Keeping your dry cleaning equipment in excellent shape is imperative for any success-driven dry cleaning business. Keeping equipment well maintained extends its service life and maximizes its performance and use.
At RJ Kool, we offer top-of-the-line dry cleaning equipment and services to our customers across the Midwest. In this guide, we’ll share useful tips for keeping your dry cleaning equipment in excellent operating shape.
Follow Manual and Warranty Guidelines
As with any equipment and machinery, reading and following manual and warranty guidelines is an imperative part of ensuring equipment is kept in proper shape. Upon acquiring your dry cleaning equipment, make sure that you and any staff are trained to handle equipment in accordance with the manual.
You will find that specific models of dry cleaning machines, for example, require specific programming and operation per that model’s manual. It’s always a great idea to have staff orientation to new equipment when it’s acquired so that everyone is on the same page with protocols for operation and use.
Staff training also helps equipment operators notice when the machine is not working as it should, allowing for quick maintenance or service intervention.
Perform Regular Maintenance on Dry Cleaning Equipment
Performing regular maintenance is one of the best ways to keep your equipment in tip-top shape. Regular inspections are also critical to the maintenance process. Practicing regular daily, weekly, monthly, and semi-annual maintenance staff will help ensure maximum efficiency and longevity of your equipment and the health and safety of equipment operators and staff.
Daily Maintenance Tasks
Daily maintenance tasks are the practices that your staff will need to be most familiar with. Daily maintenance includes removing lint from the dry cleaning machine filter and button traps, emptying and disposing of used water from the water separator, desorbing carbon absorbers from units to remove contaminants, and cleaning the still of the distillation unit.
Weekly Maintenance Tasks
Weekly maintenance tasks include checking gaskets and seals for liquid or vapor leaks, cleaning the water separator tank and checking for leaks, measuring condenser exhaust temperature to ensure stability, checking pipe and valve connections on machines for leaks, and measuring the number of dry cleaning solvents in exhaust gasses to ensure the efficiency of solvent recovery.
Monthly Maintenance Tasks
Monthly maintenance tasks include checking for lint buildup on heating and condenser coils, checking for leaks in the ductwork of lint trap and carbon absorber, and checking temperature probe for lint buildup.
Semi-Annual Maintenance Tasks
Semi-annual maintenance tasks include practices such as cleaning the steam and condensation coils of the muck cooker and thorough and complete facility inspection.
Properly Train Staff and Maintain Dry Cleaning Equipment for Workplace Health and Safety
Poorly maintained dry cleaning equipment can create a hazardous work environment. This risk is due to the use of common dry-cleaning solvents such as perchloroethylene (perc), which is known to be carcinogenic and can cause central nervous system depression and skin irritation. Some evidence links exposure to perc increasing the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
When dry cleaning machines leak, they can cause dry cleaning solvents in gaseous forms to contaminate the air of the facility, leading to increased exposure to staff and customers. As such, properly maintaining and inspecting dry cleaning equipment is not only crucial to maximizing the efficiency and service life of the machines, but it is also crucial to protecting the health and safety of the staff and customers.
Contact the Dry Cleaning Equipment Pros at RJ Kool
At RJ Kool, we pride ourselves on offering high-quality dry cleaning equipment to our customers across the Midwest. We understand how crucial keeping your equipment in excellent working shape is, and we’re here to help. If you require maintenance or repair services for your dry cleaning equipment, then give us a call today!
