When incrustations impact cleaning results Small mistake, big consequences

Washing cleaning textiles has an effect on the cleaning result that should not be underestimated when it comes to quality, effort and cost. Every washing mistake ultimately affects the quality of cleaning and profitability, too. Incrustations – from the Latin: crusta, crust – on cleaning textile fibers result from small handling mistakes that can be heavy in consequences.Once incrustations start to form on fibers, they can grow to the point that a mop or cleaning cloth will simply stop absorbing any cleaning solution. If a floor is regularly cleaned with a mop that has incrustations, the floor actually gets dirtier with each cleaning. The result is no better with a two-stage cleaning, and changing chemicals usually does not help. Changing the mop does not help either if the incrustations are caused by incorrect washing – a small mistake that can be heavy in consequences. A telltale indication that you have an incrustation problem is when the dirty water can easily be absorbed with a cloth directly after mopping (top left picture). The top right picture shows how a floor can look in spite of a thorough cleaning. Fibers lose their water-absorbing capacityIf there are incrustations, the mop fibers are coated with a crust that keeps them from absorbing any liquid whatsoever. All that’s left is the moisture on the outside of the mop, which gets released during mopping so that the dirt can be loosened. The problem is that mop cannot capture the loosened dirt, either, so it remains evenly distributed on the floor. If the incrustations are not addressed, the amount of dirt on the floor increases with each cleaning. This can be verified with a squeegee pass: all the dirt on the floor simply gets pushed around. How incrustations formIncrustations form when cationic surfactants combine with anionic surfactants. If anionic surfactants (common in detergents) combine with cationic surfactants (common in cleaning agents), they attach themselves to textile fibers and form a tough crust. One way to verify this is to weigh the mops or cloths. If there are incrustations, the mop will definitely weigh heavier than when it was purchased. Prewash and thorough rinsing a mustIncrustations can occur when the cleaning solution is not completely removed during the prewash cycle and it comes into contact with the detergent, or when the detergent is not completely rinsed out and then binds with the cleaning solution. Both can happen rather frequently. Incrustations also occur more often with modern liquid detergent. The reason is not the detergent per se, but the amount of detergent. If there is too much detergent during the washing process, and the detergent cannot be completely rinsed out, anionic surfactants in the detergent residue react with the cationic surfactants of the cleaner or disinfectant. The good news is that incrustations can be washed out. However, do not wait too long since high alkalinity can permanently damage the fibers. The right liquor ratioOne cause of incrustations can be the lack of or an inadequate prewash cycle. Overloading the washing machine is a surefire way to get saddled with this problem, too. Also, maintaining the correct liquor ratio is key. The liquor ratio is the ratio of washing liquid in liters to the amount of dry laundry in kilograms. ‘Liquor’ refers to the amount of liquid that is used to treat the items to be washed during a wash cycle. The liquor ratio should be higher during the prewash cycle. In other words, more water is used in proportion to the weight of the items to be washed to ensure a thorough prewash result (rinsing processes are dilution processes). The liquor ratio may be lower during the main wash cycle, however. Here, less water is used because the costs for energy and detergent increase as more water has to be heated and more detergent is needed to maintain the correct concentration in the liquor. The ratio should increase again during the rinse cycle, and copious amounts of water should be used to achieve a satisfactory rinse result. Andreas Carl | heike.holland@holzmann-medien.de

When incrustations impact cleaning results Small mistake, big consequences

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