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Washtastic plastic with Winterhalter

28 July 2009

Winterhalter researches the best way to wash Polycarbonate Glasses.

Glasswasher specialist Winterhalter recently asked its Winterhalter Chemicals division in Germany to test-wash some of the latest British polycarbonate beer glasses, to find the best way to ensure they have a long, scratch-free life. Love or hate them, polycarbonate glasses are becoming more common in licensed premises in the UK. Sometimes local authorities can force a pub, bar or even a whole neighbourhood to adopt them. At other times they are popular in beer gardens of family pubs, or where customers might spill out onto public areas such as village greens.

"Polycarbonates are nothing like the 'plastic cups' of twenty years ago, and nowadays they look identical to glass when new," says Paul Crowley, marketing manager of Winterhalter UK. "It's only when you pick them up that you notice how light they are. However, while they won't break like glass, they can scratch easily and need care - especially when washing. And since they aren't any cheaper to buy, licensees want to take care of them. So we asked our boffins in Meckenbeuren, Germany, to find the best way to wash them."

The results, he says, were a mixture of the expected and the unexpected.

"They respond to the same type of detergents, rinse aid, detergent dosing levels and water purifiers, which we expected. But we were interested to see they are much more sensitive to dosing of rinse aid. Too much or too little, and cloudy deposits may appear when they come out of the washer. Also, the polycarbonate glasses are likely to scratch more easily at temperatures over 40°C or if they are washed in the same baskets as conventional glasses. What's more, a hotter temperature won't actually help the drying process."

Paul Crowley says that best results for polycarbonate glasses are achieved using a modern generation lower-temperature glasswasher, such as one of Winterhalter's ReTemp models, in combination with the ReTemp chemicals which ensure hygienic washing at the lower temperature. However, since polycarbonates don't hold the heat like conventional glasses, they will take longer to dry when they come out, and will benefit from special drying racks.

"On the plus side, coming out of a ReTemp washing cycle they will already be fairly cool and will cool down even more quickly than glass," adds Paul. "This can be really handy during hot weather in busy bars, when they might have to be washed and reused quickly. But ultimately, our labs found that the dosing of chemicals can be critical for peak washing results with polycarbonates. Ensure your dishwasher is adjusted correctly, and ask your dealer if you are not sure."

Key points of the findings were:

Have a good reverse osmosis water purifier installed (e.g. Winterhalter RoMatik)

Use low temperatures (around 40C)

Use a glasswasher and chemicals suited to the low temperatures (e.g. Winterhalter ReTemp machines)

Dosing accuracy of rinse aid is important and will need to be checked by the installer

Drying is slower

Use a drying rack (this is more hygienic than a drying cloth, and minimises any scratching)

The full Winterhalter lab report on washing polycarbonate glasses is available on request.

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