Vet clinics and pet care facilities often battle with recurring washer breakdowns thanks to the nature of their businesses and what they are washing. When it happens, breakdowns create contaminated laundry pileups, staff headaches and expensive machine repairs or replacements. Sound familiar? Read the following tips and put a halt to all the breakdowns…
Overcoming Pet Hair
Purchase a commercial washer with a gravity drain rather than a pump drain. Washers using a standard pump drain are not designed to handle the pet hair and contaminants found in vet clinic laundries as pumps get clogged with hair over and over. A commercial washer with a gravity drain and trough system has a built-in screen that captures pet hair and other waste. The screen is simple to clean and maintain. If you don’t have an in-floor drain in your laundry area, a plumber can put one in and it’s worth the investment. If in-floor draining is not an option, grinding pump systems installed in the trough will grind pet hair and then pump into the drain, which prevents clogging.
Don’t Buy Washers from a Big Box Store
Invest in longevity versus a washer that will fail repeatedly. Big box store washers are equipped with pumps, not gravity drains, and as mentioned in Tip 1, get clogged with pet hair over and over. The washers from big box stores are designed and warrantied for home use — not the hard-core use typical of a pet care facility. They are not warrantied for commercial use inside your facility. So, as soon as one is installed at your facility, that warranty (usually only 1 year) is null and void. Instead, invest in a commercial machine with industrial-grade components, gaskets, bearings, struts and motors. The Girbau North America E-Series and Genius Series Washers are commercial machines with a 3-year all parts and 5-year major components warranty.
Contact a Commercial Laundry Equipment Distributor
Before you purchase a washer, contact your local laundry equipment distributor. Girbau North America distributors are experts in laundry development and will assist you with equipment selection, installation and ongoing service after the sale. Your distributor holds years of experience working with pet care laundries and will gladly lead you through the process of selecting the right equipment to fit your space, budget and goals.