Washing machine buying tips

By Maura Keller

With a choice of washing machines on the market, it is important to analyze the company’s goals before making an investment. For instance, Steve Arendt of Teeco Solutions says if a company has predominantly flat panel tops and needs high production rates and a dry top at the end, it might consider a flat panel style washer. If a company has contoured tops or a mix of contoured tops and flat panel tops, a tumbler- style machine may be a good choice.

It is also important to pay attention to how much laundry the company needs to complete during its busiest times. Selecting a machine with the ability to process this amount of laundry is critical.

Matthias Segiet of SKP GmBH says it’s important to check which size washing machine is really needed. “Sometimes a small solution is better than the biggest machine,” he says.

A few parameters, such as available space, necessary operators, flow capacity and the expected lifetime of a machine, are key factors to consider. “Too often a machine gets purchased based solely on the largest piece of fabric that it will wash,” Arendt says. “This is a mistake. Having a machine designed to keep the entire inventory rent-ready at all times can be one of the biggest profit centers a machine can offer a company.”

Based in Plymouth, Minn., Maura Keller frequently writes about applications of specialty fabrics.