Miele and Daoust ECOEFFICIENT Cleaner - A Wet Cleaning Revolution
A shared commitment to sustainability
Sustainability or “green” strategies are becoming more popular with consumers and businesses. Dry cleaners are more cognizant of the hazards of working with dangerous solvents such as perc.
That’s why many cleaners in Quebec province have joined the Daoust ECOEFFICIENT Cleaners network. They use a special wet cleaning process that is friendly on the environment and cuts energy and water consumption. Reliable Miele washers and dryers ensure long-term operations reliability.
For CEO Hugo Cerqueira, their proprietary process, known as Aquaperformance, revolves around two core principles: ease of use, and a sustainable washing process based on advanced Miele technology.
Though traditional dry cleaning is still rather popular across Canada, wet cleaning is taking hold. But Daoust ECOEFFICIENT Cleaners go a step further. Featuring Miele washers and dryers, along with specialized soaps, members achieve outstanding results while enjoying savings in water and energy, Cerqueira says.
Simplifying the wet cleaning process
Daoust ECOEFFICIENT Cleaners consists of approximately 100 retail stores, along with approximately 30 other locations such as convenience stores that allow customers to drop off their clothing. Depending on the volume they treat, Cerqueira says, a franchisee might get only one set of machines for small stores, two sets, for medium stores or three sets for a medium/high volume store. A typical combination is the 45 lb. capacity Miele washer and 50 lb.
capacity dryer.
Daoust ECOEFFICIENT Cleaners created a team dedicated to developing programs that simplify the entire cleaning process. As Cerqueira explains, one part was a universal program for garments that would normally be dry cleaned.
“The idea behind it was to do something simple,” Cerqueira explains. “You bring some wool pants, some silk ties, or a silk dress, it’s always the same program. It’s very simple. The only thing you need to do is [separate] lights and darks.”
Additional programs apply to regular laundry (shirts and comforters, for example), as well as specialized services such as super white, anti-stain, and waterproofing.
Aquaperformance’s eco-friendly processes, reliable equipment
Compared to traditional dry cleaning, Aquaperformance uses just a fraction of the water and energy, Cerqueira says. A typical dry cleaning machine uses 250 – 300 liters of water just to cool down. Miele washers use approximately 70 liters of water per cycle. In addition, Cerqueria’s tests have demonstrated that Miele’s honeycomb drum is not only gentle on clothing but also helps use less water in his programs.
The savings in energy costs are equally impressive, Cerqueira says. Unlike dry cleaning, where the solvents must be heated to 130 – 140 degrees Celsius, Miele washers operate at room temperature. “From my measurements,” Cerqueira explains, “an average perc machine uses around 15 kwh in one cycle. Miele dryers, which employ unique steam drying, use approximately 2.3 kwh of electricity per cycle.”
Reducing resource consumption has been a pillar of Miele’s philosophy ever since it introduced the first wet cleaning machines 30 years ago. “From my very first meeting with Hugo, it was evident that Daoust ECOEFFICIENT Cleaners were ‘special’, in their overall business approach and concept to clothing care service,” says Steve Timpano, Director, Miele Professional Canada. “From a Miele perspective, there exists an important alignment with key goals such as sustainability, being environmentally friendly, and maximizing the advantages inherent in the wet cleaning process.” Timpano added that the partnership and communication between Miele’s service technicians and Daoust has led to outstanding results. “Simply put, Miele helped with the washer/dryer equipment technology needed to meet their wet cleaning processing goal, and then we were smart enough to get out of Hugo’s way!”
The green aspect was a huge selling point for Alexandre Videt. The former marketing and IT executive was learching for an environmentally oriented business when he moved his family to Canada from the U.K. in 2014. Videt, who has been “proenvironment the past 30 years,” really liked what he learned about Daoust ECOEFFICIENT Cleaners. Videt bought his first three stores in November 2020, added two more in February 2021, and acquired his latest store in July 2021. Five (one of which is the processing plant) are in Terrebonne; the
6th is in Montreal. He uses a total of two sets of 45 lb. capacity Miele washers and 50 lb. capacity dryers.
For Videt, the difference between dry cleaning and Aquaperformance is clear: “One is not bad for the environment, but the other is clearly bad for your health as an employee and bad for the environment,” he states.
Videt counts on Miele quality to keep his operation running smoothly. “From what I see on a daily basis, they are extremely reliable,” he says. “I’ve never, ever had any issue whatsoever.” But that’s not all: “The other thing I really appreciate is they’re very quiet machines.”
Thanks to expert programming by the Miele technician, washers are “very user-friendly.” As Videt explains, the technician inputs basic programming, then worked with Videt to tweak for his specific needs. His programming allows him to offer very select washing, including, starching, water proofing and stain repellent (great for
neck ties), super white, and so on. His staff has eight different soap combinations to choose from; any given load uses two to four soaps. “This could only be done because we use Miele technology and because we have the right soaps,” Videt explains.
Videt estimates he saves about 40% on his electric bill by not having a traditional dry cleaning machine. Each load of Aquaperformance processing uses about 70 liters of water, just a fraction of what a dry cleaning machine consumes.
I knew machines very well and I knew the difference between a Miele machine and the machine from another manufacturer,” he says, “and this is one of the reasons I chose Miele: reliability.
Miele washers and dryers bring reliability to the business
As a technician, Cerqueira fixed washers and dryers for over 15 years. “I knew machines very well and I knew the difference between a Miele machine and the machine from another manufacturer,” he says, “and this is one of the reasons I chose Miele: reliability.”
Replacing dry cleaning machines with Miele is done with confidence. “I know these machines will going to be good for 10, 15 years without any problem,” he says. One dry cleaner owner, with 35 years of experience, was initially
skeptical of the Miele machines. Within one week, according to Cerqueira, the person was converted. “It’s much easier. It’s much simpler,” the owner said. “I do way more in less time and I’m less tired.”
Miele machines and the Aquaperformance process are becoming widely accepted by dry cleaning professionals,
Cerqueira says. Miele machines clean more garments than before, because some articles that couldn’t be dry cleaned can be cleaned in a Miele machine.
Customers are equally pleased. After cleaning with Aquaperformance, garments don’t exhibit a chemical smell.
Franchisee cuts water, energy costs
Sonny Lemaire understands the value Aquaperformance brings to his cleaning business. A Daoust COEFFICIENT Cleaner franchisee since 2015, Lemaire appreciates the environmentally friendly process he offers his customers.
Lemaire owns five Daoust ECOEFFICIENT Cleaners stores: three in Montreal and two in Laval. One store in each
community handles processing. The other three stores are mainly drop-off locations, though some restoration work is also available. The Laval shops were traditional dry cleaners, Lemaire says. They were converted to – and branded as – Daoust ECOEFFICIENT Cleaners.
Each processing location is outfitted with a set of Miele 45 lb. capacity washer and 50 lb. capacity dryer.
Lemaire is sold on wet cleaning. As he puts it, “There is nothing better than water to clean something. When you clean with perchlorethylene you just remove the grease, so for me the traditional dry clean is not really clean.”
Lemaire recalls paying about $500 for water during his first year in business, due mostly to having a traditional dry cleaning machine. Since converting to Miele washers, he has not paid a water bill. He estimates he uses 50-60% less water under the Aquaperformance process.
Similarly, Lemaire estimates that he paid about twice as much for electricity with the traditional dry cleaning machines. Plus, there was the regular disposal fee. Every two or three months, he had to pay a firm approximately $1,000 to dispose of the “garbage.” “This is really, really expensive,” he says. Another big difference between traditional dry cleaning and Aquaperformance: No dangerous odor. While customers may not notice it, his employees do “When you go in a traditional dry cleaning store, the smell of the perc is really awful,” he says. Now that his stores are Daoust ECOEFFICIENT Cleaners, “my employees are so much happier than before.”