Clean & Green

Sustainability Practices for Today’s Laundromats

In recent years, the laundry industry has undergone a remarkable transformation, propelled by a growing awareness of environmental sustainability. Across the sector, from bustling urban laundromats to specialized cloth diaper services, entrepreneurs are pioneering innovative approaches to minimize ecological impact while delivering quality service. Through a combination of eco-friendly detergents, energy-efficient appliances, and strategic operational practices, these forward-thinking businesses are setting new standards for “green” practices.

The rise of sustainability trends within the laundry industry reflects a broader societal shift toward environmental consciousness and corporate responsibility. From reducing plastic waste to embracing renewable energy sources, laundromat owners are reimagining their businesses as agents of positive change. As customers increasingly prioritize eco-friendly practices in their purchasing decisions, the adoption of green initiatives not only aligns with market demands but also positions these businesses as leaders in sustainability, driving meaningful impact both locally and globally.

This month, seven laundry operators share some of the “green” practices they’re seeing across the industry, as well as those they’ve implemented at their own facilities:

Mark and Kathy Huntebrinker
Simply Clean Laundry Service
St. Louis

I’ve always considered a “green” laundry as doing laundry with the least amount of impact to the environment. This involves using processes and/or products that minimize harm to the environment or conserves resources. It can be as complex as using energy-efficient machines and special formulas, and as simple as creating efficient routing for your PUD customers. It’s about making conscious choices that reduce your ecological footprint while still giving customers a product that is clean and fresh.

We started in 2006 as a cloth diaper service and performed that service until March 2024. During that time, we helped eliminate more than 5 million diapers from entering landfills. We’re proud of that work and that impact it had on the environment. It also helped us drive toward other green practices in our processes and products.

I believe being somewhat “green” helps in a variety of ways. It’s appealing to potential customers who care about environmental impact, and it also can provide cost savings. Simple practices like route optimization have a positive dollar impact to the business, so why not implement these initiatives and take credit for your reduced impact.

Some sustainability trends we’re seeing within the laundry industry include:

Eco-friendly detergents: There’s a growing demand for laundry detergents that are formulated with biodegradable ingredients and are free from harmful chemicals like phosphates and synthetic fragrances. These detergents are designed to minimize environmental impact while still effectively cleaning clothes. For our residential services, nearly 70 percent of our customers choose All Free and Clear.

Energy-efficient appliances: Manufacturers are developing washers and dryers that are more energy-efficient, using technologies such as variable speed motors, improved insulation, and advanced water-recycling systems. These appliances help reduce energy consumption and water usage.

Cold-water washing: Many consumer detergents are advertising their products as cold-water washing capable, so washing requires less energy to heat the water. Cold-water washing not only saves energy but also helps preserve the colors and fabrics of clothes.

Hybrid or battery-powered vehicles.

For laundromat owners, adopting eco-friendly practices is not only beneficial for the environment but can also improve efficiency and reduce costs. Here are some best practices:

Route optimization: We believe in optimizing all routes to save time, energy, and resources. In fact, we consider ourselves to be route-based, rather than on-demand.

Use energy-efficient equipment: We use high-efficiency equipment, including water heaters that are direct power vent devices with 95+ percent energy efficiency. We started using these because we needed fast recovery for cloth diaper washing, but we still use them because they supply tons of hot water without a holding tank. We do turn them down when not washing medical-related items as well.

Optimize washing processes: We pair orders with the right size washers to reduce wasted water and chemicals. We also offer up to 30 different formulas for commercial clients and wash items based on soil level. Heavier soiled items may receive upfront rinses, where lighter soiled garments may not require it. Each commercial customer’s needs are different.

Choose eco-friendly detergents: We offer HE detergents that require less detergent to clean.

Other than the basics like equipment and routing, we’ve implemented a few other small items, all of which have led to a reduction in energy consumption. Those include:

• Participating in the LED program. A few years ago, we worked with our electrical company and a third-party company to replace all lighting with LED products.
• Recently, we replaced our old flat black roof with an all-white reflective TPO roof with foam insulation. This will result in heat reduction during the summer.
• We also insulated the top of our warehouse with R30 insulation a few years ago. This was a great long-term investment for energy savings.

After you’ve done the basics – newer equipment, energy-efficient lighting, etc. – what’s next? Here are some additional “green” initiatives that laundry owners might not be considering:

• Heating incoming water with dirty outgoing water. This would take some investment and would probably only prove beneficial for larger linen companies, but if you can heat incoming water even a degree or two with outgoing hot water, it could have an impact.
• Routing to avoid traffic areas or conducting delivery at night if possible. Nighttime delivery could be more efficient in large cities and require less fuel to complete.
• Less waste on packaging by buying in bulk. We recently went to all auto-injecting for detergents. Before that, we used pods and the amount of packaging it took was way more than it should be. Multiple bags inside boxes. Now we buy 15- or 50-gallon containers of detergent and save money and packaging waste.

Best Advice: Find some simple items you can implement, and just do it. Then, celebrate your successes with your customers. Not everyone is going to care about your “green” endeavors, but many will – or, at a minimum, they’ll appreciate the efficiencies you’ve created as part of your sustainable initiatives.

Matthew Langa
Apapane, LLC
Seattle

First of all, I hope we all accept that there’s currently no way to have a completely “green” laundromat. We can be “greener” than we were before, but with the huge resource and chemical consumption required, laundromats are always going to be part of the “not-green” problem.

Claiming to be “green,” as we’ve seen with other dirty industries, will do our industry more reputational harm, rather than acknowledging our significant impact and owning our efforts to improve it.

High water consumption, polluted water creation, natural gas emissions, and high electricity consumption are all serious problems – and we would be better off owning our impact and communicating our efforts to get better.

My generation was educated to climate change with the 2006 release of the Nobel Prize winning “An Inconvenient Truth.” Back then, it was politically polarizing, but nearly 20 years later, we’re seeing every one of its predictions come true. Seeing the disappearance of the Aral Sea then seemed surreal, but now we see it happening with our Great Salt Lake in Utah.

We have a responsibility to challenge our immediate desire for a few extra quarters with an awareness that each of us, as laundry owners, are in a powerful position to make an immediate positive change and impact. We are the decision-makers and control the levers of each of our stores. It can be small or large, but quite literally, we are the ones who control our businesses “non-green” impacts.

Soft-mount washers provide perhaps one of the largest impacts for stores looking to go “greener.” I spoke with customers at one laundromat who said they’re done drying in 14 minutes because of the soft-mount extraction. The owner has priced drying high enough to deter customers from drying longer than necessary. When drying is cheap, some customers will throw in quarter after quarter.

Although we might be making and extra 15 cents on each of those quarters, over-drying is not the customers’ contribution to the problem – it’s the owners’ contribution. We know the problem and hold the power within our pricing structure and programming to fix it.

I’m disappointed to see our industry fight against – rather than lead on – items for which we can make an impact. Microplastics are a recent example. We should be the heroes, not the villains. Firefighters are heroes. They’re the first on the scene, but not because they started the fire.

We didn’t start the microplastics “fire,” but we’re the first on the scene. We could be heroes if we leaned into the issue and told the community that we’ll fix this, but we need the community’s help with the equipment costs. After all, firefighters don’t buy their own equipment.

We should emphasize that chemical companies created this problem, but we can help fix it; however, we can’t do so without money and technology.

We should be the “good guys,” but instead society sees our industry lobbying against microplastic legislation. Our manufacturers could be leading the way with filters that are machine-friendly. We didn’t start this fire, but we could be the heroes who help put it out.

At our business, we offer high-speed extraction in our soft-mount machines, and have added a little extra time to get that last bit of water spun out. With our hard-mounts, we’ve added a couple more extraction minutes as well. Additionally, we educate our customers to dry their items less.

I know of one manufacturer offering a water recovery tank that can reuse the water from a prior cycle – such as a second rinse – in the upcoming cycle of the next wash. This is going to be a “green” benefit driven by economics. Many urban laundromat owners are paying high market-rate water prices, so they may explore such technology. And, when suburban and rural areas experience water increases, due to shortages or municipal fiscal challenges, those store owners also may start looking for these types of solutions.

Best Advice: Running a “greener,” sustainable business is the patriotic thing to do. Each of us has looked at a previous generation and declared, “What were you thinking when you behaved like (fill-in-the-blank).” The next generation will be asking that of us. Hopefully, we can say that we made mistakes, but we learned of them and made the effort to get better.

Bryan Maxwell
Vallejo Wash N Dry
Vallejo, Calif.

I’ve recently focused on a couple of specific areas in order to make my laundromat a bit “greener” – lighting and water heating.

My store’s new lights are amazing. Not only are they extremely efficient, but the type of light they produce has helped change our customers’ perception of the business.

I replaced old fluorescent lights with LED lights, and the electrical load went from three 20-amp breakers down to just one. In addition, the type of light that is produced actually changed how my laundromat looks. The old lights produced a yellowish light, while the new bulbs give off a different light quality that actually makes colors look brighter and white clothes whiter.

Moreover, new lighting systems feature more advanced controls. My lights operate at 80 percent during daylight and automatically increase to 100 percent at sunset.

In my experience with selling laundry equipment for decades, many customers had bad lighting in their stores, and many replaced old lights with cheap LEDs that resulted in even darker stores. Unfortunately, many owners don’t place enough emphasis on good lighting, and that’s a huge mistake.

Good lighting is the second most important part of a winning laundry, behind great laundry equipment. Not only do my lights save money and energy, but they also improve the customer experience.

With regard to water heating, my new water heaters save a tremendous amount of energy, and they feature low NOX burners which are better for the environment.

When I first started in the industry, older boilers operated at 60 percent efficiency, and new boilers operated with efficiencies in the high 70 percent range. Today, boilers operate at 95+ percent efficiency, and the low NOX boilers produce less greenhouse gases. The efficiency means they are firing less often, and the low NOX burners mean they produce less harmful gases when firing.

However, unlike the boilers of 30 years ago that needed virtually no maintenance, these boilers require much more ongoing maintenance and can be damaged easily by hard water. If you purchase one, make sure you’re committed to the scheduled maintenance. If not, the boiler can fail in years, not decades.

Another small but profitable change I’ve make in my laundry business has been eliminating plastic laundry bags. We now sell branded, reusable, 30- by 40-inch bags for our customers.

I sell hundreds of dollars in bags every month. These bags are better for the environment, they advertise my laundry, and I make more money selling them. They are definitely a win for the environment, as well as for my bottom line.

Mark Csordos
Washing Well
Old Bridge, N.J.

A “green” laundry or business is any business proactively trying to be less wasteful and use materials that have the least negative environmental impact.

We have only one planet, and I like Earth. I want future generations to be able to go outside and thrive on a planet where they don’t have to worry about extreme weather, or air and water quality.

With that, there is more awareness that with more than 30,000 laundromats in just the U.S., even small changes can have a large compound effect if everyone gets involved. Each year, technology makes washers and dryers more efficient. There also are more detergents and fabric softeners now that are less harmful to the environment.

At our business, we try to be mindful of not wasting, and we reuse where we can. For example, many customers bring in large blankets for wash-dry-fold in black trash bags. We reuse those bags as trash bags in our store. It might seem like a small thing, but we haven’t purchased trash bags in years. If each wash-dry-fold operation did that, it would save tens of thousands of extra bags winding up in landfills.

Additionally, we try to educate our customers on the best ways to do their laundry. We have signs up around the store about how much detergent they really need, when and why they should use cold water, how not to overload the machines, and so on.

For example, many people think hot water is better for washing their clothes, but they don’t realize they only need to do that for certain types of fabrics or if they need to sanitize the wash. Some don’t understand that it wastes a lot of energy to heat the water and that hot water is rougher on their clothes, potentially shortening the life of those garments.

We also provide detergent cups at each machine size, showing customers how much detergent they need. Before implementing this, we would see customers just eyeballing how much detergent they thought they needed, and 99 percent of the time they were using too much soap and actually getting their clothes less clean.

Everything we do is an attempt to show that we are part of our local community, and I know our customers appreciate it. If we teach them how to do their laundry more effectively, it’s also a win for us.

We also have a library in our store with the books being donated by the local library. It gives a “second life” to those books the library no longer has room for.

Although we don’t specifically market ourselves as a “green” business, we try to make good decisions for the business, the community, and the environment. People like to support small, local businesses when those businesses give them reason to do so.

Best Advice: We only have one home and we need to make it livable and sustainable, not only for us but also for future generations that we will never meet.

Dave Heberle
Ohzone Laundry
Erie, Pa.

I think it’s important that our business be at least somewhat “green” to publicly acknowledge the seriousness of the relentless march toward climate change that’s been ramping up for decades, while displaying “green” efforts and setting examples to help inspire others.

Going “green” also might help owners take advantage of potential grants being offered by their local municipalities or environmental organizations. What’s more, eco-friendly laundromats can be positioned as a laundering alternative for customers seeking to patronize “greener” businesses.

Here are some best practices for laundry owners looking to make their businesses more environmentally conscious and sustainable:

• New high-efficiency laundry equipment
• LED lighting
• New HVAC system
• Spray foam insulation
• Environmentally friendly detergents
• Dehydrated detergent strips
• Managing the lighting and store temperature
• On-demand water heaters
• Geothermal or solar panel water/atmosphere heating
• Well-fitted entrance doors that close firmly
• Persistent, well-explained recycling efforts for plastic containers, aluminum cans, etc.

  After mastering the basics – newer equipment, energy-efficient lighting, and so on – some laundromat owners might want to consider adding ozone to their operations.

Store operators can choose from installing an ozone wash system that encompasses the entire laundromat, or just one or two self-contained ozone units added to the washers already in place, which is obviously a less expensive option.

Although still unfamiliar to many laundromat owners, ozone is a great way to take your laundromat “greener.” However, be aware that very few customers realize what ozone is or does for their laundry. They must be told, shown, and convinced. Given that, ozone can be difficult to promote in certain markets – but the environmental and quality benefits remain excellent. Eventually, I believe ozone-equipped laundries will become more commonplace.

Best Advice: First, go with creativity and small, noticeable, promotable efforts – signage, environmental education through bulletin boards, video selections, recycling efforts, offering “green” detergent options, following and joining local environmental groups and events. Later, after thorough research, consider slowly and deliberating investing in more energy-efficient equipment and systems. Lastly, stay abreast of the “green” happenings in your community and the local municipal news.

Patrick Dreis
Empire Laundry
Corona, Calif.

There are a lot of simple changes owners can make to “green” their operations. Simple moves like insulating hot water pipes, making thermostat adjustments, and installing tankless water heaters – after all, storing hot water is silly, especially when you can just make it on demand.

I’ve started getting rid of trash bags. I bought a new dolly from Rubbermaid that’s specifically designed for trash cans. I’ve instructed my employees to stop using trash bags and just empty the trash cans into the dumpster – and every couple of days we’ll rinse out the trash cans. This will eliminate at least 100 pounds of plastic waste each year by getting rid of trash bags.

Best Advice: If we each do one thing, our world will be better. We all can make improvements.

Cathy Neilley
Spin Doctor Laundromats
Hamilton Township, N.J.

To me, being “green” means reducing our carbon footprint in any way we can. The public thinks our industry somehow pollutes more than the public, but there are ways to change that narrative.

Being eco-conscious is one of the major brand pillars at Spin Doctor Laundromat. My background is in science and medicine, so I acknowledge the consequences we’re facing today for not doing our part to address climate change.

Some key sustainability trends I’ve noticed within the laundry industry include solar panels on free-standing stores and, of course, retooling and upgrading equipment to models that are more energy-efficient.

But be sure not to overlook the smaller steps, such as simply offering a recycle bin. Many of our customers don’t recycle at home, so as a business owner, you can educate them on what should and should not be recycled. And some of those customers, I suspect, will start recycling at home as well.

At Spin Doctor, we’ve initiated a number of sustainable, eco-friendly practices, such as:

• Motion sensor lights
• Recycling stations
• Hand dryers
• Biodegradable cleaners
• Energy-efficient equipment

In addition, we donate to organizations that have a positive impact on the environment such as The Nature Conservancy.

For owners who feature a retail component to their operations, perhaps consider introducing laundry products that don’t come in plastic bottles like detergent sheets. Also, maybe petition your landlord to install EV stations in your parking lot. (Along those lines, if you’re performing pickup and delivery, think about switching to an electric-powered vehicle or a hybrid.

Best Advice: This issue is important, especially to younger segments of the population. So, promoting even small efforts to be “greener” can be a differentiator that will attract and retain these potential customers.