OPL detergent for on-premise laundries

What is an OPL laundry

OPL stands for On-Premise Laundry. It is a laundry run in-house within a single establishment: a hotel, care home, hospital, gym or spa. The hotel washes its own bed linen, towels and uniforms on site without outsourcing.

The requirements differ from those of a self-service laundry: very high volume, professional staff, back-to-back cycles and specific hygiene standards (hospitals, care homes).

Characteristics of OPL products

Typical OPL sectors

• Hotels: bed linen, towels, bathrobes (see solutions for hotels)
• Care homes and nursing facilities: textiles with hygiene requirements (see solutions for care homes)
• Hospitals and clinics: healthcare textiles with strict protocols
• Gyms: high-rotation towels, blankets and robes
• Restaurants: tablecloths, cloths and uniforms with organic stains

Instaquim OPL products

Practical differences between OPL and self-service

In an on-premise laundry the machines are loaded by the establishment's own staff. They can sort laundry by textile type and soiling level and choose the right programme for each batch, something that never happens in a self-service shop.

That is why OPL makes sense with a phased approach, using a different product for each phase rather than a single detergent for everything. Each phase has its own pump and its own programmed dose.

How to set up an OPL programme by phases

• Main wash: an enzymatic detergent such as Power Gold, dosed at 5 to 10 g per kg of dry laundry depending on soiling, with a recommended temperature of about 40 ºC. For short, low-temperature washes with a high level of hygiene, Biogold Q works at the same dose.
• Bleaching: Oximatic +, 2 to 6 g per kg of dry laundry, applied through an automatic peristaltic dispenser. According to its data sheet, it can be used on any type of textile fibre.
• Hygiene: Sanitex, 4 g per kg of dry laundry in the penultimate rinse, with a recommended minimum contact time of 5 minutes. It is neutral and non-oxidising.
• Finishing: softener in the final rinse, only for the textiles that need it (towels and room linen, for instance).

Each product goes into its own phase and its own dosing line: all their data sheets state that they must not be mixed with other chemicals.

Documentation and safety for audits

Hotels, care homes and clinics often have to show how they wash. Keep the following to hand:

• The technical data sheet and the SDS prepared under the REACH Regulation for each product, with its CLP labelling.
• A log of pump calibrations and of the programmes on each machine.
• Records of staff training in handling. Oximatic + and Sanitex are classified as corrosive (H314): gloves, eye protection and protective clothing when changing drums.
• If kitchen linen is part of the establishment's HACCP plan, keep the laundry product sheets with the plan.

Instaquim manufactures in its own plant in Vic, with its own quality-control laboratory, ISO 9001 certification since 1999 and ISO 14001, and provides technical visits and on-site training for laundry staff.