Introducing efficiency and reliability to their operations, WASHCO become the go-to laundry partner for care home group, BestCare Ltd.
Ellesmere House
After experiencing unsatisfactory results from their current laundry equipment and with an impractical layout disrupting efficiency, the care home group, BestCare Ltd, approached WASHCO to upgrade and reconfigure their small on-premise laundry facility at Ellesmere House, a 28-bed care home in Shropshire.
With efficiency and reliability at the top of their wish list, WASHCO recommended the Miele PW413 13kg Benchmark Washing Machine, Miele PT8303 Slimline Gas Dryer and Stirovap Steam Ironing Table. The Miele Professional machines achieve excellent results whilst offering short cycles and great energy efficiency for the home.
Improving laundry layout
With workflow a key component in managing infection control, WASHCO repositioned the home’s laundry equipment. They made simple yet effective changes, to help the team safely manage the high volumes of laundry generated each day.
Tackling a challenging install
Ellesmere House’s laundry room is located at the bottom of some old stone steps, making access and installation a little challenging. This meant that each machine had to be dismantled off-site, before being carried down the steps and reassembled once they were in the right location. Despite the challenging install, WASHCO built and set up the machines swiftly, minimising any impact on the home.
Vishram Ghar
Impressed with WASHCO’s service and installation at Ellesmere House, BestCare Ltd called upon the expertise of WASHCO once again to transform laundry operations at their 42-bed Vishram Ghar Care Home in Leicester.
The care home’s previous laundry room, located in the main building, wasn’t achieving the desired results. With such a vast volume of laundry produced by the home on a daily basis and with strict infection control measures to follow, the team needed to relocate operations to ensure ample space for them to process items safely and efficiently. During a site survey, an outbuilding was identified as being suitable to be repurposed as it had been the original laundry room a number of years ago.
When designing the new laundry room there were several important factors for WASHCO to take into consideration: infection control, speed, output quality and efficiency.
Clear ‘dirty to clean’ workflow
Through careful planning and by working closely with plumbers, electricians and gas engineers, WASHCO designed and implemented a clear ‘dirty to clean’ workflow to help the home achieve best practice and avoid contamination. WASHCO also made recommendations for laundry carts and trollies to guarantee safe and clean transfer of the laundry from the laundry room back into the main building.
Meeting new regulations
During the project, British Standard Gas regulations for laundry (BS8446) changed, which meant that air out needed to be at least two metres away from any open doors, windows or fresh air intake. Coinciding with these new regulations, WASHCO redesigned the ducting run to ensure the home was compliant.
Reliability and speed from Miele Professional
To support the team with strict hygiene measures and to improve efficiency across their laundry operations, WASHCO installed two Miele PW418 18kg sluice washing machines and two Miele PT8403 20kg tumble dryers, alongside a Miele PM1210 roller iron. The Miele Professional washing machines are WRAS (Water Regulations Approval Scheme) approved and operate at the temperatures required by the HTM (Health Technical Memorandum) 01-04 guidelines. The quick yet thorough cycles help meet the homes demanding laundry requirements without impacting output quality.
Following installation, WASHCO provided in-depth training to both day and night staff to ensure the new equipment was used correctly, 24/7.
Commenting on the project, BestCare Ltd Managing Director, Mahesh Pattani, said; “An outstanding service! Throughout both projects, Ed and the team at WASHCO really took the time to listen to our requirements and went above and beyond! WASHCO empowers their employees, which was demonstrated by Ed and his team. They ‘think national and act local’. Their knowledge, patience and problem-solving skills helped create a solution that met our needs and more. The installation at Ellesmere House was particularly challenging but Ed made sure it ran smoothly and that we had everything in place on time. They delivered more than promised and their prompt service and aftercare have also been excellent. We know we can always rely on WASHCO.”
Visit our sector page to learn more about our commercial laundry solutions for care homes.