Cleaning and decontamination of clothing for highly sensitive areas

Cleanroom system Cleancell4.0® of ISO cleanroom class 5. The dimmable LED lighting provides balanced illumination in the area of the worktable.

Exterior view of the Cleanroom System Cleancell4.0®. Through large cleanroom windows, the cleaning steps can be viewed from the outside.

The employees received special training on safe behavior in the cleanroom. Here is the unloading process of the dryer.

The family-owned company Geiger Textil GmbH from Bad Säckingen is expanding its range of services with a new offering: Cleanroom +. The medium-sized enterprise has invested in its own cleanroom and is now offering a full-service rental system for cleanroom clothing for the first time. The cleanroom textiles are collected directly from the customer after use, inspected, repaired, processed, and securely packed again for further cleanroom use.

Not just clean but pure

Cleanroom operators from the pharmaceutical, microelectronics, or medical industries are probably the most demanding customers you can find in the field of workwear. Surely, the well-known advertising slogan “not just clean but pure” fits best here when it comes to cleaning cleanroom textiles. There are significant differences between a standard laundry and an industrial laundry. Strict guidelines apply to cleanroom clothing regarding control, quality, and hygiene standards. The number of particles and germs must be monitored without any gaps.

Patrick Wenger, responsible for the new cleanroom division at Geiger Textil, explains the difference between cleaning regular workwear and decontaminating cleanroom clothing: “The sensitive production processes within a cleanroom can already be threatened by the smallest micro-particles. Humans are the greatest source of danger. Special cleanroom clothing prevents the release of particles, for example, those shed through the employee's skin. After use, this clothing must be carefully freed from particles and germs that are not visible to the eye before the next use. During drying and packaging, no new particles may contaminate the clothing. To prevent contamination during cleaning, the cleanroom clothing is processed in a cleanroom that meets at least the same cleanroom class as it will later be used in at the customer’s site. In our case, this is an ISO Class 5 cleanroom.”

Modular ISO Class 5 Cleanroom

The cleanroom was integrated into Geiger Textil’s newly built production hall and is designed for a capacity of 20,000 items per week. The planning of the 66-square-meter cleanroom system was commissioned to SCHILLING ENGINEERING, a cleanroom company also based on the High Rhine. The certified ISO Class 5 cleanroom, CleanCell4.0®, is equipped with the latest technology and was designed for the special requirements of laundry processing. The cleanrooms are equipped with cutouts for installing washing machines and dryers. Staff are safely brought into the cleanroom via an active air shower. A self-closing gravity flap, integrated into the cleanroom wall, ensures contamination-free output of the cleaned and packed laundry. Two washing machines, operated with specially treated water, are connected at the back of the cleanroom. The washing machines have a throughput function for the safe loading of textiles. They are filled outside the cleanroom and unloaded after cleaning inside the cleanroom. Inside the cleanroom, drying, inspection, and packaging of the sensitive textiles are carried out. A sample is taken from each wash cycle, and the remaining particle density is determined and documented using a Helmke Drum Test.

The laying tables and other furniture are made of cleanroom-compatible stainless steel. Large windows and dimmable LED lighting provide balanced illumination and good visibility from outside. An intercom system supports communication between the different areas.

The head of the new cleanroom team explains the features of the facility: “Within our newly built hall, we have installed an ISO Class 5 cleanroom in operation. We are thus able to meet even the highest requirements of our customers from the pharmaceutical industry or, for example, microelectronics. Since we are entering the cleanroom textile market very recently, we made sure to design the cleanroom for possible expansion. The cleanroom is modular and fully meets our requirements. We planned the cleanroom in close coordination with the engineers from SCHILLING ENGINEERING, ensuring it exactly fits our needs.”

State-of-the-art technology, satisfied users

The newly developed cleanroom system, CleanCell4.0®, is equipped with the latest technology and can be operated more energy-efficiently than comparable systems. Sensor data is used to set and monitor components such as particle count, temperature, humidity, and air pressure within the rooms. The data flows into the control system CRControl®, which is operated via a monitor installed next to the cleanroom door.

The strict adherence to the pure areas according to ISO 5 cleanroom class is ensured through turbulence-free displacement airflow. Laminar flow units integrated into the ceiling, operated with U15 ULPA high-performance filters, direct clean air into the workspace. Through a recirculation process within the cleanroom walls, the already cooled and filtered air is reintroduced into the air exchange cycle. Filter performance and climate technology can thus be operated much more economically.

A special feature of SCHILLING ENGINEERING’s cleanroom systems is their modular, expandable design. The wall elements are connected with a patented silicone-free GMP sealing clip system, allowing flexible disassembly or expansion.

Geiger Textil GmbH is very satisfied with the system: “The cleanroom has been running for several weeks now and is functioning flawlessly. Through the easy-to-use touchscreen control system, we can monitor and control the cleanroom, including the climate technology. For example, filter contamination is displayed, allowing us to detect problems early or schedule maintenance. However, this has not been necessary so far. We especially like the dimmable LED lighting, which provides excellent lighting conditions at the workstations and also saves energy.”

With the investment in a high-tech cleanroom system, the family-owned company Geiger Textil, now in its third generation, has invested in the future and further raised its standards regarding quality and hygiene. By choosing the modular cleanroom CleanCell4.0®, the investment security for the newly expanded service is increased.