To all of you being affected by Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath, please know that the thoughts and prayers of those of us here at Dexter are with you, your families and your communities. As many of you know, we're no strangers to flooding here in Iowa and we're familiar first had with how devastating and damaging that floodwaters can be.

While personal safety is the top priority, once waters begin to recede and you can return to your business we know how urgent it can be to get everything back to normal. Your customers are going to have real need for laundry services as the clean their homes and belongings and you'll want to be able to accommodate them as soon as possible.

If your laundromat or on-premise laundry has been damaged by flood, here are some tips:

• Make sure that machines have thoroughly dried out before power to the machines is restored.
• To dry out machines, remove the front, rear and top panels off the machines as soon as possible. If you're not able to do this yourself, please contact your local Dexter Authorized Distributor for assistance. You may also want to remove damaged sheet rock and wall coverings.
• To further dry out your facility, bring in large fans and dehumidifiers to remove moisture and to keep air was circulating through your machines and bulkheads

• Once your location has been thoroughly dried out, power up your equipment and begin running repeatedly. It's important to get the motors heated up for extended periods of time so that the moisture that might be retained will evaporate off.

• If your equipment damage was caused by salt water, you'll need to clean as soon as possible is vital to prevent rusting. To clean your machines, spray the insides and outsides of your washer and dryer cabinets extensively with white vinegar and then use a power washer to rinse to remove salts and residue.
• Petroleum based, water repellant sprays such as wd40 can be used inside of the drain valve motors as well as the main drive motors to help prevent rusting and to lubricate the components.
• Run the machines through several hot water cycles before customer loads are processed, be sure to pour a little bleach and white vinegar in the washers to remove any potential odors.

• For any equipment that may not be functional, contact a repair technician or your local Dexter Authorized Distributor for service, parts or replacement machines.

• While your equipment may be running fine now, flood damage can cause long term issues. Be prepared for potential ongoing drain valve and motor bearing failures. Make sure your insurance agent is aware that even though the equipment may be functional now, the bearings, motors, and electronics will be compromised to some degree and must be taken into account. The lifespan for these parts may have been diminished.

Dexter Laundry is proud to offer lifetime technical support free of charge for our customers and our experienced factory team is here to assist with any questions or issues that you might have. Let us know how we can help get your laundry back in business!