Why Should You Upgrade Your Hospital Laundry Facility?
Hospitals are a hotspot for different kinds of germs and bacteria. The risk for the spread of disease and infection is always high. Therefore, efficient laundry systems, including energy-efficient clothes dryers, are essential to combat this risk. They are a crucial factor in keeping the environment of a hospital sanitized. Along with sanitization, they are also necessary for limiting the spread of pathogens.
In addition to physical well-being, an efficient hospital laundry facility is also an integral part of the mental well-being of the patients. Good hygiene goes a long way in ensuring the good mental health of patients and anyone visiting the hospital. However, managing an on-premise laundry service is no easy task. It comes with several challenges.
Challenges Faced When Managing a Healthcare Laundry on Premise
- Regulations: Keeping hospital laundry machines up to date with the myriad of rules and regulations, such as the federal OSHA guidelines, which deal with controlling contamination, noise and heat levels, fire hazards, and injury hazards, to name a new.
- Costly: Having the latest healthcare laundry machines that are top of the line can be quite an investment. Many hospitals make do with the next best thing or the cheapest options.
- Not enough staff to ensure an efficient laundry process: Understaffing can be a major problem that can hinder what could otherwise be an efficient laundry system.
Due to these challenges, many hospitals shy away from setting up an efficient laundry system. Not only that, but many hospitals hesitate to upgrade the hospital laundry facility.
How to Control Costs and Maximize Efficiency: Energy Efficient Clothes Dryers
One of the most important factors that contribute to an efficient OPL laundry system is cost-effectiveness. Hospitals produce a large volume of laundry daily. If cost is not kept track of and minimized as much as possible, they might be faced with losses.
A sure-fire way of controlling costs is by implementing the use of energy-efficient clothes dryers. Some of its features include:
- Reduced noise levels.
- Reduced NOx emissions, leading to lower air pollution.
- Ceramic coated basket panel that prevents plastic from sticking and transferring to dryer drums, preventing both longer drying times and greater energy use.
- Resistant to abrasions, last longer.
With a good energy-efficient clothes dryer, along with saving costs, clothes last longer as well. Usually, dryers can be quite harsh with fabrics, and linens will need to be replaced faster. The cost of that can also be avoided.
Why Are Upgrades Necessary Regardless of the Challenges?
The responsibility of proper management and design of healthcare laundry machines falls upon the hospital. Unlike many other institutions that could benefit from on-premise laundries, a hospital has little to no choice. An efficient healthcare laundry system is an inherent part of a well-functioning hospital. Thus, below are the reasons upgrades are necessary:
- Control of contamination: A hospital’s primary goal is the treatment of all and any kinds of diseases. This goal extends to ensuring all discarded equipment from the daily work, such as soiled clothes from patients and professionals alike, are treated properly. If not treated properly, the risk of spreading contamination becomes extremely high.
- Up to date laundry equipment: To better handle healthcare laundry, out-of-date laundry equipment hinders an effective process of laundry. An up-to-date, well-maintained, and functioning laundry system goes a long way in making sure everyone from patients to doctors to nurses and visitors are kept safe from contamination.
If you’re looking to understand your hospital laundry system better, from the washer to an energy-efficient clothes dryer to save you both time and cost, visit Consolidated Laundry Machine to learn how we can help you.