Industrial washers and dryers: do you need a barrier washer?

Industrial washers and dryers come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes and have varied functionalities. Still, some of them are just right for particular needs and industries. Barrier Washers are that kind of industrial washer since they are specifically designed to meet the needs of certain companies and markets.

Let’s try to understand what industries need Barrier Washers. First of all, let’s take a look at this type of industrial washer.

Barrier washers are industrial washers and dryers with two separate doors; one is used to load clothing, linen and other soiled laundry before commencing the washing and extracting routine, and the other is used to unload them at the end of the cycle.

The word “barrier” highlights a particular feature of these industrial washers and dryers: they are built into a “barrier”, in other words, a wall or partition that keeps the two doors on either side of the industrial washer in separate, isolated rooms or spaces. The laundry can only pass from one room to the other through the barrier washer, which ensures that only clean, decontaminated items enter one of the two areas.

These particular kinds of industrial washers and dryers cover the needs of industries where thorough cleaning is fundamental, by completely eliminating the risk of cross-contamination or re-contamination of the clean laundry.

Barrier Washers can solve issues like

• Cleaning – when it is essential to avoid contact between clean laundry and soiled laundry
• Decontamination – when all kinds of contaminants must be eliminated from the laundry
• Particle suppression – when all particles must be removed from garments, whether or not they are contaminants.

The first issue is generally relevant in hospitals and care homes for the elderly or long-term patients, and industrial washers and dryers are used there to prevent cross-contamination between garments, bed linen and operating theatre linen. In this case, Barrier Washers are fundamental for preventing infection in hospitals and care homes.

An example of the second type of issue can be found in all businesses or industries that require the use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment): firefighting, mining, handling oil or hazardous chemicals, nuclear plants.

The last issue concerns cleanrooms: the pharmaceutical, biotech and microelectronics industries use workspaces called cleanrooms, which are completely free of contaminants and have controlled environments designed to maintain temperature, humidity, and pressure levels. Cleanrooms are essential when handling chemicals or assembling biomechanical devices and the clothing worn by operators must be thoroughly washed and kept completely free of particles; this is only possible with a Barrier Washer.