The world’s 1001st “AquaClean” machine has now gone into service in Germany. It was delivered to “Monika’s Textilpflege” in Badburg, a town between Cologne and Aachen. The washing system was developed by the Electrolux-Wascator company for the wet-cleaning of textiles in water. It is already being used in 28 countries all over the world as a profitable and environment-friendly supplement to dry cleaning.

“In addition to the environmental aspect, the system has improved our position in the market, since we can now offer our customers a broader range. Now we can process a lot of the washing ourselves in our own facilities rather than farming it out to third parties as we used to”, explains Frau Nagel, owner of “Monika’s Textilpflege”.
Around 40 percent of all laundry entrusted to us can be washed in the water-based equipment. Textiles that used never to be handed in for dry cleaning are now processed in the water-based system.
“We’ve had nothing but good experience of the AquaClean system. We can’t imagine a better washing method, especially for outer garments, carpets, duvets and padded jackets. In some instances, for example Goretex/Sympatex jackets, the results have even turned out to be better than dry cleaning”, Frau Nagel says.
Frau Nagel finds that another advantage of the wet- cleaning system is the low water consumption. Whilst a conventional washing machine uses 80 litres of water for 1 kg of wool, the Electrolux-Wascator system manages with 20 litres for the same amount of wool. The system can also be programmed to use the water from the last rinse for the next prewash - a function which cuts costs and helps the environment.
“The delivery of the 1001st AquaClean machine confirms that the concept has gained acceptance from dry cleaners as an environment-friendly supplement to chemical cleaning methods”, explains Burkhard Kampman, Managing Director at Electrolux Wäschereimaschinen GmbH of Germany.
The washing programmes on which the AquaClean system is based were developed by the Swedish company Electrolux-Wascator in conjunction with the German Institute for Textile Research in Krefeld (WFK). It is based on the use of water and specially-developed, biodegradable detergents, with particular attention to preventing the shrinking of natural fibres.
One indication of the importance of customer service at “Monika’s Textilpflege” is a typical modern phenomenon: a drive-in to make the trip to the dry cleaners more convenient for busy customers.

For further information:
Electrolux Industrial Laundry Group
David Hayes
Humphrys Road
Dunstable
Bedfordshire LU5 4TP
Tel: 0158 259 3273
Fax: 0158 258 8871

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