[labnetwork] launderable cleanroom clothing

[Dennis Schweiger]

As a follow up to my original question, I will say that we have a stand
alone washing machine here at the LNF that we'll use for cleaning heavily
soiled items (lab smocks, and a clean room suit or two) before we send them
out to our laundry processor.  Our machine is set up to use ambient
temperature DI water (and CR-2 cleaner), but the unit is just an
off-the-shelf machine that we got from one of the big box stores.  It has a
stainless steel drum, and our thought with the DI water is that as soon as
the water hits the equipment, it's way less than DI, but still way cleaner
than city water.  It allows us to pretreat garments that might have gotten
excessively soiled as part of a maintenance project. Our experience with
Cintas is that they're not set up to do a Tide commercial for clean
clothes, but we still want the additional support they provide in regard to
a final clean, and the packaging.

This has been a good conversational thread.  I don't know if we'll change
our practices, or vendor, but it has been a great discussion.  Thanks to
all who chimed in with their experiences, and input.

This is truly a handy forum to have.

Dennis Schweiger
University of Michigan/LNF

734.647.2055 Ofc


On Fri, Sep 22, 2023 at 12:26 PM Brian K. Olmsted <olms0025 at umn.edu> wrote:

> That's an insightful way of looking at this.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Brian K. Olmsted
> Associate Director of Laboratory Operations
> University of Minnesota | Minnesota Nano Center
> cse.umn.edu/mnc
> 612.626.3287
> olms0025 at umn.edu
>
>
>
> On Fri, Sep 22, 2023 at 11:18 AM Collins, Deon <deonc69 at illinois.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> It was a waste of money. A standard but quality washer with a stainless
>> drum is more than sufficient unless you are doing thousands of garments a
>> week. With an off the shelf washer, you can get parts anywhere and any
>> local repair shop can handle it. I also looked at it this way. If a good
>> whirlpool lasts you 5 years at 800$ your $ up. An industrial washer can
>> cost you $6000 easy. At that price you could replace the washer every 5
>> years and still be money up after 30 years. I would assume a good
>> Maytag/Whirlpool/Kitchen Aid(all the same company) will last 10 years on RO
>> water. DI water may shorten it life due to ION leaching in the plastics and
>> seals.
>>
>>
>>
>> *Deon D. Collins*
>>
>>
>> *FACILITY MANAGER*
>>
>> *The Grainger College Of Engineering UIUC*
>> Holonyak Micro & Nanotechnology Lab
>> 208 N Wright St Rm. 1114 | MC-249
>> Urbana, IL 61801
>> 217-300-7531 | deonc69 at illinois.edu
>>
>>
>> <http://illinois.edu/>
>>
>> *Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act any written communication
>> to or from university employees regarding university business is a public
>> record and may be subject to public disclosure. *
>>
>>
>>
>> *Life is not about watching other people live it. It’s about you living
>> your own!*
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Brian K. Olmsted <olms0025 at umn.edu>
>> *Sent:* Friday, September 22, 2023 10:47 AM
>> *To:* Aebersold, Julia <julia.aebersold at louisville.edu>; Fab Network <
>> labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
>> *Cc:* Ryan R Anderson <rrand at ucdavis.edu>; Kurt Kupcho <
>> kurt.kupcho at wisc.edu>; Collins, Deon <deonc69 at illinois.edu>; Dennis
>> Schweiger <schweig at umich.edu>
>> *Subject:* Re: [labnetwork] launderable cleanroom clothing
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>>
>>
>> This has been an insightful and fascinating thread to follow. I've had
>> the opportunity to talk with a few of you about our garment situation, and
>> the outcome of those conversations has me looking into what it would take
>> to get set up with our own washing machine and racking equipment, too. With
>> the hope that I'm not shifting the conversation too much from the original
>> post's topic, what is your experience or recommendations for what to look
>> for in an industrial washing machine?
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>>
>> Brian K. Olmsted
>>
>> Associate Director of Laboratory Operations
>>
>> University of Minnesota | Minnesota Nano Center
>>
>> cse.umn.edu/mnc
>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/cse.umn.edu/mnc__;!!DZ3fjg!9cPE-epDgUps87TiABmgQgqSuDUpIs684UrVef7Cqh3jx6A9EuVcOmzDZpQArPAwdaf2ABYw2Nidns_cTZfdJA$>
>>
>> 612.626.3287
>>
>> olms0025 at umn.edu
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Sep 21, 2023 at 4:15 PM Aebersold, Julia <
>> julia.aebersold at louisville.edu> wrote:
>>
>> We do the exact same process here at the the University of Louisville.
>>
>>
>>
>> Cheers!
>>
>>
>>
>> Julia Aebersold, Ph.D.
>>
>> Manager, Micro/Nano Technology Center
>>
>> University of Louisville
>>
>> 2210 South Brook Street
>>
>> Shumaker Research Building, Room 233
>>
>> Louisville, KY  40292
>>
>> (502) 852-1572
>>
>> http://louisville.edu/micronano/
>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/louisville.edu/micronano__;!!DZ3fjg!9cPE-epDgUps87TiABmgQgqSuDUpIs684UrVef7Cqh3jx6A9EuVcOmzDZpQArPAwdaf2ABYw2Nidns_9BW0i3A$>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> *From:* labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> on behalf of Ryan R
>> Anderson <rrand at ucdavis.edu>
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 20, 2023 6:58 PM
>> *To:* Kurt Kupcho <kurt.kupcho at wisc.edu>; Collins, Deon <
>> deonc69 at illinois.edu>; Dennis Schweiger <schweig at umich.edu>; Fab Network
>> <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
>> *Subject:* Re: [labnetwork] launderable cleanroom clothing
>>
>>
>>
>> *CAUTION:* This email originated from outside of our organization. Do
>> not click links, open attachments, or respond unless you recognize the
>> sender's email address and know the contents are safe.
>>
>> We do our own cleanroom laundry here at UC Davis too.   We use our own
>> washing machine and student assistant labor; except we air dry the
>> garments.  Much cheaper and much less of a headache than our previous
>> relationship with Aramark.
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>>
>>
>> Ryan Anderson
>>
>> Manager, Center for Nano-Micro Manufacturing
>>
>> 1209 Kemper Hall
>> University of California Davis
>> One Shields Avenue
>> Davis, CA 95616
>>
>>
>>
>> Phone: 530-601-3943
>>
>> Email: rrand at ucdavis.edu
>>
>> https://cnm2.ucdavis.edu/
>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/cnm2.ucdavis.edu/__;!!DZ3fjg!9cPE-epDgUps87TiABmgQgqSuDUpIs684UrVef7Cqh3jx6A9EuVcOmzDZpQArPAwdaf2ABYw2Nidns_YOdgALA$>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> *From:* labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> on behalf of Kurt
>> Kupcho <kurt.kupcho at wisc.edu>
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 20, 2023 11:35 AM
>> *To:* Collins, Deon <deonc69 at illinois.edu>; Dennis Schweiger <
>> schweig at umich.edu>; Fab Network <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
>> *Subject:* Re: [labnetwork] launderable cleanroom clothing
>>
>>
>>
>> At UW-Madison we have done something similar.  We have a SS industrial
>> washing machine hooked up to RO water and an industrial dryer with HEPA
>> filter.  We pay student hourlies to do the laundry, fold it, and put in
>> gown room racks.  With laundry detergent and student hourlies we are
>> probably under $1K a year on garment logistics.
>>
>>
>>
>> Best
>>
>> Kurt
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Kurt Kupcho
>>
>> Materials Science Engineer
>>
>> Nanoscale Fabrication Center (NFC)
>>
>> University of Wisconsin
>>
>> 1550 Engineering Dr.
>>
>> ECB 3110
>>
>> Madison, WI  53706
>>
>> E:  kurt.kupcho at wisc.edu
>>
>> T:  608-262-2982
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> *On Behalf Of *Collins,
>> Deon
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 20, 2023 9:03 AM
>> *To:* Dennis Schweiger <schweig at umich.edu>; Fab Network <
>> labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
>> *Subject:* Re: [labnetwork] launderable cleanroom clothing
>>
>>
>>
>> Good Morning,
>>
>>
>>
>> Holonyak lab used a cleaning service until 2021. It was never a good
>> solution. We continually had item lost, damaged,  mixed in with our returns
>> and lost/damaged shipments. On top of that the manpower it took to manage
>> the shipping deliveries and inventory moving around does not pay off. We
>> ended up buying a quality top loader washer with a SS drum. We also ended
>> up installing a small but effective RO on the water supply line, a bag
>> sealer, properly sized bags, and a set of nice SS racks. We hang the
>> cleanroom suites up to dry on the racking in the same space as our washer.
>> Our washing machine is in a storage room which is within our clean room. As
>> the garments a not porous there is little to no water, they dry quickly.
>> We also bag them for storage till they are required for swap out. Our
>> losses have gone to near zero and we feel there is a better product
>> provided to our cleanroom users. As we already owned our garments it was a
>> no brainier. Our lab assistants process the laundry in the evening. We were
>> spending thousands just for laundry services a year. On top of that the
>> loses, damages and shipping were all recouped in a matter of months.
>> Granted you will need a little assistance from the staff but it is worth
>> it.
>>
>>
>>
>> Hope this helps.
>>
>>
>>
>> *Deon D. Collins*
>>
>>
>> *FACILITY MANAGER*
>>
>> *The Grainger College Of Engineering UIUC*
>> Holonyak Micro & Nanotechnology Lab
>> 208 N Wright St Rm. 1114 | MC-249
>> Urbana, IL 61801
>> 217-300-7531 | deonc69 at illinois.edu
>>
>>
>> <http://illinois.edu/>
>>
>> *Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act any written communication
>> to or from university employees regarding university business is a public
>> record and may be subject to public disclosure. *
>>
>>
>>
>> *Life is not about watching other people live it. It’s about you living
>> your own!*
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> *On Behalf Of *Dennis
>> Schweiger
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 19, 2023 12:59 PM
>> *To:* Fab Network <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
>> *Subject:* [labnetwork] launderable cleanroom clothing
>>
>>
>>
>> Good afternoon all,
>>
>>
>>
>> Here at the University of Michigan/LNF we've been using launderable
>> garments for many years (Cintas is the provider).  We've had mostly good
>> success, and our vendor has helped us to incorporate a simple suit
>> modification to allow for better identification of individuals when they
>> are in full garb.  As part of our due diligence for keeping costs under
>> control, we'd be interested in comparing notes with other Universities that
>> are also using an outside company to provide your laundry service.
>> Currently our laundry costs run us about $52K/year and we're laundering
>> roughly 500 pieces of clothing every week.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>>
>>
>> Dennis Schweiger
>>
>> University of Michigan/LNF
>>
>>
>>
>> 734.647.2055 Ofc
>>
>>
>>
>> "People can be divided into 3 groups - those that make things happen,
>> those that watch things happen, and those that wonder what happened."
>> Within which group do you belong?
>>
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>>
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