What does "suitable for industrial laundering" mean?
When workwear and protective clothing is regularly reprocessed, it is a real endurance test. This is because industrial washing puts a strain on the laundry in the huge washing machines. Extreme forces act on the textile, the mechanical stress is high.
Due to the sometimes high washing temperature, thermal stress is also very high, as is the chemical stress caused by the substances used in cleaning and reprocessing. Protective clothing certified according to ISO 15797 withstands these demands without losing its properties, colour and shape.
In this blog we will explain what industrial washing means and which standards and labels are used. We will also give you tips on what to look out for when cleaning and caring for protective clothing.
Suitable for industrial laundering according to ISO 15797
An important aspect for employers is the industrial laundering suitability of protective clothing according to DIN EN ISO 15797. The standard deals with industrial washing and finishing procedures for testing workwear. Among other things, it specifies test methods for assessing industrially washed workwear or PPE. It deals with properties such as dimensional stability, colour fastness, creasing, defective seam pilling and general optical aspects.*
In general, garments should be labelled with the PRO label. This indicates suitability for care in professional laundries. The numbers in the box of the washing symbol (1-8) correspond to the washing procedures described in the ISO 15797 standard.
The two symbols on the right stand for the drying process. The hexagon in the square stands for tumble drying. The rectangle at the bottom stands for tunnel or cabinet finishing.
Household laundry
Some important rules should be followed for the household washing of protective clothing:
- The number of washing cycles can be drastically reduced by soiling. It is imperative to check the warning clothing before each use.
- Use colour wash programme without prewash.
- Maximum wash time: 12 minutes.
- Maximum programme duration: 50 minutes.
- Use detergent for delicates or coloureds.
- In the drum dryer, the exhaust air temperature must not exceed 90 °C.
- Air drying is recommended.
- Do not use fabric softener.
- Iron without steam.
- Do not use detergents with bleaching agents or optical brighteners.
- Always wash warning clothing separately for each colour.
- Close all fasteners before care treatment