Recent reports on tumble dryer fires have once again highlighted the dangers of using domestic dryers – especially in commercial laundry rooms. Here’s how to reduce the risk of a laundry fire on your premises.
The dangers of ‘domestic’
While media reports tend to focus on high street dryers that can pose a danger in our homes, it’s vital that those running a professional laundry understand that domestic dryers come with an especially high risk when used in commercial settings. ‘Off-the shelf’ appliances simply aren’t designed to stand up to the rigours of constant use – and are only built to run around 250 cycles per year
Commercial settings like care homes, hotels, spas, sports clubs and other businesses rely heavily on their laundry room, but the additional stress placed on domestic machines can result in more faults and make a machine a bigger fire hazard than one that’s purpose-built for the task in hand. If in doubt, check the tumble dryer fire recall list here and contact JLA for professional advice.
By comparison, industrial and commercial tumble dryers are manufactured to process closer to 500 cycles every year, with more robust parts and tough stainless steel construction. This means they will last for years longer than ‘false economy’ alternatives, while coping with the ‘always-on’ demands of high volume washing and drying.
How to prevent a dryer fire – the JLA S.A.F.E system
With such high usage – often overnight – a ‘standard’ commercial tumble dryer still won’t provide the highest levels of reassurance when it comes to dryer fire prevention. For full peace of mind, any business with an on-premise laundry (OPL) should seriously consider a S.A.F.E (Sensor Activated Fire Extinguishing) system.
WATCH: How JLA’s unique S.A.F.E technology gives you heavy-duty reliability with the reassurance of automated fire extinguishing in the unlikely event a dryer fire does break out.
The unique fire extinguishing intelligence in our machines makes them one of the safest dryers on the market. In commercial settings, spontaneous combustion accounts for the majority of incidents when a business finds a tumble dryer on fire, with 99% occurring after a machine has finished its cycle and heat builds up in static garments._x000D_
Without innovative ‘self-extinguishing’ technology, this would result in damage to your property and put lives at risk – either directly from fire or indirectly through evacuation, particularly where vulnerable people are on-site.
How JLA’s unique S.A.F.E technology works
In the unlikely event of a dryer fire in a JLA commercial dryer, the Sensor Activated Fire Extinguishing system automatically dowses flames on detection of abnormal heat using atomised water vapour to soak and cool the load. Everything is quickly and safely contained, so there’s no flooding, no damage to property and no need to evacuate.