I own a store in a town that has a total of eight self-service laundries, and every one of them offers free dry. I’m tired of raising prices on my washers every time expenses go up, while my drying remains free. My customers are overloading the washers and underloading the dryers. How can I get out of this free dry pricing mess?
As you’re finding out, free dry is easy to offer, but then difficult to take away. It’s a hard decision.
If you start charging for your dryers and the other owners don’t, you likely will lose some customers, at least for a while. However, if your store has any unique features or competitive advantages – such as more parking than the competition, slightly lower washer prices, more equipment or a more convenient location – you might not lose very much or any business by charging for dry time.
If you decide to do it, I would suggest attempting to gradually ween your customers off of free dry. For example, perhaps start by charging 25 cents for 30 minutes of dry time, while simultaneously dropping your washer prices slightly as an incentive.
I’ve never been a proponent of the free dry pricing model. The store owners who follow this philosophy invariably raise their washer prices to compensate for their free dryers. In my opinion, operators who implement free dry are trying to get – through the back door – what they should be striving to earn through the front door.
I’m looking into the possibility of adding ozone wash systems to both of my laundries. However, I’d like your opinion before I venture into this revolutionary way of washing.
Actually, using ozone for washing isn’t a new concept. Commercial laundries have been taking advantage of ozone’s cleaning properties for years.
In fact, ozone is the most effective way to remove odors. It’s the best deodorizer available, and it’s not merely a masking agent – it’s great for removing smoke odor, body odor and many others.
Another benefit of ozone is the fact that it works well in cold water, which will save you money on your natural gas bill. As a matter of fact, it works only in cold water; hot water will turn liquid ozone into a gas, which will evaporate before it can do its job.
Clearly, if you decide to go with an ozone system for your laundry business, you will need to educate your customers as to its unique benefits. Thus, I would recommend flyers, door hangers and in-store signage, explaining how much better an ozone wash can be.
I recently accepted a commercial account from a local butcher shop. Before I start cleaning their aprons, can you tell me the best method for removing the blood?
Blood can be easy or very difficult to remove, depending on the nature of the stain and the fabric. If the blood is fresh and isn’t mixed with grease or fat, a simple wash in cold water with detergent (be sure it is a detergent that works well in cold water) and bleach should do the trick. If that doesn’t work, the next step is to wash the items in warm water using an enzyme detergent in a three-minute prewash. Follow this up with a 12-minute wash with a built detergent, two regular rinses and a third rinse using a sour. All of these additives are available through commercial soap and chemical distributors.
If the blood is set in or mixed with grease, you will need to use a protein release agent. Start the washer, using warm water, and add the release once the tub is full. Let it agitate for four to five minutes, and then let it soak for no less than 45 minutes. Then, add detergent and bleach and finish with the warm water wash. If your machine will allow it, you should flush the machine, fill it with fresh water, and then add the detergent and bleach.
If the aprons are cotton, use chlorine bleach (six to eight ounces per 100 weight with a 15 percent bleach solution). If they are made of anything else, use oxygen bleach (eight to 12 ounces per 100 weight). I strongly recommend using a built or alkalide-based detergent, or using an orthosilicate or metasilicate additive to your regular detergent. Once the blood is removed, you can even move to hot water for your bleach and detergent wash.
If you have a programmable machine, you should go through the same blood removal process, followed by a 10- to 12-minute wash cycle, followed by a flush, a bleach rinse and then two flushes.
