Tighter monitoring of laundries sought

Laundries are one of the most overlooked harbors for diseases and various other health hazards. Inspectors have found poor standards of maintenance and inadequate control of dangerous solvent materials in many local laundries, according to a recently published study.
There are many laundry companies in the Kingdom that operate under high standards. However, these are countered by the wide proliferation of small laundries, which offer services at cheaper prices. Small laundries usually hire untrained employees and use poor quality materials that pose health problems for customers.
“Government bodies need to regularly monitor and inspect small laundries to check their mechanism of operation as well as their services and the application of health standards,” Ali Bakri, an economic expert, told Arab News.
He elaborated further saying, “Ninety percent of small washing houses hire unskilled foreign workers, who have little knowledge about hazardous substances. Great care is essential because some solvents might cause allergic reactions and other medical conditions of varying severity. Other materials might be corrosive, harmful or toxic.”
Customers have complained of wrong practices by laundries, including misplaced clothing and skin diseases transferred to them due to the use of strong chemicals.
“I took my clothes for cleaning to a small laundry near my house.
I was surprised to find my trousers discolored. I demanded compensation from the employees and they said they could only offer me SR 30,” said one disgruntled customer.
Another client complained: “The small neighborhood laundry has on many occasions returned the wrong clothing items to me. These stores are left unmonitored, which is why many of the violations occur without consequences.”
Arab News tried to call Faisl Al-Toaim, president of the Consumer Protection Association, to learn more about the association’s role with regard to poor laundry services. He did not respond.