Oregon Dry Cleaners Assoication
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Oregon Dry Cleaners Association |  |
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From the Editor's Laptop... You will notice a few changes in your newsletter this month. First, the background now has color. A few of you commented that reading the black print on a white screen can be a little harsh on the eyes and I had to agree. Hours of writing and proof reading this past year and my eyes wanted something a little easier to look at. Hopefully the darker background color will make it easier for you...and me. As long as I was adding color, I changed a few of the accent colors and the logo just to help freshen things up. Also, you will notice that now, there are more links in your newsletter and each link is highlighted in blue so you can easily identify it. Go ahead and click on one. It will take you to the associated website, email address, or in the case of the Table of Contents, to the related article. Here's a little tip. Right click on the link, when the menu opens, left click on "Open in New Window". You can view the linked information without having to leave the newsletter.
I looked at dozens of formats for the newsletter this year. I tried several different layouts but I was never satisfied with the way they looked in the final version. So I stayed with the one I inherited when I took over as editor. I think our webmaster, Leslie, did a great job when she selected this one. I would like to thank you for your comments over the past year. Every one of them has helped to improve the way ODCA brings information to you. Do you have a new email address or a change of address at work? Did you know that you can manage your newsletter account yourself? Simply click on the Update Profile/Email Address in the Quick Links section or at the bottom of the page. This is the fastest and easiest way for you to manage how you receive your newsletters from us. This month, our President, Scott McClure gives us a preview of what we can expect from the Association this year. Gary Campbell, our Treasurer and Chair of the By-Laws Committee gives us the result of all the hard work they did this past year. Rewriting the by-laws was a monumental undertaking and extremely important to the way this association operates. The work the committee did will guide us for many years to come. Members will be recieving an official copy soon and will be able to access them on the ODCA website. As for myself, I will report to you on the conversion of my PERC machine to the new DrySolv solvent. 2007 was a very good year for my shop and this year looks to be even better. My New Year wish for you is that you realize growth and profit beyond what you thought possible! Happy New Year and remember to have fun!
Contact Brian
Olson
at
bolson@oregondrycleaners.org.
Brian Olson CED, Director, District 1 - Newsletter Editor
I hope everyone enjoyed their time with family and friends over the holidays and have set their goals for the New Year. Personal and business goals are very important in our everyday lives. Maybe your personal goal might be to go trout fishing in that mountain stream that you have driven by a hundred times. Maybe it is to donate your time to a cause that you believe in. Your business goals might be to increase sales by 10%, and you can. I personally have always believed that the only limitations one has are themselves. We all have the desire to succeed inside us and we just have to decide that we will. All general members received a packet in the mail to vote on adopting new by-laws for the association. As noted in earlier newsletters this was undertaken by a special committtee that was named by the Board. This committee was made up of all Past Presidents that were familiar with the by-laws of this association. After working together to ascertain how they believed the by-laws should be, they were taken to an attorney that specializes in non-profit organizations and he advised us as to the changes that had to be made to conform to current regulations and laws. This project has been a long time coming as we have been trying to get this job done for several years. I want to thank the committee and the Board for their hard work to make sure that we continue as an organization dedicated to the dry cleaning industry in Oregon. In the New Year, I have set some goals for this organization that I will share with you in the coming months. They have to do with a wide variety of subjects from community outreach to education to just a weekend brainstroming retreat at the Oregon Coast. A venue like this would allow us to share ideas with each other about possibly new cleaning methods, how to treat certain stains or anything else that you might want to talk about. I look forward to the New Year and what it might bring!
Contact Scott
McClure
at
smcclure@oregondrycleaners.org.
The Oregon Dry Cleaners Association (ODCA) was officially incorporated in the state of Oregon on June 6, 1961 with an initial Board of Directors comprised of 17 drycleaners representing every geographical area of Oregon. When this writer joined the industry and the association in 1972 the membership was large and vibrant, able even to sponsor large equipment shows in state. The original association bylaws served well and guided the organization for many years. In more recent years, however, with the industry challenged in many ways not foreseen by the original incorporators, it became apparent to each year's leadership that the association bylaws required updating. Unfortunately, while there was much discussion of the need and process, each year ended with little or no concrete action. Finally, newly minted association president Scott McClure set adopting new bylaws as one of his primary goals and appointed past president and treasurer Gary Campbell to lead a bylaw committee with the goal of having the membership approve new bylaws by the end of 2007. Committee members were initially asked to read and analyze the existing bylaws and recommend changes. After a period of committee e-mail discussion, the question was then extended to the entire Board of Directors for further discussion. With the resultant information in hand, committee chair Campbell then met with an attorney specializing in non-profits and contracted with him to rewrite the association's bylaws. A draft was prepared by the attorney, critiqued by the ODCA committee, rewritten by the attorney, and then presented to the ODCA Board of Directors for discussion and approval at a board meeting held in conjunction with the annual convention in October. Some minor changes were recommended at that meeting and were subsequently incorporated into the final version. Finally, a copy of the proposed bylaws was mailed to each member of record along with a ballot seeking member approval. On December 15, 2007, the deadline for returning ballots, members of the ODCA had overwhelmingly approved the new bylaws.
Contact Gary
Campbell at
gcampbell@oregondrycleaners.org.
The decision to convert my ten year old Bowe Permac P300 to DrySolv was made in mid October. I was quickly approaching the point that I would have to order more PERC and decided it was time to try this new solvent. It wasn't without a little anxiety that I called Joe Bays at Pacific Fabricare Equipment, the distributor of DrySolv. After all, this was going to be a major change in the way I operate my business. Joe assured me that I would have complete support from DrySolv for the transition and put me in contact with Joe Iannarelli, a long time DrySolv user and representative for the company. Joe has been using DrySolv for the past two years at his Fi-Del Cleaners in Pittsburg Pennsylvania. With over one million pounds cleaned in his three 50lb. Columbia machines, Joe was a wealth of information and help in the conversion. We scheduled October 30 as the day for the change. Prior to that, I would need to have my machine cleaned out of all PERC, filters bypassed, fill it with DrySolv and a new program entered into the microprocessor. I hired Jim Butler, my regular repairman, to help with this part of the project. I could have easily done this without extra help but it's not something I do every day and wasn't comfortable going it alone. The extra help made things much faster and easier. I should add here that the odor of the solvent, while strong is in no way offensive. It has an almost rubbing alcohol scent. My CSR said it reminded her of a doctor's office. Not a bad smell for a dry cleaner!
I was given the following program to install,
understanding that every machine is unique and we
would adjust it as needed:
Joe B. and Joe I. arrived at the scheduled time and we made two minor alterations to the machine. The pressure relief vent from the water separator was disconnected and we attached the hose we used to fill the machine to run a "closed loop" from the separator to the button trap. DrySolv is much more volatile than PERC and by doing so we are reclaiming solvent that would otherwise be lost through the carbon filter. The last thing we did before running the machine was to close off the drain line from the water separator to the waste water treatment unit. This is done to help reduce vapor loss. A pair of vice-grip pliers made quick work of this and I simply drain the hose once a day and seal it off again. Because DrySolv is volatile even just sitting in the machine, we found that the machine manufacturers start-up program, a short dry cycle, was inadequate to clear the wheel of vapor before the first run of the day. I now use the pre-programmed dry cycle which takes about 14 minutes as my "Good Morning" run. This works extremely well. We loaded the machine with clothes and started it. I have to admit, I was still nervous so I chose to run a dark load first. With a little use behind me I am now comfortable running any classification of load as I need it. Going from dark to light creates no worries as I am using pure, fresh and distilled solvent in every load. This is particularly useful to get the larger loads out first and keep production going. We made minor adjustments to the program I added and raised the steam pressure to the Still so as to allow for the distillation to be complete by the end of the cycle. We also increased fill time and raised the drying temperature. Each machine will be somewhat different. The goal was to have the complete cycle finish in 30 to 35 minutes, which we easily accomplished. In addition, we added a second, shorter program for beaded and delicate fabrics. I could have done all the work required to convert this machine myself with just a little "tech support" over the phone to help guide and assure me that I was doing things correctly. It really was that easy.
The manufacturer says its solvent works as well or
better than PERC. I would counter that by saying it is
far superior. I am cleaning everything in DrySolv that I
was able to clean in PERC including beaded and
trimmed garments. The faster run times have
resulted in four loads cleaned in the same time I used
to do three. The solvent itself, being stronger, does
the
cleaning work instead of relying on mechanical action
resulting in little or no static or lint. I always questioned the amount of waste generated while running PERC. A great deal of it had to be coming from lint and with DrySolv I am generating a fraction of what I was before. With no need for filtration, the monitoring and maintenance of that component has also been removed. As far as spotting goes, it does an exceptional job on greasy food stains, mud and oils. Some prespotting is still required but has been greatly reduced. There is an increase in "sweet" spots due to lack of moisture in the system but with lower drying temperatures they are quick and easy to remove. The conversion of a ten year old machine to a solvent it was never designed to use has not been without frustration and challenges. DrySolv is extremely volatile and even sitting dormant in the machine vapors will expand. This has resulted in a lot of extra work in making sure the machine is tight. Most of the gaskets only required minor tightening, a little at a time over a few weeks, and have held without a problem. Some have needed replacing. The materials of some of them soften from the vapors and may need to be replaced with viton gaskets. Once they are placed in the atmosphere they quickly dry and go back to their original form. The still gasket is viton and while I purchased an extra there has been no need to replace it. As well, the door gasket is holding fine but I have a spare on hand. I am reminded of co2 machines that need to change out the door gaskets every few loads. I did have to replace the still sight glass and condenser gaskets, but they were ten years old and in need. I also replaced the lint filter/button basket gasket. I think the design of the fitting will be a continual problem and will have a viton gasket made to replace the factory issue. Fortunately, my PERC leak detector works well with DrySolv and its easy to locate where the vapors are coming from. I consider the costs associated with gaskets just a part of the conversion and learning process. Most users of DrySolv are reporting 900 pounds of clothes cleaned per gallon, some report as much as 1,300. I have not been able to get my gasket issues resolved by the deadline of this article and can only report a high mileage of 576 pounds per gallon. I was advised that I should be able to obtain 700 to 800 pounds easily in my machine and I expect I will achieve that if not better. Look for an update next month. A newer machine designed to use DrySolv will ultimately achieve superior mileage. (See related story below) In order to answer the question, "Is DrySolv right for me?" I had to try it. It works better and faster than anything now on the market. It has reduced my labor in several areas and with increased solvent mileage is cost effective. Most important to me, it has no negative environmental history and that makes it easy to promote to my customers. DrySolv is not only right for me, but with its relatively small cost to convert a PERC machine may well be the answer so many PERC cleaners are looking for.
Contact Brian
Olson
at
bolson@oregondrycleaners.org.
Dry Cleaning Technologies, a division of Enviro Tech International Inc., produces the DrySolv Solvent. ETI was formed in the early 90's with the goal of creating a cleaning solvent that would replace existing environmentally hazardous solvents being used in the industrial degreasing market. Research led to the development of n- Propyl-Bromide, (NPB), as the desired solvent. An additive was developed to improve solvency, azeotropic performance and inhibit acidity. EnSolv Precision Cleaning Solvent was patented in 1995. DrySolv evolved from EnSolv and is the only direct replacement currently on the market for PERC in class IV cleaning machines. NPB has received EPA "SNAP" approval. The Significant New Alternatives Policy program has determined NPB possesses minimal Ozone Depletion Potential. In addition, NPB has been shown to possess minimal Global Warming potential. Based on low atmospheric reactivity data produced through independent labs, ETI has petitioned the US EPA for Volatile Organic Compound, (VOC), exempt status. The exemption petition is currently pending. Well over 100 machines are running with DrySolv in the United States. They range in sizes from 30 to 110 pound capacity. Brands being used are BowePermac, VIC, Marvel, Columbia , Firbimatic, Multimatic, Union, RealStar, TechnoDry USA, Hoffman/NY, Detrex, and Donini. The machine sizes are varied but the majority are 55 to 80 pound capacity units. They range in age from brand new to a 25 year old Multimatic. At this time, only a few manufacturers will support their warranties when running DrySolv. Firbimatic and Multimatic will. Multimatic had a sign on their display machines at TEXCARE this year that read, "For Perc or DrySolv". TechnoDry USA has run DrySolv in Europe and configured their machines for cleaners in the U.S. and Hoffman/NY will warranty their machines with DrySolv. Columbia and Union will not honor their warranties if anything other than PERC is used. Columbia is currently the only manufacturer found to have still doors made of cast aluminum, incompatible with DrySolv in the distillation process. Retrofit doors are available from other sources.
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The photo shows
the button basket after six weeks. I have not needed
to clean it since I began using DrySolv. The lint filter
itself is cleaned daily and only has a light layer of dust
to remove. The shorter run times and lower drying
temperatures also provide less distortion of the
fabrics resulting in much faster finishing and I have
been able to reduce pressing time by approximately
one full hour a day and there is no odor what-so-ever
in the finished clothes. Only a clean fresh scent.
I have had no problems with redeposition of soils by
not using filtration. I have also had no issues with dye
transfer or bleeding. Even in a dark load the white
cotton linings in the waistbands of pants come out
bright
white. Of course the white loads come out bright and
colors remain brilliant.
Coming soon to the market is the 
