Caring for hotel laundry on a small footprint

The current generation of Little Giants already has a firm place in many hotel laundries. But now, washing machines and tumble dryers with a 6.5 kg load capacity can for the first time be connected to a hotel's energy management system. Such systems switch off less vital machinery at times of peak electricity demand. Furthermore, laundry machines from the 'Professional' range, ideal for use in hotels and restaurants, now feature even more practical programmes.

With 50 washing and more than 30 drying cycles, the 'Little Giants' leave virtually nothing to be desired in a hotel OPL. Many of these are grouped into so-called target-group packages, for instance for hotels. These packages contain programmes for kitchen, table and bed linen as well as programmes for pillows and curtains covering various degrees of soiling. An 'Intensive wash' programme is available to cope with heavy soiling. And if laundries need even more wash programmes, users are free to compile up to 5 special programmes to meet their own specific needs.

New, for instance, is a second curtains programme: 'Curtains Gentle' was particularly designed for fine net curtains which can be washed in only 27 minutes. What's more, a new 'Express' programme for washing new textiles before first use is now also available. An ideal proposition for sport hotels is the 'Hard objects' programme: This is aimed at, for example, sports shoes and even shin pads. The programme relies on reduced mechanical action and omits the spin cycle altogether to ensure that no damage is caused to the load.

Simple and flexible use

Which programmes are actually available for use is determined by the restaurant or hotel management during machine commissioning: This keeps machine use simple but allows further cycles to be added to the list of selected programmes at any time. At the same time, the user interface can be adapted to the skill levels and needs of users thanks to the Profitronic L Vario controls. The menu interface is available in 24 languages.

Occupying a footprint of just half a square metre, Little Giants fit into any hotel laundry – particularly when installed as a washer-dryer stack. Two stacked machines rise to meet any challenge: After only 85 minutes, laundry is both clean and dry (in 'Cottons 60°C' programme connected to hot water, with 49% initial moisture content and presuming a vented dryer).

Significantly reduced energy consumption

Whether washing machine or tumble dryer: Miele's Little Giants from the current machine generation guarantee much lower electricity consumption. This is achieved, for example, through reduced stand-by consumption as the electronic controls switch off automatically 15 minutes after the end of a programme or after the controls were last operated. Water consumption on the washing machines has also been further reduced compared with the previous series. This is the result of precise water metering in combination with monitoring the current weight of laundry. If there is a reduced load in the drum, water intake is terminated as soon as sufficient water has been taken in. This accelerates the wetting process. Similarly, energy consumption is reduced by limiting the amount of water entering the drum to wash less-than-full loads.

All models from the Little Giants series comply with all machine safety regulations and are also fully compliant with the European Machinery Guideline which regulates the use of machines in a commercial context.

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Company profile: Miele is the world leader in the field of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floorcare products. This line-up is augmented by dishwashers, washer-extractors and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications (Miele Professional). The company, founded in 1899, has 8 production plants in Germany and one plant each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China and Romania. 2011/12 turnover amounted to approx. EUR 3.04 bn with sales outside Germany accounting for 70%. Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in almost 100 countries. The Miele company, now in the fourth generation of family ownership, employs a workforce of oven 16,700 with two-thirds in Germany. The company headquarters are located in Gütersloh/Westphalia, Germany.