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Posted: 3/17/2018 10:11:23 PM EDT
Hey guys & girls,
My fire company is looking into getting a washing machine to start cleaning our turnout gear after fire's and such. The idea has been bouncing around for 7-8 months and nobody is really doing anything about it so I wanna get the ball rolling. My FC is in a rural area that covers about 60 square miles and runs around 225-275 calls a year (I know not alot, but hey isn't that a good thing?  ), we probably get 15-25 fires a year (between us & mutual aid) and we average 6-15 FFs each fire (depends on time/day/etc.) so when it does get used it will be run hard.
What are you guys using to clean your gear? Also can you guys point me in the right direction, As for budget I really don't know, I need to come up with some options and prices and run it by the Company. Thanks |
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Posted: 3/18/2018 4:34:51 AM EDT
[#1]
We have a completely different set of washers and dryers in each station for our uniforms and sheets vs our turnouts and EMS gear.
If you aren’t taking a shower and cleaning your bunker gear after every fire you are behind the cancer curve. We had a local professional company come in and install industrial extractors and dryers with automatic injection of cleaning agents in every station. Gross Decon can occur with a hose, separate your liners from your shells and wash separately. I’ll see if I can find some of the videos on cancer prevention. |
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Posted: 3/18/2018 5:16:05 AM EDT
[#2]
You need to look at extractors not washing machines.
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Posted: 3/18/2018 5:23:17 AM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You need to look at extractors not washing machines. |
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Posted: 3/18/2018 2:16:46 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Extractors. Yes. I corrected my post. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
You need to look at extractors not washing machines. Brands/Models/what? Give me some ideas I can pass along |
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Posted: 3/18/2018 3:40:11 PM EDT
[#5]
Not sure about PA but here in OH the Bureau of Workers Comp is handing out grants for extractors left and right because cancer is now presumed to be occupational for firefighters. Might be worth looking into.
Get a big ass, stainless heavy duty one you can do a few sets of gear in at once. And hang dry or use a gear dryer rack, as dumb as it sounds turnout gear in a normal clothes dryer is damaging to it according to the manufacturer. |
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Posted: 3/18/2018 5:56:43 PM EDT
[#6]
You can get grant money, if you word things properly.
If such a rural low call volume area, you may be able to get a nearby department to go in on the purchase and then agree on a location that both departments can use. NFPA approved ones have a bunch of settings, sweat and body funk removal, light fire soil, heavy fire soil, chemical exposure, bloodborne pathogen, and I am sure a few others. They need to be bolted to concrete floors. Not sure what brand to use, we now send ours out to be cleaned and inspected each time. We have two sets each. |
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Posted: 3/18/2018 8:04:55 PM EDT
[#7]
Quoted:
Not sure about PA but here in OH the Bureau of Workers Comp is handing out grants for extractors left and right because cancer is now presumed to be occupational for firefighters. Might be worth looking into. Get a big ass, stainless heavy duty one you can do a few sets of gear in at once. And hang dry or use a gear dryer rack, as dumb as it sounds turnout gear in a normal clothes dryer is damaging to it according to the manufacturer. Quoted:
You can get grant money, if you word things properly. If such a rural low call volume area, you may be able to get a nearby department to go in on the purchase and then agree on a location that both departments can use. NFPA approved ones have a bunch of settings, sweat and body funk removal, light fire soil, heavy fire soil, chemical exposure, bloodborne pathogen, and I am sure a few others. They need to be bolted to concrete floors. Not sure what brand to use, we now send ours out to be cleaned and inspected each time. We have two sets each. But does anyone know any manufacturers of extractors? Like I said in my OP, I need information on the extractors themself. Like brands/units/etc. So far all I have found is Unimac & Milnor for brands. What weight would you recommend? 40lb, 45lb, 60lb, 80lb? |
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Posted: 3/18/2018 8:35:03 PM EDT
[#8]
Ours is Milnor, probably does 600-700 jobs a year. Been going strong sine 1990.
Does require some PM though like oil changes. |
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Posted: 3/18/2018 8:41:26 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Ours is Milnor, probably does 600-700 jobs a year. Been going strong sine 1990. Does require some PM though like oil changes. Also how much did you guys pay for it? |
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Posted: 3/19/2018 12:34:53 AM EDT
[#10]
I can look tuesday when I get back on. We are comparable in size to you. We also let other guys bring their stuff in to wash . You can use that as a talking point to help
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Posted: 3/19/2018 1:05:41 AM EDT
[#11]
Extractor, after every tiny fire. Get those contaminates out.
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Posted: 3/19/2018 9:38:09 AM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Extractor, after every tiny fire. Get those contaminates out. 
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Posted: 3/19/2018 6:27:44 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yes x100 Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Extractor, after every tiny fire. Get those contaminates out. 
thats why I'm pushing so bad and need help with it. My FC has a lot of old timers that don't really "believe" about all of that. They know it's a thing but they don't really want to do anything about it. |
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Posted: 3/19/2018 7:06:03 PM EDT
[#14]
A Milnor or Braun washer/extractor with dryer will be close to 50-60 K. Pit dump valves on some and most need steam. Add NFPA certifications and installation it will be costly. Good luck with your grant. We have to use a bigger town close to us for a real gear washer. But take out liner and do what we can was the old way. Well old way was clean gear = rookie.
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Posted: 3/19/2018 9:35:14 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
A Milnor or Braun washer/extractor with dryer will be close to 50-60 K. Pit dump valves on some and most need steam. Add NFPA certifications and installation it will be costly. Good luck with your grant. We have to use a bigger town close to us for a real gear washer. But take out liner and do what we can was the old way. Well old way was clean gear = rookie.  
Thats going to be a very hard pill to swallow/try to convince the FC. I think after I get some info/prices I'm going to talk to my fire chief about a grant |
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Posted: 3/20/2018 7:40:44 AM EDT
[#16]
There are commercial washers that also work as extractors that will get the job done. I think ours is a Speed Queen.
While you can spend $40k on one, there are units that will do the same thing for under $7k, you just may have to wash only one set at a time. |
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Posted: 3/20/2018 7:52:54 AM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There are commercial washers that also work as extractors that will get the job done. I think ours is a Speed Queen. While you can spend $40k on one, there are units that will do the same thing for under $7k, you just may have to wash only one set at a time. |
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Posted: 3/21/2018 9:58:19 AM EDT
[#18]
I am on my 4 days off right now or I would go look. We use an extractor and hang dry our gear. Almost all bunker gear will state to not machine dry so no need for that. You wash liners and shells separate and I think we can do 3 or 4 sets at one time. The cycle is fairly quick. For "soap" we use Citrosqueeze and it works well.
We have an extractor in every station, and I think they were in the 7 to 10k range. |
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Posted: 3/23/2018 12:14:49 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I am on my 4 days off right now or I would go look. We use an extractor and hang dry our gear. Almost all bunker gear will state to not machine dry so no need for that. You wash liners and shells separate and I think we can do 3 or 4 sets at one time. The cycle is fairly quick. For "soap" we use Citrosqueeze and it works well. We have an extractor in every station, and I think they were in the 7 to 10k range. Thanks and stay safe! |
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Posted: 3/24/2018 4:31:57 PM EDT
[#20]
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Posted: 4/1/2018 6:29:14 PM EDT
[#21]
You don’t want to use an extractor every time. A non-adgitating washer with a mild detergent will clean gear after every fire. Use an extractor a couple of times a year. The high speed extractor will push water through your moisture barrier and break it down. Using an extractor to much will cause your gear to fail inspections. For a department your size look at a good quality front loading washing machine and then send your gear to a 3rd party for advanced cleaning. We pay $50 a set for advance cleaning and they pick it up with less than a 48 hour turn around. Don’t forget about doing a good gross decon on scene no matter what machine you are using. That removes 85% of contaminates right there. Follow that up with washing.
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Posted: 4/22/2018 10:32:02 PM EDT
[#22]
We’ve got Thoroughbreds which work well enough. If you don’t have a second set of gear to wear while your primary dries you should pitch a fit.
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Posted: 4/22/2018 10:33:48 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I am on my 4 days off right now or I would go look. We use an extractor and hang dry our gear. Almost all bunker gear will state to not machine dry so no need for that. You wash liners and shells separate and I think we can do 3 or 4 sets at one time. The cycle is fairly quick. For "soap" we use Citrosqueeze and it works well. We have an extractor in every station, and I think they were in the 7 to 10k range. |
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Posted: 4/25/2018 9:30:01 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
We’ve got Thoroughbreds which work well enough. If you don’t have a second set of gear to wear while your primary dries you should pitch a fit. My FTFD got a grant for new gear, and the chief made us bin all our old stuff. Then the focus came up on cancer and gear washing. Guess who is one of the few guys who didn't exactly follow instructions, and so has a spare set? 
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Posted: 4/25/2018 11:45:35 AM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My PTFD has a few spare sets in the gear locker - we share them as spares until our primary is dry. My FTFD got a grant for new gear, and the chief made us bin all our old stuff. Then the focus came up on cancer and gear washing. Guess who is one of the few guys who didn't exactly follow instructions, and so has a spare set? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
We’ve got Thoroughbreds which work well enough. If you don’t have a second set of gear to wear while your primary dries you should pitch a fit. My FTFD got a grant for new gear, and the chief made us bin all our old stuff. Then the focus came up on cancer and gear washing. Guess who is one of the few guys who didn't exactly follow instructions, and so has a spare set? |
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