UK-based textile laundering supplier Xeros has launched a ‘near waterless’ laundry system for firefighters’ personal protective equipment (PPE). This system is compliant with NFPA 1851 (National Fire Protection Association’s Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting) and claimed to use 80 per cent less water, 50 per cent less energy and 50 per cent less chemical while laundering.
Lieutenant Stephen Horvath of Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue in Virginia, commented, “We’ve noticed that the quality of our PPE cleaning at our firehouse is remarkably better with the Xeros machines than any of our current commercial washing machines. On top of that, we can now clean up to 18 pieces of outer or inner linings in the Xeros machines, whereas before we could only wash up to 4 pieces of either at a time.”
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Xeros uses polymer beads to replace water as the primary cleaning agent, which drastically reduces the amount of water needed, while providing a visibly cleaner result. The beads are designed to remain in the machine and can be used for hundreds of washes and have a molecular structure which can attract soil from gear.
The system also uses a detergent package with standardize pH quantity and has been developed to work with wash temperatures at or below 105°F. The technology has been discovered by Steven Burkinshaw at the University of Leeds’ Department of Textiles.