Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th April 2024 Issue no. 1111
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Dry cleaner riding the wave
Bradleys Dry Cleaning is not just your ordinary dry cleaning and laundry outfit. The family business, located in Walnut Tree, Milton Keynes, has been in operation since 1912 when it was set up by Bernard Bradley but in fact the Bradley family expertise in the textile and textile aftercare trade goes back much further, to 1832.
Now run by Howard Bradley, this independent specialist business with its time-served, experienced team and knowledge gained over the decades, can design an appropriate cleaning process on an individual item basis, rather than using a one solution fits all philosophy.
Testimony to this is the trust Bradleys has earned in the television and theatre world, where companies such as Sky and the Prince of Wales Theatre in London, entrust highly prized and often rare costumes into Bradleys' care for cleaning and restoration. Bradleys is also known for its work with vintage wedding gowns and military uniforms.
A good craftsman relies heavily on his tools and in this case, in order to produce outstanding results on both fragile and modern fabrics, the cleaning solutions need to be second to none. Not altogether happy with the performance from his current wet cleaning chemicals, Howard Bradley spoke to laundry supply specialist Alex Reid who arranged a two month trial on Pro-Fit Wool and Pro-Fit Body from the new Cole & Wilson Aquawave range that was launched at this year's CleanEx show in April.
On average, Bradleys currently works through around 24 loads a week with its wet cleaning system, using an automated dosing system, wet washer and dryer and two digital extractors - and is working 17 hours a day at the moment to keep up with demand.
"We are now eight weeks into the trial of the new cleaning detergents and have been using them with all sorts of loads and carefully monitoring the results", comments Howard.
"Our findings are that the performance of the detergent supplied by Alex Reid is superior to the products we used previously, in every respect. The odour of the garments following cleaning is superb, with a lovely fresh, citrus smell that lingers long after the laundry process. The creasing of the garments is less, as is the shrinkage and garments are left with a nice, soft feel, in particular on silk and linen. We are delighted we made the change to Aquawave."
As one of the industry's leading chemical and machine suppliers, Alex Reid has an extensive product portfolio that includes essential consumables, chemicals, laundry supplies, sundries, machinery and spares and parts, offering over 3,500 items to national companies as well as independent outlets across the UK. With a team of experienced sales staff and engineers, Alex Reid also offers advice and training on all its products.
So when you next watch an episode of Sky1 Wild Things you'll know exactly who gets to clean up all the grunge from the animal outfits, returning them in pristine condition ready for the next round of contestants...
27th October 2016