We've already talked about cleaning the lint traps in a previous posts:
Articles for Laundromat Owners, Laundry Room Managers, HR Professionals, Recruiters, Sales People, Job Seekers. Sounds like an odd mix of subjects right? Ev has had solid careers in all these areas. His brand is "A Heck of A Nice Guy," so he wants to pass on knowledge to others. Published with a touch of humor from someone in the trenches.
We've already talked about cleaning the lint traps in a previous posts:
If you have a laundry room or laundromat and need a task list to help train your laundry staff, here is a guide to use.
Feel free to take parts that apply to your laundry room and edit them for your own use on a sign or flyer.
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy
Cleaning Checklist and Instructions
Remember:
-Unless noted, please use only soap or soap and water, no chemicals,
when cleaning washers
-Dry off glass and stainless steel after washing to prevent streaking and rust
Stainless Steel Washers
1) Wipe down big stainless steel washers with WATER ONLY on
a rag
Then dry off with clean rag to avoid streaking
Stainless Steel polish can be used after cleaning, but still needs to be dried
to avoid streaks
Be sure to wipe off:
A.
door around window
B. front of machine
C. Top of machine especially the area in front of the soap tray
D. clean inside soap drawer with wet rag or maybe a soft bristled pad or brush
if lots of build up
E. wipe completely around inner door gasket making sure to get rag into
crevices to get old soap
F. clean mold between glass & rubber gasket with rag or soft scrubbing pad
This may involve rotating or taking
off gasket (check with manager first)
G. area around coin slot should be free of dirt in crevasses
H. leave front door open at least an inch to let inside air out
2)
White/Tan front loading washers use water only. Please check:
A. top
B. soap drawer (little remaining liquid okay but no chunks) should be soap
build up free
C. front window (you need to dry this with a rag)
D. area immediately under front of soap drawer and where fingers go to pull out
drawer
E. wipe off inside glass with wet rag then dry with dry rag
F. wipe out bottom of black door seal inside door. You'll find paper, socks,
debris in here
G. using edge of rag, scrape out old soap from the crease that connects the
flat part of the rubber door gasket with the outer lip of the gasket
H. wipe off metal area and rubber gasket around the basket opening once door is
open
I. wipe off back of washer door
J. area around coin slot should be free of dirt in crevasses
K. using the edge of the rag, scrub out soap from creases and cracks in the
front panel
L. scrape soap powder from area between soap drawer and top of soap drawer
holder
M. leave front door open at least an inch to let inside air out
3)
Top loading washers please check:
A. inside washtub
B. top of lid and top of the control panel
C. top and sides of agitator
D. inside the edge of the lid
E. area around coin slot should be free of dirt in crevasses
F. soap/bleach dispensers should be empty and wiped out with water and rag or
soft brush
G. leave lid open to air out washer
Dryers
A. wipe fingerprints off glass (this is done daily or on as needed basis)
B. wipe metal frame around window on the outside of the dryers
C. wipe around the glass frame on the inside of the dryer doors
D. check lint trap drawers (the drawer located just below the door)
E. area around coin slot should be free of dirt in crevasses
F. clean tops of dryers and tops of molding around dryers
G. using an old hanger, hook, or saw blade scrape out garbage from under dryers
Garbage
A. empty all garbage cans. It is okay to combine bags if only half full.
B. if mostly empty, but not stinky, feel free to leave for next time
C. trash gets thrown out in dumpster
D. keep cleaning closets and other access rooms free of dirt, trash, and
clutter
Outside
A. pick up anything large, obvious,
or ugly outside.
Full property cleaning three times per week
B. any large vents outside make
sure clean of lint at least once per week.
A little lint is okay
C. windows should be cleaned at
least once per week and more often after rain or
frost to get kids doodles off
D. window ledges both inside and
outside store
E. door windows follow same procedure
Bathroom
A. use bleach type cleaner and old
rag or some piece of clothing someone is throwing
away or a lost sock to clean the seat
and the rim.
Please wear gloves since it involves germs
B. scrub inside of bowl with toilet
brush at least once per week,
more often if brown build up
C. clean base of toilet by the
floor at least once per week
to prevent old urine build up
D. keep handle and top of tank
clean with bleach type cleaner
E. sinks should be free of soap
residue around handles and brown water stains
Floor
A. sweep floor dispose of dirt in garbage
B. sweep rugs. Dirt can go in
garbage or swept outside the door
C. mop floor where there is soap or
dirt or soda spill
Dry with rag or air dry if store closed
D. mop floor on a daily basis.
Be sure floor is dry before
customers arrive,
or dry with towels/mop if store is open
E. empty mop bucket by dumping into scrub
sink, or toilet
Machines Not
Working or Error Codes on Screen
A. any “error codes” or out of order
messages please place
an “out of order” message on
the machine with your initials, date, and what you think the problem is or was
B. Anyone needing refund, have them fill
out refund slip & put it in mailbox
Store Doors
A. Please close them when you are
done cleaning or if they are
propped open during the day
B. At night close them and lock
Clothes/Trinkets
left behind
A. Dirty clothes that are unwashed
found in washers throw away
B. Wet clothes found in washers after
doors are locked at night bag up
and put in lost and found with tag with date, what washer
found in,
and who found them.
If unclaimed after 72 hours throw
away, or dry and put into lost and found
C. Dry clothes left in dryers after
closing bag up and put in lost and found with tag with date, what dryer found in. If
unclaimed after 14 days add to donation pile
D. Rings, wallets, watches, or anything
else that looks like someone will want it back
please report to office and put it someplace
secure in the cleaning supplies area
I'm not an electrician. I'm in laundry equipment.
For some strange reason, even though I talk about laundry equipment all day to many people, I have a mental block about remembering the difference between 3 phase vs. single phase electrical power.
How does my mental block affect your hotel, laundromat, long term care facility, or any other business that uses laundry equipment? If you don't know the difference and understand what kind of equipment to buy when you need to replace your equipment you could cause damage to your equipment, your electrical system, or even start a fire.
So if you don't know the difference either, here is a quick explanation:
First you need to know what "phase" is.
"Phase" is how you describe the distribution of an electrical load from an AC power supply over a period of time. Don't ask me to explain it beyond that.
Single phase power in a piece of laundry equipment usually means it has two wires that need to be hooked up. One is the wire with the power phase) and the other is a neutral wire. Usually your household appliances use single phase power.
If single phase power has one power wire, then logically three phase power has three power wires.
Sometimes there is a fourth wire for a neutral as part of the circuit.
Almost all commercial buildings are wired with three phase power.
Practically what is the difference? Three phase power distributes power more evenly along any one or multiple circuits. It is also usually used when you have larger motors like AC or heating units, or multiple big machines that often operate at one time-like in a laundromat.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT?
Most new laundry equipment can be installed in either a single phase or three phase powered building because they have a transformer to "convert" power (convert isn't the proper term but I'll save the reason why for another article that explains what a transformer does) to the appropriate phase.
If you are dealing with older equipment or retooling an old store, know you can put a single phase machine in a three phase circuit, but you CAN'T put a three phase machine in a single phase circuit.
If you do that the consequences can be...well imagine all life coming to a complete stop and atoms everywhere exploding faster than the speed of light.
Okay, maybe not that bad, but you get the idea.
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy