Testing Blanket Wash Additive
We recently did a test of a blanket wash additive to see if these products really make a difference. The bottom line was that if the cost of the additive could save in waste or improve quality then it was worth it. Let's start with a few basics though.
What does this product do?
I start with the assumption that you know what an automatic blanket washing system does. If not, start with this. The product shown above is essentially an additive that goes into your automatic blanket washing system - particularly your water. As the pumps inject solvent and water to your blanket wash system, a pump (in our case a Dosatron pump) injects the additive into the mixture. This cocktail has three claims according to Flint (in our case we tried the Varn Aqua Plus):
1. Reduces fungal and bacterial growth and thus prevents blockages in the lines.
2. Increases "wetability" of the water and thus allows it to flow across blanket easier and remove lint.
What we tried.
We dosed as low as 1% and as high as 5%. The pressmen on each crew did not notice any difference in the effectiveness of the wash. In fact they tried allowing the blankets to go a little longer without washing with negative results.
The final verdict.
For us, this product didn't make any difference. We continued to wash blankets for the same number of impressions as previous. I will say this though. At the end of the blankets life, we did notice a slight decrease in the amount of paper lint left on the blankets. That's it though. Nothing that improved our bottom line.
Future considerations.
While this product didn't work for us, there are others out there. There are even ones that work with the fountain solution or solvent itself. That may be the next route we take.
Hope product reviews like this are helpful to some of you out there. I will continue to post reviews on other products that we try. I am starting a section called Product Reviews. Feel free to share any experiences you have had with similar products as well.
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Automatic Blanket Washing - How It Works And How To Make It Profitable
Troubleshooting An Automatic Blanket Washing System
How We Greatly Reduced Blanket Piling
Troubleshooting Piling Problems
