Vended laundry owners know all too well what can happen when screws left in clothes find their way into drying tumblers. Screws often catch in the cylinder holes and cause extensive damage to the metal surrounding the cylinder. This leads to reduced efficiency and added expenses for replacement parts.

Speed Queen, however, has reduced the risk for such damage with its redesigned tumbler cylinders utilizing a patented oval hole design.

The company recently was issued this patent for "laundry dryer with improved tumbler airflow passage openings." The cylinder design enables certain size screws, most commonly used in home construction, left in clothes to fall harmlessly out of the cylinder and on to the top of the lint screen.

"Our patented design, another example of Speed Queen taking the lead in the industry, will be a huge benefit to coin laundry owners," said Bill Bittner, Speed Queen national sales manager. "These new perforations will reduce damage caused by drywall screws and maintain fast, efficient drying performance versus tumblers with standard cylinder holes."

The new perforations are standard on Speed Queen axial airflow drying tumblers, including the popular T45 stack tumbler and new slim 55-pound unit, which fits through a 36-inch doorway.