Businesses across every industry in the world look for healthier, more energy efficient, and more cost effective ways to operate. Ozone technology enables this when it comes to commercial laundering, allowing for cold water washing with significantly reduced water consumption, while ensuring destruction of bacteria and viruses in conjunction with the right chemicals to provide energy savings and increased linen life.
How Does an Ozone Laundry System Work?
Ozone (O³), sometimes called ‘activated oxygen’, contains three atoms of oxygen rather than the two atoms we normally breathe. The third oxygen atom makes ozone extremely reactive. This makes for a powerful disinfectant that attacks most organic soils and kills bacteria 3200 times faster than chlorine bleach.
Below, we look at 5 key benefits of this ozone technology while addressing common questions. For example, are ozone laundry systems safe? how does an ozone laundry system work? Read on to find out.
1. Ozone Technology is Powered by UV
Ozone is naturally produced in our environment every day. In fact, the first thing that comes to mind when the word ozone is mentioned is the ozone layer in the atmosphere. This ozone, along with ozone in nature, is produced from UV light. UV light can also be used to produce ozone commercially for a wide variety of applications including efficient, high-scale laundering.
2. Ozone Improves Laundering in Healthcare and Hospitality
Ozone technology is widely used in the age care sector, public hospitals, hospitality and commercial laundries. This is because ozone laundering is ideal for efficiently disinfecting and cleaning heavily soiled and contaminated healthcare laundry with the right balance of chemical detergents, reliably killing bacteria while delivering laundered items that look pristine.
3. Ozone Technology Significantly Reduces Costs
Ozone laundering systems can deliver water savings of up to 40%. Implementing an ozone laundry system provides a very quick return on investment from the savings in utility costs alone:
- Reduces energy use by up to 90% by operating without hot water service
- Reduces chemical costs as ozone boosts the power of detergents
- Productivity savings of up to 30% with shorter wash cycles
- Reduces dryer gas use by up to 40% as ozone lowers water retention in linen, shortening a typical 45-55 minute dryer cycle to 25 to 35 minutes.
To achieve significant cost savings and a high return on investment, businesses usually need a production rate of more than 3 tonnes per week. This is why ozone technology isn’t really suitable for general public use.
4. Ozone is as Effective as Thermal Washing for Disinfection
Thermal disinfection requires that the main wash is heated and maintained to either 71 degrees celsius for 3 minutes or 65 degrees celsius for 10 minutes. Chemical disinfection requires a process of applying chemicals that increase the oxidative qualities of the wash.
Ozone achieves the same disinfection without the need for that heating process. The use of cold-water ozone laundering processes meets the requirements of Australian standards to ensure effective disinfection by chemical disinfection, so not only are ozone laundry systems safe, but they are also suitable for use in industries like healthcare and hospitality.
5. Ozone Technology Achieves Cleaner Wastewater
A typical laundry process produces wastewater that is high in BOD (biological oxygen demand – food for bacteria), high in COD (chemical oxygen demand) and low in DO (dissolved oxygen). Ozone mitigates this by enhancing the power of detergents by breaking water surface tension and nullifying the water-hardening effects of Calcium and Magnesium. The result is cleaner wastewater and less impact on the environment.
OTEK System by Ozone Technologies
With Ozone Technologies’ patented OTEK System, we can help reduce laundry operating costs by up to 50% by boosting the performance of your washing machines and chemicals – it’s like a turbocharger in your wash. Book a free demonstration today or contact us to find out more.
