Clifton Co-Op Hospital Finds Effective Hard Water Solutions for Laundry
In hospitals there are lots of standards, rules and regulations to conform to. There are standards for laundry practice and infection control. There are rules for the collection, sorting, storage, labelling, and laundering of hospital linen to manage the possible contamination and infection risk.
Then there’s the commercial hospital laundry system. With the washing machines and the dryers relied on to work every day, with little maintenance and no breakdowns. Well… that’s the ideal isn’t it?
Because of the hard water in the area, that was something the Clifton Co-Op Hospital could only dream about.
Dealing with the Problem
The concentration of hard water minerals in the water in the area was causing considerable scale build up which in turn caused equipment damage:
The washing machine elements were being replaced at least twice each year. Each time elements were changed the cost was approximately $1000 – and that was for the parts alone.
The washing drum inside the machines used to be white with calcium and the glass doors would also be caked in calcium residue.
The hot water system heating elements were only lasting 3-6 months before they too had to be replaced.
With the equipment replacement costs, maintenance and labor costs spiraling out of control the hospital administration were desperate to find a cost effective solution.
The Solution
The hard water solution for laundry was a simple one really – just install a couple of Softer Water Conditioners into the water line. This meant that all the water going into both the hot water system and the washing machines was soft water.
Therefore no more large hard water minerals to form scale or build up in the pipes, elements or machines. No more calcium scum on the inside of the drums or glass.
Best of all no more maintenance or replacement issues!
The Results
The equipment has worked without incident for years. Once Softer Water Conditioners were installed calcium was removed with a descale solution and the build-up has not returned in over 4 years.
The return on investment ROI you ask? Considering the multiple replacements of the elements at $1000 each per machine, per year the break even on the purchase of the units was less than 6 months, with the ROI in the ‘000s%. That’s quite some hard water solution for laundry!