Testing exposes a pump’s design and engineering and shows whether
the fluid is compatible with the plastics in the dispenser. There is no way
to rush it...
May 2021 Spray 35
on a floor or into a locker. It gets forgotten in a car, left
in a garage, etc. It’s going to take a beating. Marketers
need to replicate those conditions.
During the environmental testing, ensure that there
is no weakening or breakdown in the sprayer’s plastics.
Test for consistency next, and that doesn’t mean test
only for an even spray pattern. The pump has to produce
the prescribed spray pattern over and over. If the
pattern is inconsistent, then that is the same experience
a customer will have.
Check the fluid draw after each spray. The pump
needs to pull the same amount from the bottle every
time.
Next, test the pump’s activation. Activation is all
about measuring the smoothness and easiness of its action.
The pump should function the same on the 200th
pump as it did on the first one.
Check for spray pattern and activation consistency,
even after all the environmental testing.
“Consistency of spray quality is very important,
explained Ballot.
“The continued functionality of the product is very
important. If everything is consistent and everything
performs and everything performs again, we have a
product from a user’s experience that does nothing to
detract from the brand. That’s value.”
He also recommends testing the supplier company
itself and asking to see the controls that maintain
consistent manufacturing quality. The supplier’s quality
and testing labs should also be toured, either through
video or in-person. The goal is to see the destruction,
environmental and fluid testing that happens. It also
ensures that the supplier can produce high-quality products
over large production runs.
The stakes have gotten too high for the fine mist
sprayer. No longer can it be an afterthought or isolated
to a dollars-and-cents consideration.
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