CHICAGO — For dry cleaners, pressing units and supplies can present a significant investment. Since this is a point of the process where the customer’s garments come into direct contact with the plant’s equipment, proper maintenance is required to deliver the best results.
But many cleaners try to extend the useful life of their press pads to control costs. Industry experts warn against this practice because the approach can ultimately harm both equipment performance and the quality of the final product.
To explore this topic, American Drycleaner interviewed representatives from some of the industry’s best-known pressing equipment companies, asking their opinions about best practices for pads and pad replacement, signs that let cleaners know it’s time to change pads, and what the future may hold when it comes to pressing.
“When people buy these machines, they should be changing their pads and covers frequently, which is what the top-end cleaners do to get high-quality work,” says Stuart Ilkowitz, president of Trevil America. “But I get people looking to order a pad and cover for a machine that’s 10 years old, and they’ve never replaced them before.”
The Impact of Worn Pads
When pads deteriorate, as they inevitably will, they can affect multiple aspects of the cleaning process.
“During the padding’s working lifetime, factors such as the continuous action of steam and exposure to high temperatures (around 150 C, or 300 F), together with the chemical detergents used — shirt starch in particular, but there are several others — harden the pads and compromise their integrity,” says Oscar Cacciamatta, sales manager for Pony S.p.A.’s U.S. market.
This deterioration can seriously impact pressing quality.
“The padding loses its ability to distribute heat evenly, which struggles to penetrate and treat the fabrics optimally,” Cacciamatta says. “The vacuum, where installed, is also affected, further lowering the quality of the ironing process. The result is the formation of crease and seam marks, compromising the garment’s final quality and the performance of the equipment.”
“Old, worn covers and pads really inhibit vacuum flow,” agrees Mike Tungesvick, vice president of sales at Sankosha. “They become less porous and you’re losing your proper airflow. You’ll start to notice that shirts aren’t drying, and then the press quality is diminished.”
As pads lose their elasticity, the press doesn’t exert full pressure on the garment, impacting the finished product.
“Some presses are designed to give you maximum performance with a specific padding thickness,” says Greg Wilson, quality control/customer service manager at Forenta. “And as the padding wears, becomes thinner and breaks down, you’re not going to achieve the amount of pressure that may be needed on that particular press unless some mechanical or air-pressure adjustments are made.”
Worn pads might also carry unwanted impressions from one garment to the next, causing uneven results.
“On a deteriorated pad, for instance, on a double topper press, where that button lays, it’s getting pressed deeper into the padded portion and will tend to break down sooner,” Wilson says. “And, as that happens, the area around that button begins to see less pressure because of the compression of the pad. That may cause another garment that you lay in that particular area of the press to not receive the amount of pressure it needs.”
He also makes a point to distinguish between the effects of wear for different cleaning processes.
“On the laundry side of the plant, overly compressed or worn pads typically don’t affect the heat distribution on the press itself, or even the steam flow through the press,” Wilson says. “What it can affect on a laundry press is your quality of finish. Worn or compressed pads can cause button breakage issues, because the padding is too hard underneath the button.”
This impact becomes more pronounced on the drycleaning side of the plant.
“Typically, with dry cleaning, the latex rubber of the pad, which is usually surrounded by flannel material and an outer cover, will tend to crystallize or harden because of the steam, moisture and heat.”
Making sure the pads fit properly is crucial for good results, Tungesvick says, which can be tricky when buying third-party supplies.
“We do produce our own pads and covers in-house in our factory,” he says. “That maintains the proper fit. You want to make sure they fit right and there’s the proper thickness that the machine calls for. If you use a different branded pad and cover for your shirt machine and the pads don’t fit right, you’re not going to get a good press at all.”
“New padding provides more even heat distribution and effective steam flow, ensuring superior results when pressing garments,” Cacciamatta says. “Investing in quality padding is therefore crucial to maintaining high performance standards.”
Come back Thursday for Part 2 of this series, when we’ll look at some warning signs that owners and equipment operators shouldn’t ignore.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].
