Too much water consumption.
 
 
Washing lines need water, a lot of it.
I'm very scheptical about dry cleaning just because the machinery I saw never performed even decently.
May be there is something out there that I don't know of but.........
So, let's go back to the water issue.
First, remember that is very damn easy to put chemicals and/or other craps into water for better washing but normally it is very difficult to get rid of it therefore, be very careful and do this only if compulsory.
Chemicals cost money and remove them prior to discharge takes a lot more money.
Second, it may sound stupid but, I want you to know, the cleaner the water the better the washing effect.
Having all this in mind let's see what can be done to get the best washing with the minimum quantity of water.
All washing lines have different sections, besides cutting and drying:
- Washing
- Separating  (read sink-float tanks)
- Rinsing
All three steps require water and if you feed water to each component, like you should, the quantity needed is huge.
To do the job the right way, fresh water should go to the very last machine, collect the over flow, the is the quantity you put in, and pump it bach to the previous machine of the line.
In other words, material goes from first machine of the line to last one while water goes from the last machine to first one, of course the last one that runs with water.
You may say that by the time water gets to the first machine will be very dirty anyway and this is true but it is also true the first machine doesn't need clean water.
Let's talk about water filtration a little bit.
Water filtration means removing solids from water and it is very different from water treatment.
A good water filtration system delivers clear water that's normally more than enough to be fed back to the system.
True solubles are still into but, in most cases, this is not big deal.
If you're running a PET washing line using caustic, be positive to set the caustic washing section in a close loop circuit so you can save caustic first, the energy to heat up water and the chamical to be used to neutralize the caustic itself.
Whenever you set up a line, check exactly how much money each equipment need to run because you're going to pay this amount every minute of the day.
And there are 1440 minutes per day.
 
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