Housekeeping laundry operation – Hotel
Principle of Hotel laundry
1. Removal of dirt and stain from the linen articles.
2. Restoring linen articles to their original appearance as far as possible.
Qualities of good laundry
1. Careful handling of linen articles when laundering
2. Correct process of use of suitable agent.
3. While materials are kept white, excessive bleach is not used.
4. Proper counting and records maintains to avoid shortage of linen.
5. Sound policies regarding damage or loss property.
Categories of Hotel laundry
Laundry can be divided into two types
On -premises – Off premises
laundries which are situated inside the hotel premises known as on premises laundry.
A commercial or off premises laundry refers to the laundering outside the establishment. ie. given on a contract basis., to the specialize person who are particular in this field.
Advantages of on premises Hotel laundry
1. Time taken for laundering is reduced because transportation is reduced.
2. Linen is readily available especially in the case of emergency requirements.
3. Pilferage reduced.
Disadvantages of on premises laundry
1. Cost of the operation and equipment and its maintenance is fairly high.
2. Must be justified by an adequate amount of linen.
3. More staff who are technically qualified and adequate space is required.
Advantages of off premises Hotel laundry
1. An huge investment behind the purchase of machines and equipment are saved.
2. Salary for staff are saved.
3. Hotel spaces are saved which can be used for other purpose.
Disadvantages of off premises Hotel laundry
1. The hotel have to compromise with the quality of washing.
2. Chances of pilferage is more.
3. During the emergency, fresh linen may not be available.
Hotel Laundry Operation and Laundry Flow chart
The laundry department has a basic cycle of operation with the below steps:-
1. Collecting Soiled Linen.
House maid and room Attendant should strip linens from beds and areas and put them on to the linen chute or on to the soiled linen carts stored on each floor pantry. Staff should never use any guest linen for any cleaning purpose.
The room Attendant should go for frequent rounds on each floors to collect the soiled linen from the linen chute or on to each floor pantry.
Supervisors should make sure that the soiled linens doesn’t pileup on floor pantry which may cause further soil or damage as there are chances that people may walk on them.
2. Transport Soiled Linen to Laundry department.
The linens form the Laundry chutes and floor pantry are carried to the laundry department by trolley. The housemen should make sure that the laundry items are not dragged on the floor this may further damage or soil the laundry.
3. Sorting of Linen and Uniforms.
The laundry sorting area of the hotel should be large enough to buffer one day worth of laundry and these sorting of laundry should not cause interfere with other laundry activities. Sort linen and uniforms according to their stains, size, type, color etc.
4. Washing and Dry cleaning.
After the linens and uniforms are sorted properly the laundry staff collects the batches of laundry and load them to the washers. It is also a good process to always weigh the laundry items before loading them to the washers, this will ensure that the washers are not overloaded and help to run them in the optimum operation condition.
If required the soiled linens are treated to remove stains before the washing process. To reduce operational cost nowadays hotels uses chemicals ( bleaches, detergents, softeners etc.) while washing process to remove stains instead of treating laundry items separately before washing.
5. Drying.
After the washing cycle is completed the washed items are dried on the dryer. The drying times and temperature vary considerable according to the type of linen / cloths.
Also always the drying should be followed by a gradual cool down process to prevent the hot linens from being damaged or wrinkled by rapid cooling and healing process.
6. Folding of Linen and Uniforms.
Even though a lot of flooding of linens are now automated, the hotels still do a lot of folding by hand. While folding the linens the laundry attendants should also look for any damages occurred to them while the laundry process.
The folded items are then stored and stacked properly according to batches. The finished laundry items should latest rest for 24hrs. as this will increase their life.
Tags:Hotel management training, Hotel Telephone operator, Housekeeping training
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