Early on in the history of the laundry industry, when a new laundry business was built, there were very few large capacity front load washers installed. At first, they were all put in with small capacity front load washers, either by Westinghouse or Bendix. Later, top load washers took over. The few larger capacity front loading washers that were installed were called Rug Washers. A few laundries might have one or two installed.
Over time, laundry operators began to notice that some customers used them not just to do rugs, but also larger loads of family wash items too. Why? The customers began to notice that it would save them money.
Beginning with the early 1960s, more big capacity machines began to be installed in new (mostly coin) laundries that were then being built. These washer sizes were usually thought of as being 20 to 30 pounders.
That trend has kept growing continuously since then, so that today it is not at all unusual to find laundries that are either mostly, or completely made up of front load, large capacity washing machines and multi load clothes dryers.
The argument for adding these larger units is that they will produce more income per square foot of leased space. What a concept that was, to look at a laundry business on the basis of how much income could be produced by its square footage size. Back then it was a totally new concept, today it has become a reality.
In more recent times, the sizes of washers being installed has grown too. Today it is quite common to find forty and fifty pound and even larger sizes as well. For instance, one laundry owner has installed 3 large front load washers that are 125 pound capacity.
Initially these super-sized washers appeal to those wishing to launder car covers, boat covers, canvas tarpaulins, and camping gear such as small tents, and sleeping bags. They also appeal to those doing church aisle runners and painter’s canvas floor covers, etc.
The News has contacted a number of coin and card-operated laundry owners who have installed the larger sizes of washer. We asked why they made their decision to spend more money to buy the larger sizes of machines. We also asked them to offer opinions as to the results they see. Has the addition of really big washers added to their coin laundry’s bottom line?
What several have told the News is that it’s just like it was earlier in the history of the industry, where customers are starting to use these big machines to do large loads of regular wash. The customers see it as more laundry done for less money paid.
The progress isn’t rapid, and it takes some personal attention and salesmanship by the owners and attendants alike to convince some laundry users to try the bigger machines. Some of them are in awe of the large washers and they wonder if the greater size means greater risk to their clothing. But once they try it, they’re hooked.
Some of the laundry owners questioned saw having the larger capacity washers as more income per square foot, while having a lower cost per load. Less total water is used during each cycle and far less hot water too, so there is a considerable savings in cost per pound of laundry done.
Basically this is a win-win deal for both the laundry owner and their customers.
The major negative offered against the purchase of these super machines is they cost more than twice what laundry owners are asked to pay for a thirty pound unit. It’s about five or six times what is needed for top loaders.
That price difference makes it much more difficult for the laundry investor to justify, in advance, that it will bring a proper return on their equipment investment.
It takes a long time to convert someone who is accustomed to using two triple load washers into using a big monster 75# unit. Why should they change when the smaller machine has been doing such a good job?
One laundry operator told the News that his operational area includes what he calls “horse country.” Horse blankets used to be a problem because the hair clogged up the drainage lines and created some bad odors. “It’s taken a lot of pressure off of the double and triple loaders, and we have less breakdowns. I don’t know if we are making all that much more money, but I do know we have far fewer problems. We should have put in one of these bigger babies long ago.”
Another operator said that they had a deal with a nearby motel for doing towels and washcloths. He also has his attendants doing some industrial type washing for other businesses.
“We can do it all in one or two loads. It saves our girls lots of time, and the cost for electricity and hot water is substantially less than it would be if we did the loads in two or three smaller washers.” That laundry owner also has installed larger capacity dryers to speed up the motel laundering process.
While not absolutely essential, having dryer capacity to match the extra washer capacity is a wise thing. Yes, you can split washer loads into smaller dryers, but part of having the big capacity washers matched by equal capacity dryers just seems to make sense.
One laundry owner told the News that he had some of the large units installed because he thought it would make his laundry appear more professional. The big machines are installed right at the front of the laundry, in the window where they can’t be missed. “This is something they can’t find at home or at any of my competitors. Even those customers who won’t ever use it are impressed by the big seventy five pound size washers and dryers.”
Those owners thinking of adding really big units to their existing laundry should know it takes serious prior planning. Is there enough room to install larger machines? If you install them, will your clientele use them? The first consideration is the space larger capacity washers take up on the floor. It takes a pretty large laundry to accommodate.
There are cross purposes and functions at work in selecting the size mix of washers for your laundry business. First you must have enough units available for customers to use, and you next must have the size of machine that they want. Put in too many extra large capacity washers and there might not be room for the actual number of total washers needed for your laundry location.
Is there nearby electrical capacity for the units? Or will you have to invest in bringing it in since three phase power is certainly preferred?
Larger gas lines for those larger capacity dryers is needed to dry the garments from the larger load washers. Incoming gas lines must be of an adequate size to accommodate the larger capacity dryers you will be installing. When natural gas dryers don’t have the right pressure, along with adequate make up air, they won’t work as well, costing you more money.
Experts say large washers and dryers should be in the same general area. One described it as “Big Load Heaven.” An adjacent pair could take up over 40 square feet of floor space. They’re really big! That’s the main reason that smaller sized laundries are not too likely to add some of these larger sized machines.
In this article I have used the term 75 pound to mean washers with capacities ranging from 55 to 85 pounds made by a number and variety of manufacturers. From everything we have been told and from what we have been able to see, every one of them is of high quality. If you are planning an expansion of your laundry, and are thinking about adding large capacity washers and dryers, check with your favorite equipment providers to see what is best for your laundry.
You will note that in the paragraph above I used the term providers. That is because giant capacity machines are all expensive enough to justify really shopping around. Also ask them a lot of questions about their service and repair experience with these “Big Machines.”
