BASIC HOTEL AND LAUNDRY OPERATION
WHO DO THE LAUNDRY?
Laundry Procedures
LAUNDRY
- is the washing of clothing and linens
A laundry attendant can do many different tasks and fulfill a number of different roles depending on the environment in which he or she works. Many laundry attendants work in the hospitality industry at hotels and resorts and oversee laundry to ensure that guests have clean linens and towels. A laundry attendant can also be someone who works at a dry cleaning facility and ensures that all clothes and linens brought in are cleaned properly. Other laundry attendants work at coin-operated laundries and other public laundry facilities, providing assistance to customers.
1. Collecting soiled linens
The room attendant should note heavily stained linen when they remove them from the
guest room and keep them separate, so it will be noticed in the laundry for spotting/stain
removal (and so it does not get washed with the other linens). For example, a way to
mark linens needing special treatment is to store them inside a pillowcase.
2. Transporting soiled linens to the laundry
Keep the linens off the floors and away from the cart wheels. Soiled damp linens should
be washed promptly and not allowed to sit in carts or chutes for long periods (mold and
mildew could grow).
3. Sorting
Wear gloves when handling soiled linen. All linens should be opened up fully to look for
stains and to shake out any loose items/soils wrapped up in the linen. Sort linens by load
type and by degree of soiling.
4. Washer Loading
If you have a scale in the laundry (this is preferred), weigh out each load to within 90 to
100% of the reco load. Do not overfill a machine or the quality of wash will suffer.
Underfilled loads waste money and time.
5. To replace an empty chemical bucket
Wear protective gloves and glasses. Unscrew the proportioning cap connected to tubing
on the empty bucket and set cap somewhere it will remain clean. Move empty bucket
away from position. Set the new bucket in place with the shipping cap secured. Loosen
and remove the shipping cap with the cap wrench. Screw the proportioning cap (with the
tube) to the bucket and tighten. Make sure the right proportioning cap is connected to the
right bucket by matching colors. Screw the shipping cap from the new bucket onto the
opening of the empty bucket. Dispose of the empty bucket in the dumpster.
5. Washing
Select the appropriate washing machine program for the type of load in the washer and
also select the appropriate dispenser program number. Stagger the starting times of the
washers at least 2 to 5 minutes.
6. Extracting
Linens should be only slightly damp after the wash cycle is completed. If there is water
dripping from the linens, contact your machine supplier to check the extraction time.
7. Drying
Lint filters should be cleaned at least once per day or as specified by the manufacturer.
Dry linens as soon as the washer is finished. Do not mix load types in the dryer. Do not overdry linens, use a cool down tumbling period to minimize wrinkles. Do not leave
linens in the dryer overnight
8. Finishing/ironing
Only feed linens at the proper moisture level through flatwork ironers. Keep the ironer
clean and do not iron dirty linens.
9. Folding
Linens should be folded immediately after drying or ironing to minimize wrinkles.
The person doing the folding should look for stains, excessive wear or tears and sort out
these linens for additional treatment. Do not send an unacceptable piece of linen to a
room hoping the guest will not notice it.
10. Storing
Let the linens rest for a day before using. This will increase linen life and decrease wrinkles.
11. Transferring linens to use area.
Keep the clean and folded linens off the floor. Do not jam a stack of linens into the room
attendant carts or onto shelves (may tear or wrinkle them).
12. Miscellaneous
Inventory – try to keep 2 to 3 par of linens on hand. Having to strip rooms to collect
soiled linens to begin washing is a waste of labor and prevents the linens from resting.
Take inventory every couple months and replace linens as needed to maintain par.
Use spring loaded cart inserts to keep the linens within reach of the workers. Keep the
inserts and the carts cleaned regularly (especially the bottoms). If possible, have carts
designated for dirty linens and separate carts for clean linen.
Keep an adequate supply of rags in the laundry and on the room attendant carts, so
workers will not be tempted to use good linens where they may be ruined. Cleaning rags
should always be sorted from guest linens and washed separately.
Keep the floor of the laundry swept to discourage ants from being attracted to pieces of
food dropped from the linens during sorting.
Think about ways to minimize how many times a piece of linen is handled
Sample Laundry operational flow chart