How to Set Up an In-House Laundry in 5 Steps

There are many benefits to a business bringing their laundry in-house, including long-term cost savings, quality control, fast turnaround, fewer lost or damaged items, additional revenue for guest services, extended linen life, and not having to store soiled laundry waiting for it to be picked up. But if you’re reading this, you’ve probably already considered the reasons why and now you want to know how. We’ve laid out in 5 easy steps everything you’ll need to start an on-premise laundry and the best practices to support the move.

1. Seek Professional Advice
Before you can accurately compare costs, you will need to work out what machines will be most suitable for your laundry needs. Each laundry is unique, not two laundries are the same. Therefore, it is important to find the best solution for your specific needs to ensure you get the most out of your investment. We highly recommend speaking with a laundry professional. Not only are they incredibly knowledgeable about each of the machines and what they provide, but they will be able to deliver the most efficient laundry set-up possible, working with your space and budget requirements. They will also be able to highlight any utility requirements which can often be overlooked.

2. Compare Costs
Before making the switch from outsourced laundry services to in-house laundry services, comparing the costs will not only make you feel confident in your decision but also win the rest of your team over. Setting up an on-premise laundry has up-front costs of course, but the savings your business will harvest will be long-term. Commercial washers and dryers have an average life expectancy of at least 10 years. This is a good time frame to compare costs. Don’t forget to include regular machine servicing, as well as staff wages into the cost of running an on-premise laundry. If you need help with this, Aqualogic is more than happy to assist.

3. Finding a Suitable Space
Ensuring that you have a suitable space is another reason we recommend speaking with a laundry professional. Your laundry requirements will also govern the type of space you need. The more laundry you need to process, the bigger the space required. You will also need to consider ducting, ventilation, plumbing and flooring. As well, laundries are best located somewhere convenient for staff to run back and forth from.

4. Staff and Training
Consider who will manage and work in your new on-premise laundry. Will you need to hire additional staff, or could you assign the employees that were managing the outsourced laundry relationship? Either way, these employees will require training. Training doesn’t take long, but it is necessary in having an efficiently run laundry that produces high-quality, clean results. It will also give your employees confidence in their role and the knowledge of how to act safely within the workplace.

5. Create Your Laundry Flow
Now that your laundry will be managed on-premise you will no longer have to keep to the schedule of an outsourced laundry service. You now have complete control over your laundry and can therefore work out a schedule and standard of quality that works best for you. Take advantage of a laundry equipment provider that has many years of laundry experience and they will be able to help you develop your laundry procedures that will produce an efficient laundry with the best wash results. Staff training will also help in achieving your laundry goals.

Installing an on-premise commercial-style laundry is not always simple, but with the right expertise and support your business can have its own efficiently run laundry producing high-quality linen in next to no time. With costs continuing to rise and the current linen shortage, there's no better time to bring your laundry in-house.