National Clothesline

An important factor that must be considered when cleaning leathers and suedes is the significant amount of suede lint that is dislodged from the suedes and leathers by mechanical action as they are cleaned. This relatively large amount of suede lint must be controlled by collecting it before it reaches and clogs the filter unit or redeposits on other suedes, leathers, furs and cloth combination items.

Button trap lint screen

A simple and inexpensive way to control the build-up of suede lint in the cleaning fluid is to install a fine mesh nylon screen in the button trap basket.

The mesh material can be cut and sewn to fit the inside of the button trap basket with a drawstring at the top that can be tied around the outside of the lip of the basket to hold the screen in place.

With the fine nylon mesh bag in place, the suede lint will be screened out of the drycleaning fluid as it flows from the wheel to the base tank.

Note: The screen can collect enough suede lint from just one load to completely coat it and block the flow of the drycleaning fluid. Therefore, it is important to check the fine nylon mesh screen bag after every load and to clean it after each load if necessary.

It is a good idea to make up several lint screen bags so that they may be quickly changed as necessary during the day without slowing production. They can then be laundered or brushed clean at the end of each day so they will be ready for the next day’s cleaning. However, if the button trap basket is designed in a way that brings the drycleaning fluid in from the side or bottom of the basket instead of pouring in from the top, then the nylon mesh bag will not work. In this case, a suede lint pre-filter will have to be installed to screen out the suede lint.

The suede lint pre-filter unit provides a convenient and highly effective means of collecting the large amount of suede lint that comes off suede and leather items during the leather cleaning wash cycle.

The suede lint pre-filter unit is installed between the drycleaning fluid pump and the main filter unit. The drycleaning fluid containing the suede lint must then pass through the pre-lint filter before it reaches the main filter unit.

This removal of the suede lint from the drycleaning fluid by the pre-lint filter prevents the large amount of suede lint from loading up the main filter with particles of suede lint that would rapidly build up and impede the flow of the drycleaning fluid and cause premature filter pressure buildup.

The suede lint pre-filter consists of a stainless steel housing with pipe threaded inlet and outlet connections which are used to install it between the drycleaning fluid pump and the main filter unit.

A removable fine nylon mesh bag lines the inside of the suede pre-lint filter housing and screens out the suede lint as it passes through it. The bag is easily accessed by removing a lever lock ring that holds the lid in place at the top of the housing.

Once the suede lint pre-filter is installed, the only maintenance required is to remove the lid and take out the nylon mesh filter bag for clean-up whenever it becomes coated with suede lint. This could be as often as every load of suede or leather cleaned.

If several loads of suede or leather are to be cleaned in succession, it is wise to have several lint filter bags on hand so that the bags can rapidly be changed out between each load. This will speed up the operation by eliminating any delay required to clean-up the lint bag before running the next load.

The lint filled bags can then be set aside and all cleaned at one time at the end of the day. The lint filter bags can be cleaned by brushing the suede lint out with a brush or by laundering to remove the accumulated suede lint. The suede lint bags will then be ready for use again the next day.

The investment in the suede lint pre-filter is very cost effective as it will quickly pay for itself in savings realized in filter supplies, distillation, disposal of filter residues, labor costs and down time. By removing the suede lint before it gets to the main filter unit, it cannot coat the filter and cause reduced flow of drycleaning fluid and premature pressure build up that makes it necessary to prematurely change filter cartridges or to drop and redcoat powder filters and distill.

When suede and leather garments are going to be cleaned, the small investment required for a suede lint pre-filter will save far more than its cost.

Cleaning in a filtered system is the preferred method for doing any kind of drycleaning including suede and leather cleaning using Royaltone detergent plus conditioner.

Although any type of filter can be used for suede and leather cleaning, there are some filter characteristics that are more desirable than others.

A large filter area is one filter characteristic that is desirable for particular filtration to screen out the large amount of suede lint particles that enter the cleaning fluid used for cleaning suede and leather items.

These suede lint particles are small pieces of skin that come loose from the surface of the sueded side of the skin. They are the result of the sodding process performed in the tannery that raises the nap of the skin to impart the velvet like look that we recognize as suede.

Even with a lint filter to screen out the larger particles of suede lint coming from the sueded skin, there are a many smaller particles that may pass through the lint filter. These are picked up by the main filter. Therefore, it is desirable to have a large filter area to remove these smaller particles of skin without a rapid rise in filter pressure.

Disposability is another desirable filter characteristic. The suede lint or skin particles picked up by the main filter tend to wedge themselves into the small openings through which the cleaning fluid passes.

When enough particles do this, the filter pressure builds up to the level at which the cartridge element must be replaced or the filter powder replaced and the filter renewed.

If the filter unit is disposable as with cartridge filters, changing the filter cartridges restores the filter to its original filtering capacity and reduces the filter pressure to an acceptable level.

If the filter is renewable like a spin filter, a tube filter or a screen filter, then spinning, shaking, back washing or manually cleaning the particular soil and suede lint from the filter should restore it to its original filtering capacity and filter pressure reduced to its normal level.

The bottom line for utilizing filtration is to maintain good cleaning fluid condition. This means keeping the levels of particulate matter, non-volatile residues and fugitive dyes in the cleaning fluid within acceptable limits, so that these materials will not be redeposited onto the items being cleaned.

Filters utilize paper, powder or screens to remove particular matter from the cleaning fluid. They use carbon particles to remove fugitive dyes from the cleaning fluid. They use absorber material to remove fatty acid non-volatile residues from the drycleaning fluid.

Distillation units are used to distill the drycleaning fluid to strip it of all particulate materials, all non-volatile residues, all dyes and all additives.

Therefore, to be sure that the drycleaning fluid is maintained in good condition, it is important that filter cartridges be changed, tubes, screens and discs be renewed at proper intervals or that the cleaning fluid be distilled regularly in accordance with the filter manufacturers recommendations.

Typically, cartridge filters are changed after 1,000 pounds of cleaning per cartridge and tube, disc and screen filters are renewed each load. Distillation is typically done at a rate of five to 15 gallons of cleaning fluid per 100 pounds cleaned.

These typical guidelines are applicable to cleaning fluid used to clean suede, leather and fur items to remove particulate materials and non-volatile residues, even when using a special leather cleaning detergent like the Royaltone Detergent Plus Conditioner.