If your business is considering adding on-site laundry, choosing the machines is only one part of the process. Commercial laundry planning should happen before you order equipment, begin construction, or commit to a particular laundry room layout. The right washers and dryers need to work with the available space, utility infrastructure, laundry volume, employee workflow, and long-term needs of the business.
Adding laundry equipment can give a business more control over its laundry operation and may improve efficiency, but it also requires more planning than simply finding a room and filling it with machines. Whether you're opening a new facility, renovating an existing laundry room, or bringing laundry in-house for the first time, thinking through the details early can help prevent expensive problems later.
Why Is Planning Important Before Adding Laundry Equipment?
One of the easiest mistakes to make is choosing equipment before determining what the facility actually needs. Commercial washers and dryers come in different capacities, configurations, and utility requirements, so the equipment that works well for one business may not be the right choice for another.
A hotel, senior living community, gym, restaurant, apartment complex, or healthcare facility may all have completely different laundry demands. Even two businesses in the same industry may need different equipment depending on their daily laundry volume, available space, staffing, and operating schedule.
That's why commercial laundry planning should begin with the operation itself. How much laundry will you process? Who will be responsible for it? How frequently will machines run? What types of items will be washed and dried? How much space is available? Answering those questions first gives you a much better starting point for selecting equipment.
How Much Laundry Will Your Business Actually Process?
Capacity is one of the most important things to determine before purchasing equipment. Buying machines that are too small can leave employees constantly running additional loads, while equipment that is significantly larger than necessary may represent an unnecessary investment.
Start by looking at your current laundry volume and consider how that volume could change. A hotel may need to account for occupancy and seasonal demand. A gym may need to consider the number of towels used each day. A restaurant may process uniforms, towels, aprons, table linens, or other items. A senior living facility may need to handle both resident and facility laundry.
It's also important to think about peak demand rather than simply looking at an average day. If your laundry operation regularly becomes overwhelmed during certain times of the week, your equipment needs to be able to keep up when demand is highest.
Does Your Building Have the Right Utilities?
A room can look like the perfect place for a laundry facility and still require significant work before commercial equipment can be installed. Water supply, drainage, electrical service, gas, ventilation, exhaust, and water heating may all need to be considered depending on the equipment selected.
This is one reason equipment specifications should be reviewed before construction or renovation begins. T&L notes that utility requirements vary between machines, and those requirements can affect how equipment is arranged within the space.
If you wait until the equipment has already been purchased to discover that the building needs major plumbing, electrical, or ventilation modifications, the project can become much more expensive than originally anticipated.
How Will Employees Move Through the Laundry Room?
A good laundry room isn't just a collection of machines. It is a workspace, and employees need to be able to move through it efficiently.
Think about what happens from the moment dirty laundry enters the room until clean laundry leaves. Where will employees sort loads? Where will carts be stored? Where will clean laundry go? Is there enough room to load and unload machines without blocking walkways? Can employees move between washers and dryers without unnecessary backtracking?
The goal is to create a workflow that makes sense for the people actually using the room. A well-planned layout can reduce unnecessary movement and make the laundry process easier to manage.
T&L's planning resources emphasize designing around both efficiency and the way the space will actually be used, rather than simply trying to fit as much equipment as possible into a room.
What About Maintenance and Service Access?
Maintenance is another consideration that should be addressed before equipment is installed. Commercial laundry machines need room for technicians to access service panels, connections, and other components when repairs or routine maintenance are required.
This can be easy to overlook when you're focused on maximizing the number of machines in the room. However, equipment that is packed tightly together can make even a relatively simple service call more difficult.
During the planning stage, ask what will happen when a machine needs to be repaired. Can a technician reach it easily? Can equipment be removed or replaced if necessary? Will servicing one machine require moving another? Thinking about those questions ahead of time can save headaches later.
Should You Leave Room for Future Growth?
Your laundry needs today may not be the same as your laundry needs several years from now.
Maybe you're opening a 50-room hotel but eventually plan to expand. Maybe your fitness center is growing its membership. Perhaps your restaurant is adding locations or expanding its catering operation. If laundry volume could increase, it's worth considering that possibility before finalizing the room.
You don't necessarily need to purchase every machine you could possibly need in the future. However, leaving appropriate space and considering future utility or equipment needs can make expansion easier.
Planning for growth is especially valuable because major changes to plumbing, electrical systems, ventilation, or room layouts can be much more disruptive after a facility is already operating.
Should You Buy Equipment Before Planning the Laundry Room?
Generally, it's better to plan the equipment and the space together rather than choosing machines independently and trying to make them fit afterward.
The physical dimensions of commercial laundry equipment vary, and utility requirements can vary as well. T&L offers to-scale floor plans and layout services to help businesses visualize how equipment will fit before work or equipment is ordered.
That type of planning can also make it easier to compare different equipment configurations. You may discover that a different combination of machine capacities makes better use of the available space or better matches the business's laundry volume.
What Should You Consider Besides the Equipment Price?
The purchase price is obviously important, but it shouldn't be the only number in the budget.
Commercial laundry planning should also account for installation, utility modifications, ongoing water and energy consumption, maintenance, parts, service, employee time, and potential downtime. The equipment that costs less upfront isn't necessarily the equipment that will cost less to operate over its useful life.
Looking at the entire investment can help you make a better decision about equipment capacity, efficiency, and features. T&L's guidance on commercial laundry ROI similarly emphasizes looking beyond the initial equipment price and considering operating costs, maintenance, downtime, capacity, and expected equipment life.
Do You Need Professional Help With Commercial Laundry Planning?
You don't necessarily need to figure everything out on your own. A commercial laundry equipment provider can help evaluate the available space, expected laundry volume, utility requirements, equipment options, layout, installation, and future needs.
For businesses that are adding on-site laundry for the first time, having that guidance can be particularly valuable. Instead of choosing machines first and trying to solve the logistical issues afterward, you can develop a laundry plan around the actual needs of the business.
T&L Equipment Sales works with commercial customers throughout North Carolina and South Carolina, providing equipment planning, installation, financing, maintenance, parts, and service. The company works with businesses including hotels, schools, gyms, hospitals, laundromats, and other commercial facilities.
Plan the Laundry Operation Before You Buy the Equipment
Adding commercial laundry equipment can be a worthwhile investment, but the best results come from planning the entire operation rather than focusing only on the machines.
Before moving forward, look at your laundry volume, available space, utilities, employee workflow, maintenance access, installation requirements, operating costs, and potential future growth. Once you understand those factors, you can choose equipment that fits the business instead of trying to make the business fit the equipment.
Good commercial laundry planning can help you avoid costly changes, improve day-to-day efficiency, and create a laundry operation that continues to work as your business grows.
