Treating textiles at the laundry
Adding a treatment step to an industrial laundry: which items are in scope, where it fits in the process, how it sits with the customer's own pest management, and what goes on the delivery note.
Draft wording, pending regulatory approval.
01
Where it applies
For a laundry, Repeltec is a finishing service on customer textiles that the label covers, and a surface layer in the plant itself. For the customer it is one layer in their own pest management: it does not replace their inspections, their contractor or the way their linen is stored.
Items in scope: uniforms and workwear, outdoor garments, nets, curtains, linen and covers in cotton, cotton blends or polyester, the textiles on the tested list. In the plant: sorting area edges, trolley and cage frames, storage racking, the floor-wall junction and the loading bay threshold.
Not on items whose care label excludes it, not on certified protective clothing, where an added treatment can invalidate the certification, and not on any customer item without the customer's written agreement.
If an item is intended to be worn against skin and the label does not cover that use, it is out of scope. Ask before you treat, not afterwards.
02
Preparation
Textiles are washed, dried and cool before treatment. The treatment goes onto clean dry fabric; a damp or soiled item will not take it evenly.
Test a hidden area of each new fabric type for colour and finish and keep a swatch record. Agree the service, the items and the record with the customer in advance.
Set up a dedicated treatment bay with ventilation and the protective equipment the safety data sheet specifies, away from the clean linen packing line.
03
Application
An even, light pass over both faces of the item. Work seams, hems, cuffs, collars and folds, which is where insects sit and where a quick pass usually misses.
Do not soak the fabric. A heavy application does not last longer; it takes longer to dry and is more likely to mark. Hang the item to dry rather than laying it folded.
Fabrics outside the tested list (wool, silk, technical membranes, coated fabrics) are out of scope until they have been tested.
04
Drying and re-entry
Items are fully dry before they are folded, bagged or packed. Packing damp is how a treated order becomes a complaint. Ventilate the bay through the drying period.
05
Reapplication
The treatment does not survive a wash cycle. Any item that is washed comes back untreated and is treated again at the next service, which is the commercial logic of offering it as a service rather than a one-off.
On items that are not washed between services, the label interval applies.
06
Records to keep
Customer, order or batch of items, item types and quantity, date, product and batch number, operator, and the fabric test result for any new fabric type.
Put the treatment and its reapplication rule on the delivery note, so the customer holds the same record you do and can add it to their own pest management file. Safety data sheet and label in the plant chemical file.
Do not say
What not to claim to the end customer
Do not sell it as a garment that protects the person wearing it. This is a treatment applied to a textile surface, and a claim about protecting a wearer is a different product category with a different authorisation.
Do not claim the treatment is wash durable. It is not, and the reapplication section is the honest version of that answer.
Do not describe it as non-toxic or harmless.
Use biocides safely. Always read the label and product information before use.