[labnetwork] launderable cleanroom clothing

Fri Sep 22 11:47:11 EDT 2023

Hi everyone,

This has been an insightful and fascinating thread to follow. I've had the
opportunity to talk with a few of you about our garment situation, and the
outcome of those conversations has me looking into what it would take to
get set up with our own washing machine and racking equipment, too. With
the hope that I'm not shifting the conversation too much from the original
post's topic, what is your experience or recommendations for what to look
for in an industrial washing machine?

Thanks,

Brian K. Olmsted
Associate Director of Laboratory Operations
University of Minnesota | Minnesota Nano Center
cse.umn.edu/mnc
612.626.3287
olms0025 at umn.edu

On Thu, Sep 21, 2023 at 4:15 PM Aebersold, Julia <
julia.aebersold at louisville.edu> wrote:

> We do the exact same process here at the the University of Louisville.
>
> Cheers!
>
>
>
> Julia Aebersold, Ph.D.
>
> Manager, Micro/Nano Technology Center
>
> University of Louisville
>
> 2210 South Brook Street
>
> Shumaker Research Building, Room 233
>
> Louisville, KY  40292
>
> (502) 852-1572
>
> http://louisville.edu/micronano/
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> on behalf of Ryan R
> Anderson <rrand at ucdavis.edu>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 20, 2023 6:58 PM
> *To:* Kurt Kupcho <kurt.kupcho at wisc.edu>; Collins, Deon <
> deonc69 at illinois.edu>; Dennis Schweiger <schweig at umich.edu>; Fab Network <
> labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
> *Subject:* Re: [labnetwork] launderable cleanroom clothing
>
>
> *CAUTION:* This email originated from outside of our organization. Do not
> click links, open attachments, or respond unless you recognize the sender's
> email address and know the contents are safe.
> We do our own cleanroom laundry here at UC Davis too.   We use our own
> washing machine and student assistant labor; except we air dry the
> garments.  Much cheaper and much less of a headache than our previous
> relationship with Aramark.
>
> Best,
>
> Ryan Anderson
>
> Manager, Center for Nano-Micro Manufacturing
>
> 1209 Kemper Hall
> University of California Davis
> One Shields Avenue
> Davis, CA 95616
>
>
>
> Phone: 530-601-3943
>
> Email: rrand at ucdavis.edu
>
> https://cnm2.ucdavis.edu/
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> on behalf of Kurt
> Kupcho <kurt.kupcho at wisc.edu>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 20, 2023 11:35 AM
> *To:* Collins, Deon <deonc69 at illinois.edu>; Dennis Schweiger <
> schweig at umich.edu>; Fab Network <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
> *Subject:* Re: [labnetwork] launderable cleanroom clothing
>
>
> At UW-Madison we have done something similar.  We have a SS industrial
> washing machine hooked up to RO water and an industrial dryer with HEPA
> filter.  We pay student hourlies to do the laundry, fold it, and put in
> gown room racks.  With laundry detergent and student hourlies we are
> probably under $1K a year on garment logistics.
>
>
>
> Best
>
> Kurt
>
>
>
>
>
> Kurt Kupcho
>
> Materials Science Engineer
>
> Nanoscale Fabrication Center (NFC)
>
> University of Wisconsin
>
> 1550 Engineering Dr.
>
> ECB 3110
>
> Madison, WI  53706
>
> E:  kurt.kupcho at wisc.edu
>
> T:  608-262-2982
>
>
>
> *From:* labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> *On Behalf Of *Collins,
> Deon
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 20, 2023 9:03 AM
> *To:* Dennis Schweiger <schweig at umich.edu>; Fab Network <
> labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
> *Subject:* Re: [labnetwork] launderable cleanroom clothing
>
>
>
> Good Morning,
>
>
>
> Holonyak lab used a cleaning service until 2021. It was never a good
> solution. We continually had item lost, damaged,  mixed in with our returns
> and lost/damaged shipments. On top of that the manpower it took to manage
> the shipping deliveries and inventory moving around does not pay off. We
> ended up buying a quality top loader washer with a SS drum. We also ended
> up installing a small but effective RO on the water supply line, a bag
> sealer, properly sized bags, and a set of nice SS racks. We hang the
> cleanroom suites up to dry on the racking in the same space as our washer.
> Our washing machine is in a storage room which is within our clean room. As
> the garments a not porous there is little to no water, they dry quickly.
> We also bag them for storage till they are required for swap out. Our
> losses have gone to near zero and we feel there is a better product
> provided to our cleanroom users. As we already owned our garments it was a
> no brainier. Our lab assistants process the laundry in the evening. We were
> spending thousands just for laundry services a year. On top of that the
> loses, damages and shipping were all recouped in a matter of months.
> Granted you will need a little assistance from the staff but it is worth
> it.
>
>
>
> Hope this helps.
>
>
>
> *Deon D. Collins*
>
>
> *FACILITY MANAGER*
>
> *The Grainger College Of Engineering UIUC*
> Holonyak Micro & Nanotechnology Lab
> 208 N Wright St Rm. 1114 | MC-249
> Urbana, IL 61801
> 217-300-7531 | deonc69 at illinois.edu
>
>
> <http://illinois.edu/>
>
> *Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act any written communication
> to or from university employees regarding university business is a public
> record and may be subject to public disclosure. *
>
>
>
> *Life is not about watching other people live it. It’s about you living
> your own!*
>
>
>
> *From:* labnetwork <labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu> *On Behalf Of *Dennis
> Schweiger
> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 19, 2023 12:59 PM
> *To:* Fab Network <labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu>
> *Subject:* [labnetwork] launderable cleanroom clothing
>
>
>
> Good afternoon all,
>
>
>
> Here at the University of Michigan/LNF we've been using launderable
> garments for many years (Cintas is the provider).  We've had mostly good
> success, and our vendor has helped us to incorporate a simple suit
> modification to allow for better identification of individuals when they
> are in full garb.  As part of our due diligence for keeping costs under
> control, we'd be interested in comparing notes with other Universities that
> are also using an outside company to provide your laundry service.
> Currently our laundry costs run us about $52K/year and we're laundering
> roughly 500 pieces of clothing every week.
>
>
>
> Thank you,
>
>
>
> Dennis Schweiger
>
> University of Michigan/LNF
>
>
>
> 734.647.2055 Ofc
>
>
>
> "People can be divided into 3 groups - those that make things happen,
> those that watch things happen, and those that wonder what happened."
> Within which group do you belong?
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