If you’re in an industry such as the healthcare or hospitality sector, no doubt laundry is part of your business. If you handle all of your laundry in-house, you might have a dedicated team or staff member who takes care of laundry procedures. As a business owner, laundry may not be a detail you have a lot of time to attend to, but if commercial laundry is done improperly over an extended period of time, costs can start piling up.
Don’t Make These Commercial Laundry Mistakes
There are a few common mistakes to avoid to ensure that your laundry costs are kept down, and your linens are clean, sterile, and ready to use.
1. Never Cleaning Washing Machines
Just like any other appliance, a washing machine needs to have regular cleaning for it to keep doing its job properly. The water in a washing machine never completely leaves after a load, so the water in the machine can become stagnant and even moldy, causing the next load to be full of bacteria. Clean industrial textile products and linens are a must – to fight this problem, give the washing machine a thorough cleaning at the end of each day.
2. Using Too Much Product
While some of the main goals are sterilization and cleanliness, you don’t want to go overboard with chemicals. Using too much can wear down fabric much more quickly than it is meant to. It can also cause colors to bleed. Use the recommended amount of chemicals to ensure that your fabrics last as long as possible.
3. Overloading the Machine
Overloading the washing machine is a common mistake both in commercial industries and at home. It’s understandable to want to get laundry loads done quickly, but overloading the washer is a big mistake. Not only does detergent not thoroughly clean the fabrics inside of the washer, overloading it makes it work harder, potentially causing it to break down or require maintenance much sooner. Similarly, under loading the washer isn’t a good idea either. It requires extra water and energy that you could be saving. Load the washer exactly to the right capacity, every time.
4. An Uneven Washer
Most people never think about a washing machine being level. However, it’s an important component to proper laundry cleaning. A washer that’s not level is off-balance, which means it has to work harder to clean clothes. With every new washer installed, use a level to ensure that the washer is exactly as it should be. If not, adjust the feet on the bottom until the washer is level. This check should be performed every few months.
5. Giving the Dryer a Break
It’s a common misconception that a dryer needs some downtime in between loads. In fact, on laundry day, it’s best to keep the dryer running consistently until the laundry is finished. This helps the dryer run more efficiently, saving you money, and you get the benefit of residual heat from the load before it.
6. Adding Product at the Wrong Time
Adding product, especially bleach, at the wrong time, can damage your linens. If you’re washing a non-bleach load, the order should be: linens, water, and detergent. If it’s a load with bleach, the same order still applies, but you should only add bleach after the washer has completely filled. Doing so earlier is bad for your linens.
Wilkins Linen Is A Laundry Expert
Commercial laundry can be complicated and quite a big task to complete each week. Consider using linen services to help make the laundry side of your business seamless and stress-free. Contact Wilkins Linen to learn more about our linen rentals, professional cleaning procedures, and years of experience in the commercial laundry business.
