OT mucky overalls

Just chuck 'em in the machine with normal powders, possibly twice, then follow with something else that doesn't matter too much, e.g. towels. The first wash will get rid of the nastiest stuff, second will get rid of most of the rest and will get the worst out of the machine, then the towels or whatever might end up with a little smell but you don't wear them so it's not really a worry. I've never noticed any smell on the third wash, but then my overalls have only ever been washed about 3 times in the last 2 years as I tend to forget to wear them!

Washing machines are pretty tough so don't worry about it.

Use a jet wash to get the worst off, then put them in the washer.

getting

stuff has

A 50 or 60 deg C wash in a normal washing machine with modern powders will remove most oils and greases but don't expect them to be unstained. The main problem with contamination of the next wash is muck stuck in the door rubber seal. Give it a very good clean out and then do your second wash. Make sure that the clothes are not too tightly jammed in the machine - ie leave room for the water !

I have 3 launderettes, and we have customers wanting to wash heavily soiled things like garage overalls and horse blankets. All we do is insist on a second empty wash having cleaned the drum and doorseal. The worst offenders are people who don't get the clothes proberly cleaned (too cool a wash) then bung them in the driers smearing muck for the next customer.

AWEM

Last year my overalls went from being covered in Range Rover rust/mud etc to going caving in a very muddy hole near Plymouth all in the same day. After the caving i left them in the stream next to our campsite overnight and then left them to dry. Most mud was off but they were still pretty minging. Got them home, made sure the machine was empty, bunged it on 60C, bit of that magic Vanish stuff and normal washing powder and hey presto they were clean once again....until i painted the outside of a scouthall and they are know covered in white paint, which will not come out.

Dom J

Just to assuage my curiosity what sort of temperature do your machines get to on a hot wash? Derek

90 degrees matey, or so Jane tells me!!!

Nige

--

Subaru WRX Range Rover 4.6 HSE (The Tank!)

We might be going on a summer holiday, the Greece Ball rally!!!!

message

Laundrette

powders

heavily

doorseal.

machines get

60 deg C - launderette machines mainly are boiler fed - ie the max temp is the temp that the boiler is regulated to, which is 60 in my shops. A very small minority have electric heaters - usually areas where there is no natural gas - but that is a very small minority. All the water is 'direct heated' ie the water passing through the boiler is the water that goes in the machine, unlike a domestic situation where you have an indirect water coil in your hot tank. The by product of this is that the water must be softened so that also affects (improves) the wash quality ( and explains why I buy 6 tons of salt a year !)

AWEM

Remind me never to work on your shift ya mucky bugg*r

give them a good scrub with Swaffega ( or how ever you spell it ) and a scrubbing brush on the worst bits and then a good boil wash.

Rich

Wear them until the the smell off gear oil on them makes you gip then bin em and get some more, my local auto jumble has a bloke who sells 'x' rental ones for a fiver ish IIRC .

Icky