A Napkin’s Journey Through Our Commercial Laundry Facility

Do you know what happens to your linens under our care?

CleanCare hasn’t spent the last 84 years doing nothing! We’ve spent every single one of those years perfecting our process to give you – our most loyal clients – the best and safest results possible.

Ever wonder how we do it? Let’s follow a napkin through our six-step cleaning process in Clean Care’s state-of-the-art facility.

1. Identification and Sorting

CleanCare’s signature method begins with the careful identification and sorting of every article of linen that comes through our facility doors, including our napkin. The napkin is identified by customer, entered into the database, and proceeds to the next step under careful monitoring.

2. The Wash Cycle

Next, our napkin endures the most painstaking step of our six-step process. Every wash cycle begins with a pre-wash process we call “The Flush.”

Flushing is treating your linens with water to remove any debris. The water is carefully maintained at precisely 100 degrees Fahrenheit – warm enough to remove the stuck-on dirt and debris but not too hot to set stains on the fabric. When all the debris is flushed away, sometimes after two cycles, our napkin is then sent to the washer for detergent treatment. Disinfecting mainly takes place in this step. Detergent treatment is a careful combination of a well-formulated cleaning agent and the right water temperature (set at 160 degrees Fahrenheit) to make sure that harmful germs are fully eliminated.

This cycle goes for at least 15 minutes. The wash cycle ends with a series of specialized rinse cycles to remove the last remnants of detergent and bleach from the napkin. This last step includes a pH test on the final rinse cycle.  

3. Extraction

The now-clean napkin is wrung to remove as much water as possible in preparation for the next step.

4. Drying

The napkin is all set for drying! From the extraction area, the napkin is mechanically transferred to a humidity- and temperature-controlled area to dry completely. Up until this point, your napkin hasn’t been touched by human hands, as we employ our very strict “hands off” approach to ensure cleanliness.

5. Ironing and Folding

When the drying room reaches a certain level of humidity, the drying process stops and the napkin is delivered via conveyor belt to the ironing and folding room. The napkin will be handled by gloved hands as it’s positioned on the folding and ironing machine.

6. Packaging and Shipping

The folded and ironed napkin is packaged before being sent to the staging area for thorough inspection. After the napkin passes inspection, it will be loaded onto one of our trucks for delivery.

And throughout all this, we digitally monitor the entire process to ensure that every step is followed perfectly and precisely. We don’t believe in shortcuts and certainly leave no room for mistakes. We’re all about precision, solutions and full customer satisfaction.

Want learn more about our process? Call CleanCare Linen today at 800-222-7600 for more information about our linen services!

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