Garments used to be either wet-cleaned and air-dried overnight – taking much time and space – or dry cleaned. Fortunately, new dryer technology is changing the wet cleaning process thus offering new textile care opportunities.
At the moment there are dryers that are offering several programmable phases/steps in the drying process, as well as sophisticated control over multiple variables within those phases, including oven temperature, drum temperature, drum rotation action and G-force, timed reversing, and moisture-sensing control technology. Complete control over drying is critical to the success and speed of the wet cleaning process. By controlling variables by phase/step, even the most delicate items can be dried to the proper moisture level that’s ideal for finishing. This means textile care operations can wet clean garments more quickly and efficiently, provide improved customer turnaround times, become more environmentally friendly, and lower operational costs.
Because the new dryers eliminate air drying, it takes wet cleaning to a new level of productivity. In general it is advised to seek out dryers with programmability of multiple variables within each step/phase of the drying process. In order to prevent damage and shrinkage, drum speed should be adjustable based on phase, item type, moisture content and fabric.