Lavanderia Atmosfera was nominated as one of the official laundries to clean the clothes and uniforms used by the members of all delegations participating in the Pan-American Games.

“Atmosfera used a detergent containing a unique enzyme blend put together by our local distributor in Brazil, Quimisa S/A, and they found that they could clean clothes with all kinds of sport-related stains well at low temperatures and short wash cycles,” says Adriana Guerra Maganhotto, Sales Manager for Latin America at Novozymes.

From left: João Tognetti, Chemical Processes Manager at Atmos­fera, and Roberto Barreto, Business Development Manager at Atmosfera, respon­sible for the Pan-Ameri­can Games Negotiation.

It’s a dirty business
Atmosfera is in the business of cleaning clothes. They wash about 200 tons of industrial uniforms, restaurant, hotel, and hospital linen every day.

For the Pan-American Games, Atmosfera set up four laundries with semi-automatic machines having a capacity of 10 kg each in the basements of the buildings where the athletes for the Pan-American Games were housed.

To get their clothes clean, the athletes put their dirty clothes in an identified bag, which was then sealed and picked up for laundry.

Jonatha Max Kohler, Engineer at Novozymes' Brazilian distributor, Quimisa S/A, developed a tailor-made enzymatic solution for Atmosfera.

We provided two small bags with personal identification and instructed the athletes to separate their clothes if possible before loading each bag: white clothes versus colored, or lightly-soiled versus heavily-soiled, or simply clothes versus socks. And we had no clue which types of stains were in each bag; this was our biggest challenge,” says Roberto Barreto, Business Development Manager at Atmosfera.

The stains on the clothes were often very heavy as the games included track-and-field, hockey on a grass field, and tennis, among others.

Kicking the dirt out of the ballpark
Atmosfera originally used a non-enzymatic industrial detergent during trials, but the non-enzymatic detergent did not meet their performance expectations. Novozymes and Quimisa presented an enzymatic solution to Atmosfera that perfectly suited their needs.

“We worked with Atmosfera and based on their input about the stains and the dirt, the temperature and length of the wash cycle, and other parameters, we put together a tailor-made blend to boost the performance of their detergent,” says Jonatha Max Kohler, Engineer at Quimisa.

This blend of enzymes contained a protease, an amylase, and a lipase, and was specially designed to remove tough stains such as blood and body fluids, as well as complex stains caused by food, grass, clay, and other substances.

“We had to wash clothes packed in bags, with no mechanical action, low temperature and in a short time. We realized that we had to find a solution that could clean large amounts of dirt, especially clay. After several trials, enzymes proved to be the most effective alternative, boosting our non-enzymatic detergent with high-quality washing performance,” says Roberto Barreto.

Enzymes in laundry detergents are very important for increasing productivity. Other benefits of using an enzymatic detergent include increased lifetime of clothing, reduced chemical consumption, and minimized rework index, leading to water and energy savings.

"Dirt is out, sports are in,"says Adriana Guerra Maga­nhotto, Sales Manager for Latin America at Novozymes.

The enzymatic laundry detergent used by Atmosfera protected clothes by reducing alkalis that can damage textile fibers, and offered better general cleaning, excellent stain removal, and more whiteness.

“Atmosfera was very happy with the cleaning power of our enzymes,” says Adriana Guerra Maganhotto. “The message was quite clear: No matter how dirty athletic apparel gets, an enzymatic detergent can get the dirt out. Dirt is out and sports are in!”

Quality cleaning
The high quality of the job done by Atmosfera was recognized by the Brazilian President, who received the laundry supervisor to compliment him for the excellent service.

“This is a remarkable success story for Novozymes and for enzymes in detergents,” says Adriana Guerra Maganhotto. “Atmosfera is a market leader and we’re sure that other laundries will follow their lead. Our goal is to educate the industrial and institutional laundry sector in Brazil about the benefits of enzymes and increase the presence of enzymes in industrial laundry detergents. This is a great first leap in that direction.”