent graying in the linen, which is the re-deposition of soil.

Souring chemicals (acids) reduce the pH levels in the wash water. Like other alkalinebased products, sour will make the linen feel rough. Softener is then used to combat thisresult and has the linen feel soft again. Reducing the amount of sour will reduce theamount of softener used, and in some cases eliminated (dairy farms and jails).

3. Ozone Manufacturers

There are several types of ozone systems and ozone manufacturers in the On-PremisesLaundry (OPL) market. Some companies include:

Clear Water TechSan Luis Obispo, CA

DEL OzoneSan Luis Obispo, CA ArtiCleanKentucky NutekFlorida Ozone Water TechnologiesSouth Carolina Aquawing (AWOIS)New England

Here is some history behind these manufacturers. DEL ozone is the oldest manufacturerof commercial ozone system in the USA, started in the early 70s. They specialize inpool and spa applications (hold 80% of the market share for spas). Their equipment isgood and reliable but has not changed design to enhance the full features and benefits

ozone. Using basic pneumatics and electronics to produce ozone, their equipment is builtfairly inexpensive. They have over 1 million products sold over the years, more than allother ozone manufacturers combined. www.delozone.com

Clear Water Tech (CWT) spun off of DEL in 1986. Cameron Tapp is the founder andpresident of the company. CWTs approach to ozone manufacturing is more advanced inelectronic controlled Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) and pneumatics. Most of theirproducts are quality, reliable ozone systems. They have hundreds of thousands ofsystems sold, many in the pool and food industries. CWT has over 3,000 ozone laundryinstallations worldwide. One of their main customers is JLA in England, who has soldover 2,000 ozone laundry systems over a ten year span through an aggressive rental

program. www.cwtozone.com

ArtiClean was started by an On-Premises Laundry (OPL) dealer called REM. REMsCEO is Mark Moore, they have been a Unimac dealer for many years. Using theirUnimac dealer connections, they have established worldwide dealer network selling theirozone laundry product. Their theory of ozone injection into the washer is a bit clumsyand obnoxious. Their system is what the industry calls a charged ozone system. See


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the ozone laundry comparison sheet (R&D sheets) for information on this type of system.www.articlean.com

There always has to be a cheap under-cutting competitor in any industry. In the ozonelaundry world, that is Nutek. Unfortunately there is nothing good to say about their

systems. Their product does more damage to the industry than it does good. Seepassive injection systemsin the ozone laundry comparison for details on this system.Nutek is based out of Florida and will install a system anywhere in the world, cheaperthan anyone else, and then disappear on the customer. Their systems cost about $500 tobuild; they do not hold any certifications nor have documented proof of their claims.That is all that can be said about Nutek. www.ozonelaundry.com

Ozone Water Technologies (OWT) is owned by Jim Gross. OWT imports their productfrom a manufacturer in China. The LaundrOzone line is very poor quality and aninexpensive product. Their market share has dropped significantly since 2009.www.ozonewatertech.com

Daniels Equipment is owned by Ralph Daniels based out of New England. They have asimilar approach to the industry as REM (ArtiClean). They are a Unimac dealer and havemany connections around the globe. They buy their systems from Clear Water Tech whoin turn private labels the product called Aquawing (AWOIS). The Aquawing product is agood product and holds a patent on their closed loop injection system. Meaning they areable to monitor the ozone levels inside of the washer and automatically adjust the ozonelevels as needed. www.awois.com

4. On-Premisis Laundry (OPL) Manufacturers

There are several OPL manufacturers in the world. Here are a some to research:

Alliance Laundry Systemswww.comlaundry.como The largest OPL manufacturer in the worldo Location: Ripon, WI

Milnorwww.milnor.como Just behind Alliance Laundry in saleso Location: Louisiana

Whirlpool/Maytagwww.maytagcommerciallaundry.como Small market shareo Location: St. Joseph, MI

Continental-Girbauwww.continentalgirbau.com

o Import product from Spain, started by former AllianceLaundry employees

o Location: Oshkosh, WI B & C Technologieswww.bmctechnologies.com

o Started and owned by former owner and engineer ofUnimac (sold to Raytheon who sold to AllianceLaundry)


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o Built in Thailand Lavatecwww.lavatec.com

o Larger industrial productso Specialize in tunnel washers

Washexwww.washex.com Braunwww.babraun.com Dexterwww.dexter.com

o Very old company (over 100 years)o Location: Fairfield, IA

3 intro to ozone laundry

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