Originally published in AAHOA Lodging Business, July 2007

Are You Still Washing in Hot Water?

The benefits of an ozone laundry system.
Jack Heaviside

When reviewing your laundry facilities and related expenditures, you may have thought about utilizing an ozone laundry system in your facility, but wondered whether ozone laundering was a worthwhile investment and would it save your property money? Think of it this way — would you be saving money if you turned off the hot water to your laundry facility?

What Is Ozone Laundering?

Ozone, by definition, is a form of energy that is used to clean and disinfect hotel linens using a cold water system.

Laundering your linens in cold water started off as an idea that through time and persistence became the current ozone laundry system that offers you the option to launder your hotel linens in cold ozonated water. Ozone works by creating a form of energy without the negative environmental side effects of burning fossil fuels.

How Does An Ozone Laundry System Work?

An ozone laundry system works by taking the oxygen that you  breath and filtering it so that the impurities and moisture are removed, then oxygen passes through a high voltage field where the oxygen atom is split and ozone is produced. It is the byproduct of splitting the oxygen atom that produces the form of energy that allows the chemicals and the washer to properly clean and sanitize your linens in an environmentally safe and financially beneficial manner.

What Are The Benefits To The Hotel Operator? 

The advantage to laundering in ozone is that you will reduce the amount of water and energy used to process the linens (except greasy or oily linens) because you are using cold water. Additionally, this will  shorten the wash and dry cycles thereby reducing labor costs and also substantially reducing your overhead because you will be able to get more use out of your linens thus lowering your hotel linen replacement costs.

The History Of Ozone Laundry Systems

Since 2003, ozone laundry systems have been utilized and valued by hotel chains and hoteliers alike. In 2003, Accor International became the first major hotel chain to embrace and successfully integrate an ozone laundry system in all of its Sofitel properties in North America and one of its Novitel properties in Canada. Likewise, economy properties have also benefited from ozone laundry systems. For instance, Accor’s economy brand, Motel 6, currently has one-fifth of its properties synergized and has plans to integrate the technology at the remainder of its properties in the future.

The Effect On Your Bottom Line

All hoteliers face the same challenge — how do you increase your bottom line profits without sacrificing the results or alienating your customer base by accepting a less than perfect standard? Before hoteliers begin implementing a new system, they must ask themselves if it will work in their hotel(s) and if it will save them time and money. A simple way to answer this question with regards to changing your current laundry system is this — If you no longer heat the 3,000 gallons of water per day that you use in your laundry facility, then you would be saving money. Like the title of the article asks, “Are You still Washing in Hot Water?” If you answered yes to that question then in reality you are dumping your profits along with hot water down the drain every time the washer fills.

The big financial incentive for incorporating an ozone laundry system is a smaller gas or energy bill and in some states companies that sell and manufacture ozone laundry systems have teamed up with local energy companies to provide rebates on the purchase of new equipment or new contracts.

What Should I Look For In An Ozone Laundry System?

The considerations and benchmarks any hotelier should use for the purchase of an ozone laundry system must include a careful analysis of the sales representative’s presentation and the awareness and participation of that company in the hospitality industry. Additionally, look to see if the company has any cooperative agreements with chemical vendors and/or linen suppliers. You should watch out for companies that make claims that are unrealistic or unreasonable. Typically, beware of companies or individuals that use purchased generators to build systems to make ozone that sustains the gas long enough to inject it into the washer.  Remember to check the company’s references to ensure that any reference provided has been continuously using the product for at least two years. Finally, look at the method that is used to inject the ozone. If it is a direct injection method, with pumps, pipes, and hoses or it feeds the ozone directly into your washer, then take caution when dealing with these companies because  the direct injection method has been proven to damage washers and linen. Another point to consider is the ease of integration and the simplicity of the unit.

Jack Heaviside is the senior analytical chemist with NuTek International Inc., the manufacturer of the Ozone Laundry Support System. For more information about NuTek, please visit www.nutekinternational.com or call (386) 426-7088.


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