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Uniform Care and Maintenance Best Practices
Clean uniforms are critical for business when it comes to both customer perception and meeting health standards in any industry. From restaurants to hospitals, multiple studies show that clean uniforms and linens have a substantial impact on the consumer experience. Pristine cleanliness of uniforms is vital for public health as well. Clean Uniforms and More is here to offer you the definitive guide to uniform care and maintenance best practices.
Why Uniform Care and Maintenance Best Practices Matters
When business owners decide to clean and maintain their own uniforms, knowing the best practices makes the difference between faded, ruined uniforms, and crisp, fresh ones. As a business, you need to dedicate time and resources to ensuring these care and maintenance best practices are followed. Otherwise, you’ll be devoting more money to new uniforms, or sacrificing the customer experience and losing out on good reviews.
Things to Consider
Before taking care of your own uniforms, consider the following:
- Invest in High-Quality Uniforms. Uniform care and maintenance best practices start with using high-quality, durable, stain-resistant uniforms.
- Establish a Cleaning Schedule. It is essential that cleaning be done regularly, and to allocate enough hours to the actual cleaning process.
- Train Employees. Your employees will need to be well-versed in these uniform care and maintenance best practices to ensure excellent results
- Gather Correct Chemicals & Space. Just throwing all the uniforms in a washer and dryer will result in destroyed uniforms, wasting money. Research the chemicals and space or equipment needed for the types of uniforms you purchase and stains that occur within your industry.
Pre-Wash: Uniform Care and Maintenance Best Practices
- Read the Labels. Never skip this part! Different fabrics require different types of care. Ensure your employees know how to care for their uniforms.
- Sort by Color and Fabric. Separate uniforms based on color and fabric type to avoid color bleeding, fading, and ineffective cleaning.
- Pre-treat Stains. Uniform care and maintenance best practices include understanding what type of treatment is required for different types of stains. An oil stain is different from a coffee stain which is different from a blood stain.
Washing: Uniform Care and Maintenance Best Practices
- Use Suitable Detergent. Depending on the fabric, level of soil, and odors. Take into consideration if you will need to use any fabric softener.
- Optimal Water Temperature. Utilizing the uniform label and knowledge of stain types and soil levels will help determine the optimal water temperature. Using the incorrect water temperature can result in inadequate cleaning and unwearable uniforms.
- Choose the Correct Washing Cycle. Along with optimal water temperature, uniform care and maintenance best practices include choosing the correct washing cycle. For much of the same reasons as determining the optimal water temperature.
- Avoid Overloading. While it is tempting to rush the process by cramming as much into one load as possible, the result is ruined and dingy uniforms.
Drying: Uniform Care and Maintenance Best Practices
- Dry Promptly. Do not let the uniforms sit in the washer. Drying promptly reduces wrinkles and inhibits any possible odors.
- Choose the Optimal Heat Level & Time. Using the uniform’s care label, determine the heat setting that is safest. The amount of time is also critical to prevent under or over-drying which can result in wrinkles or deformed uniforms.
Post Cleaning: Uniform Care and Maintenance Best Practices
- Store Promptly & Properly. Storing uniforms promptly can reduce wrinkles. Storing uniforms in a clean, dry, and well-ventilated area can inhibit odors and mildew growth.
- Inspect Regularly. Inspecting uniforms regularly for signs of wear and tear in order to make repairs and prevent any damage from worsening.
- Consider a Rotation Schedule. Our uniform care and maintenance best practices recommendation is to use a rotation schedule. This ensures the wear on uniforms is distributed evenly and extends the lifespan of the uniforms.
Clean Uniforms and More At Your Service
We hope this Uniform Care and Maintenance Best Practices guide has been helpful for your business. If all of this seems overwhelming, Clean Uniforms and More is here to help alleviate that stress. We have been proudly delivering excellent professional uniform services to New England for over 100 years. Many business owners prefer to save money and time by utilizing our services. We guarantee clean uniforms and consistent delivery so that business owners can focus on the other items on their plate. Contact us at 800-32-CLEAN or request our FREE Uniform Program Audit to see if we are a good fit!
