A water treatment system comprising: a continuous batch laundry system comprising a plurality of longitudinally aligned modules having inlet means at one end for receiving articles to be laundered and a discharge means at the other end, each said module including a rotatably supported drum within a housing, said drum being supported for oscillatory and rotary movement about a horizontal axis, wherein each drum includes spaced end walls, each end wall of each drum including a large opening to provide communication between adjacent drums, inlet flow lines on each module to allow chemicals and water into each module and outlet flow lines located on each module for draining each module, and a driving means for inducing rotation and oscillation in at least a selected one of said drums; a raw water tank to receive the mixture of water and chemicals from the outlet flow lines; a filtering apparatus connected between the outlet flow lines and the inlet flow lines of the continuous batch laundry system to filter and reclaim a mixture of water and chemicals drained from each module, the filtering apparatus comprising: a ceramic hollow fibre membrane filter; a flow apparatus (5, 30) operable to pass the mixture of water and chemicals through the filter in a forward direction so as to filter the water and chemicals; a heater operatively able to heat the mixture in the raw water tank that passes through the ceramic hollow fibre membrane filter; and a temperature controller operatively associated with the heater to control a temperature of the mixture within a preconfigured temperature range between 40 degrees Celsius and 90 degrees Celsius; wherein the filtered and reclaimed mixture of water and chemicals is fed from the filtering apparatus and into a permeate tank; wherein the permeate tank is connected to the inlet flow lines of each said module of the continuous batch laundry system to supply filtered water and chemicals as required; and wherein the water treatment system further comprises means for control of pH, temperature adjustment and adjustment of total dissolved solids by mixing the filtered and reclaimed mixture of water and chemicals from the permeate tank with fresh water and chemicals through mixing valves at the modules of the continuous batch laundry system, other than at a main rinse chamber and sour/starch modules which are fed with fresh or town/city water. a continuous batch laundry system comprising a plurality of longitudinally aligned modules having inlet means at one end for receiving articles to be laundered and a discharge means at the other end, each said module including a rotatably supported drum within a housing, said drum being supported for oscillatory and rotary movement about a horizontal axis, wherein each drum includes spaced end walls, each end wall of each drum including a large opening to provide communication between adjacent drums, inlet flow lines on each module to allow chemicals and water into each module and outlet flow lines located on each module for draining each module, and a driving means for inducing rotation and oscillation in at least a selected one of said drums; a raw water tank to receive the mixture of water and chemicals from the outlet flow lines; a filtering apparatus connected between the outlet flow lines and the inlet flow lines of the continuous batch laundry system to filter and reclaim a mixture of water and chemicals drained from each module, the filtering apparatus comprising: a ceramic hollow fibre membrane filter; a flow apparatus (5, 30) operable to pass the mixture of water and chemicals through the filter in a forward direction so as to filter the water and chemicals; a heater operatively able to heat the mixture in the raw water tank that passes through the ceramic hollow fibre membrane filter; and a temperature controller operatively associated with the heater to control a temperature of the mixture within a preconfigured temperature range between 40 degrees Celsius and 90 degrees Celsius; a ceramic hollow fibre membrane filter; a flow apparatus (5, 30) operable to pass the mixture of water and chemicals through the filter in a forward direction so as to filter the water and chemicals; a heater operatively able to heat the mixture in the raw water tank that passes through the ceramic hollow fibre membrane filter; and a temperature controller operatively associated with the heater to control a temperature of the mixture within a preconfigured temperature range between 40 degrees Celsius and 90 degrees Celsius; wherein the filtered and reclaimed mixture of water and chemicals is fed from the filtering apparatus and into a permeate tank; wherein the permeate tank is connected to the inlet flow lines of each said module of the continuous batch laundry system to supply filtered water and chemicals as required; and wherein the water treatment system further comprises means for control of pH, temperature adjustment and adjustment of total dissolved solids by mixing the filtered and reclaimed mixture of water and chemicals from the permeate tank with fresh water and chemicals through mixing valves at the modules of the continuous batch laundry system, other than at a main rinse chamber and sour/starch modules which are fed with fresh or town/city water.