SIMPLIFYING THE SPOTTING BOARD

In my travels doing consultations to various cleaners I have found that the average spotting board is overcrowded with spotting chemicals. Many of these chemicals on the spotting board are not even properly labeled; some don’t even have labels.

The spotter who is working may know the chemicals that he is working with, but to anyone else it would be impossible and dangerous to do spotting.

The spotting board may have various protein and tannin formulas, acetic acid, ammonia, rust remover, O.T.P.R., amyl acetate, bleach, leveling agents and wetcleaning pre-spotters. People being trained to do spotting can not properly utilize this spotting board and the spotter is often wasting valuable time searching for the proper chemical.

The other problem arises that some of these chemicals provide varying degrees of safety to the fabric and risk of setting stains. A spotting board should be set up so anybody in the plant can utilize it and spot effectively and safely. On a day when the regular spotter does not show up, anyone in the plant could do the spotting.

When I do consultation work, I clear the spotting board and only provide the spotter with the essential chemicals which are properly labeled.

Last year I met Herschel Podgur who is the owner of Cleaners Chemical Corp. We discussed making spotting easier and more user friendly. I asked him if his chemical company could formulate chemicals to these specifications:

Multi-use. I wanted protein and tannin formulas to contain proper lubricating agents so mechanical action on the fabric could be used without damage. The chemicals should also have leveling agents that are built in so rings would be eliminated when the garment is drycleaned.

The formulation should also serve as a pre-spotter for ground-in soil. The chemical could also be flushed and feathered if post-spotting is desired.

This formulation should also serve as a pre-spotter for wetcleaning. The lubricating agents must be compatible with all wetcleaning systems.

Safe to use. The spotting formulas should be safe to use even on silk. The protein formulas should contain no alkali or ammonia that could cause color loss on silk and wool or cause setting of tannin stains.

Cost effective

The following products were formulated by Cleaners Chemical Corp and have been successfully field tested throughout the country.

Enzy-Spot. This is a protein formula consisting of enzymes with no alkali or ammonia. It is recommended that heat of the steam gun be avoided so the enzymes are not destroyed. The PH of this formulation is neutral.

The lubricating agents that are present permit mechanical action to be used. The neutral PH gives safety to silks and wools without the possibility of setting tannin stains. After spotting, the leveling agents that are present allow garments to be drycleaned without rings. It can also be used for post spotting if flushed and feathered. This agent can also be used for removing ground-in soil. It is used for pre-spotting before wetcleaning.

Lube-Remove. This is a tannin formulation with a slight acid composition. It can be accelerated by the heat of the steam gun. The lubricating agents permit mechanical action. The agents can be flushed and feathered for post spotting or drycleaned without rings. This can also be a pre-spotter for wetcleaning.

Citra-Spot. This is a neutral-based wetcleaning pre-spotter for dry side stains. This agent does not replace oily type paint removers for effectiveness in drycleaning. This agent is not as safe on silks as oily type paint removers. It is however an effective pre-spotter for pre-spotting dry side stains before wetcleaning. This agent is compatible with any wetcleaning detergent.

The Loews Hotel

I was called upon by the Loews Hotel in Miami Beach, FL, to train their personnel in their drycleaning plant on effective spotting methods. The object of the consultation was to simplify the spotting techniques so that it would be easier to train their personnel. I taught the basics of stain removal and suggested that the overcrowded spotting board be cleared of many chemicals. The strong alkalis, acids and bleaches were put on a shelf to be used by the experienced spotter if further stain removal would be necessary.

The spotting board that I set up consisted of Enzy-Spot, Lube-Remove, Citra-Spot, oily-type paint remover, amyl acetate and volatile dry solvent. This set-up could remove 85 percent of the stains received. Difficult stains would be held on the side for stronger chemical action and bleaching if necessary.

The spotting board would also serve as a pre-spotting area for their garments that needed wetcleaning.

For questions, full information and product availability, visit www.cleanerschemicalcorp.com or call (866) 307-0700 or contact me directly.