We’ve all seen those TV adverts where the soap powder brands claim their product removes more stains than any other. In truth we’ve probably all watched them with some degree of cynicism too.
Do they really test them with hundreds of different stains across every different water type and temperature?
I always doubted it.
I’m not sure where I thought the testing took place or how it was carried out to deliver accurate and replicable results. But I can now exclusively reveal that it’s all true. These claims are all accurate and every variation of every product is tested against every variant of temperature and water type.
The Kimpton team are in the process of creating a huge new test rig, known as a Washing Machine Barrier Plant that is capable of running 60-80 washers and dryers simultaneously. Designed by our colleagues at Hoare Lea and Partners, each can be filled with water from five sources that are hot, cold, demineralised, mains and tanked water. The tanked water allows the testers to vary the water content to replicate the water found in any of the US, Indian and German markets, to name a few.
But this rig is less than half the story as there is every bit as much pipework in the test facility too. The Kimpton team will be coordinating the electrical installation and the existing services which are to remain in the test room and on the washing machine barriers.
The total job has been scheduled as a seven-month project where the strip out of one of the older test facilities began in May, with the final handover of the completed Washing Machine Barrier Plant due in December.
We will have more images from the site and the install itself over the next few months. In the meantime, here are some more images of the Kimpton team completing the build of the rigs.
The precision in the build needs to be exceptional for the test rig
The first job was to size up and prepare the components for assembly
Top view of the next rig being hand built
View through the pipes at the assembly desk
This is another project by the Kimpton Mechanical Services Team in Wirral where we go above and beyond. Whilst we love a good new build fit-out as much as the next plumber, we do love a proper challenge like this one.
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