Whether you are running a gym, restaurant, spa or medical practice, understanding some key commercial laundry terminology helps you make efficient decisions, and avoid costly miscommunications. Some terminology in the laundry world may seem daunting to outsiders, but they are in reality simple tools to help ensure better communication. Here’s a breakdown of 10 must-know terms to level up your literacy in laundry!
1. GSM (Grams per Square meter) - Basically this term helps to illustrate how thick the fabric is for a garment.
2. Extraction Rate - The amount of water removed from items during the spin cycle. A higher extraction rate is important because it can signify less energy being used and a quicker turnaround.
3. Par Level - The Minimum quantity of each item a business needs on hand to operate smoothly, such as Towels and Uniforms.
4. Sorting Codes - Internal labeling used to separate laundry. Important to prevent cross contamination, or separate laundry by fabric type or standards.
5. TAT(Turnaround Time) - The total time it takes for laundry to be picked up, cleaned, and delivered back.
6. Soil Level - A grading of how dirty an item is: light, medium or heavy.
7. Pretreatment - Targeted processes applied to specific stains or soils before the main wash cycle.
8. Batch Processing - Grouping similar laundry types (such as color, weight or soil level) into separated wash loads.
9. Load Capacity - The optimal amount of laundry a machine can handle per cycle, not just the physical amount that can fit.
10. Inventory Rotation - A system to ensure even use of all garments, oldest in, oldest out. This keeps garments lasting longer and improves consistency.
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