JLA chemist Lucy Cripwell talks us through the differences between the everyday laundry detergents you’ll find on supermarket shelves and the specialist products available from JLA. 

Even for those dealing with detergents day-in, day-out, you might still wonder how commercial detergents actually differ from domestic products. While it’s generally understood that commercial detergents are beneficial in professional settings, the ‘why’ is less talked about.

So, why is commercial laundry detergent better than domestic detergent?

The benefits of commercial detergents over domestic in care settings comes down to three main areas: more effective cleaning; meeting a wider range of requirements; and giving an extra layer of reassurance.

What gives them the label of a more effective cleaning solution?

Commercial detergents are specially formulated to cope with the high demands of a professional laundry set up, like a care laundry room. From enhanced stain removal to controlled foaming, using commercial detergents will prove more beneficial than domestic detergents in a professional setting. While the presence of some suds (AKA the foam made from soap and water in your machine) isn’t a problem, too much, and the mechanical action of your washing is compromised – domestic detergents can cause excessive foaming in larger commercial machines. This excessive foaming will negatively impact your wash quality and could potentially even cause damage to your machine.

Stain removal is another key part in achieving excellent wash quality, commercial detergents contain active ingredients that can effectively clean and remove the tough levels of soiling seen in a professional environment.

What about meeting a wider range of requirements?

As domestic washing machines are designed to be used within the home, domestic detergents are generally enough to sufficiently tackle these day-to-day dirt and stains. Machines in care settings, however, deal with much more varied laundry from a mixture of environments, sometimes even communal. This means commercial washing machines are more likely to handle heavy soiling and hard-to-remove/complex stains, such as oil and grease. It’s because of reasons like this a broader range of specialist products are needed to give a higher performance of washing.

For example, powerful emulsifiers to remove oil and grease stains from linen. If these garments are cleaned solely with a domestic detergent, these types of stains might not be removed correctly. This can lead to safety risks, as when oil and grease are not effectively removed from linen in the wash process, there is a risk of a fire when the linen is placed into a tumble dryer. In a similar way, those in the healthcare sector rely on a greater selection of commercial products, including destainers, to provide superior wash quality.

Can you talk more on the added layer of reassurance commercial detergents give?

We at JLA (and manufacturers like us) work closely in partnership with our customers to not only get the results they need, but formulate products that are kinder to the environment. Both JLA and our chemical manufacturers are accredited to ISO 14001, which means our customers enjoy the assurance that all our raw materials and packaging materials come from sustainable sources, and that our products have minimal impact. We believe in reformulating products for the right reasons, backed by the latest in scientific research and will continue to seek new ways to improve them.

Another way commercial detergents can offer reassurance comes from the specialised detergent auto-dosing systems which are available. Auto-dosing accurately and automatically dispenses the correct dose of commercial detergent into your washing machine. Some further benefits to auto-dosing include protection to staff as there is no need to manually handle and dose chemicals. Plus, reduction in waste that can come from user error or spillages which can further minimise cost and energy use.

To learn more about JLA’s detergents range, get in touch on 0808 239 0647.

THIS ARTICLE IS SPONSORED CONTENT.