IWM takes the heat out of washing

Big energy savings are now possible with tray washers from Industrial Washing Machines (IWM), following the completion of successful trials of a new cold wash process developed by the company working in conjunction with a specialist detergent supplier. The process uses wash water at temperatures close to ambient, yet delivers results that are indistinguishable from normal high temperature washing. In a typical installation, with a machine that runs just 20 hours per week, the new process has the potential to cut energy costs by as much as £20,000 per year, as well as reducing the environmental impact of the washing operations. To confirm the effectiveness of the cold wash process, IWM has carried out extensive trials in conjunction with A F Blakemore, a major user of distribution crates for the transport of packaged grocery items and loose vegetables. Most of the crates selected for the trial had light soiling consisting principally of dust and traffic film, but some had heavy soil deposits. The crates were washed in one of IWM’s popular twin-lane T1500 machines, which has a capacity of 1,500 crates per hour. The detergent used was specially formulated by an IWM specialist chemical partner for use in the cold wash process. In all cases, the cold washing trial produced results that, after carrying out detailed inspections, A F Blakemore’s operating personnel confirmed were as good as, or better than, the results obtained with standard detergents at the high temperatures normally used for washing. After low-temperature washing, the crates were clean, glossy in appearance and almost completely dry. “We’re very impressed both with the washing performance and the potential for savings, which fully live up to IWM’s claims,” said Dave Higgs of A F Blakemore, “and, of course, we’re delighted that we’re able to reduce the environmental impact of our operations. IWM’s new cold wash process is undoubtedly a major step forward in the industrial hygiene sector.” IWM’s new cold wash process works at a nominal wash temperature of 25ºC. In practice, this means that minimal heating of the feed water is needed initially, with the temperature of the washing solution subsequently being maintained by heat generated from the machine’s pumps. The process affects neither the throughput nor the capacity of the machines that use it. It will be offered as standard with all new tray washers from IWM, and can also be readily adopted by users of existing IWM tray wash machines.

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