How the Swiss army does its laundry
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The army's laundry is delivered in wooden crates. Keystone -
Dirty laundry is transported to the textile centre in rolling carts. Keystone -
A worker sorts the dirty laundry into bags. Keystone -
The uniforms are washed in giant machines. Keystone -
The laundry bags are hung to dry. Keystone -
Uniforms head down a conveyor belt for sorting and repair. Keystone -
The clothing is hung before being inspected and repaired. Keystone -
Hanging camouflage suits Keystone -
Experts repair the uniforms at special stations. Keystone -
Screens show the uniform's pattern. Keystone -
Securing a seam Keystone -
Woolen military blankets are also washed and hung to dry in a separate room. Keystone -
Fixed and ready, the uniforms continue on their way back to soldiers. Keystone -
A machine folds the uniforms. Keystone -
Some manual labour is required on the ironing and folding machine. Keystone -
Folded and pressed uniforms continue on their journey. Keystone -
Bundled uniforms are ready to be worn before the cycle starts all over again. Keystone
When Swiss men come together to do their military service, mountains of washing pile up. Here's a look inside the Swiss army's hi-tech laundry in the town of Thun.
This content was published on September 10, 2016 - 11:00
- Deutsch Augenschein im modernsten Wäschezentrum der Schweiz
- Español Inmerso en la lavandería más moderna de Suiza
- Português A lavanderia mais moderna da Suíça
- 中文 戎装浣洗
- Français Plongée dans la buanderie la plus moderne de Suisse
- عربي جولة في مركز حديث لتنظيف الأزياء والبطانيات العسكرية
- Pусский В швейцарской армейской прачечной
- 日本語 スイス軍の制服、洗濯され新品のようになるまで
- Italiano Visita della lavanderia più moderna della Svizzera
Military personnel skulk through forests, crawl through mud, climb mountains and march for kilometres. As a result, their uniforms get sweaty, dirty and torn. And that’s not all that army clothes go through – there’s also contact with countless sleeping bags, tents and cooking materials.
Most of the washing, mending and altering goes on in the new complex at Thun, which was renovated at a cost of CHF22 million ($22.4 million).
The Swiss photographer Christian Beutler visited the laundry – considered the most modern in Switzerland – and documented the workflow from delivery of clothes to the cleaning and ironing, via repairs and the folding of the freshly washed clothes.
(Text: Gaby Ochsenbein/swissinfo.ch)
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