Benefits of Choosing Industrial Laundry for Your Textiles

You know staff needs, customer retention and price margins. You spend your days and nights running a company. You aren’t in the business of doing laundry, but luckily industrial laundries are. You don’t have time to worry about properly cleaned textiles, which is why outsourcing this responsibility to a laundry expert makes perfect business sense.

Let’s dig into the many benefits of choosing an industrial laundry provider.

Level of clean – If you’re a healthcare or food processing business that’s doing laundry onsite, are you able to guarantee that your program meets local and federal guidelines? Choosing a TRSA Hygienically Clean certified facility verifies that textiles cleaned in these facilities meet appropriate hygienically clean standards and established industry guidelines, policies and procedures. They have passed bacteriological tests and facility inspections. Products and processes are tested and certified quarterly in order to maintain certification. For example, Hygienically Clean Healthcare facilities have met guidelines pertaining to:

• Plant facilities – Separation of soiled and clean areas; equipment maintenance
• Housekeeping – Clean work surfaces, stations and carts; appropriate cleaning schedules
• Laundry process – Soiled linen handling; washing and drying procedures; transportation via delivery trucks

Staff – There are a couple ways to look at this. Do you have the budget to hire someone whose full-time role revolves around uniform and linen laundry? Or do you want your staff to be responsible for laundering their own uniforms? They would be required to adhere to a strict cleaning schedule and regimen. You wouldn’t have control over monitoring any co-mingling of non-work apparel. Having that task fall on employees is a major responsibility and time commitment outside of work hours.

Efficiency – Chances are onsite laundry can’t come close to the efficiency of a commercial launderer. TRSA says a typical linen and uniform service washer accommodates loads about 20 times the size of the largest high-tech home unit (400 pounds of laundry vs. 20 pounds). A commercial launderer also uses 250% less water and 160% less energy per pound of laundry than consumers’ washers. Energy and water costs would increase for facilities doing their own laundry.

Equipment – Let’s face it, free space is a rare find in most facilities. Do you have room to house multiple washers, dryers and all the supplies that go along with laundry upkeep? There’s also the added expense of maintenance and replacement of machines, not to mention staying up to date on the latest technology upgrades. 

Wash process – Another benefit of using a laundry service is that they have perfected the washing and handling of textiles. In order to properly remove bacteria and stains from garments and linens, a precise and controlled wash formula is necessary. This includes water temperature, cleaning agents and dry times. For example, work shirts require different care than napkins. And for the healthcare industry, those uniforms and linens must be kept separate from other textiles during the handling, cleaning, sorting and delivering processes to avoid cross contamination.

Inventory – You shouldn’t have to rely on your staff to alert you when uniforms or linens are showing wear and tear. If you’re renting from a laundry service, any worn articles are either repaired or replaced proactively. Inventory maintenance is also easily handled by a laundry partner. You’re always assured you have the quantities you need while only having to provide storage for the product that you use on a daily basis.

Customer impact – Guest’s confidence will be increased if they know your staff is leaving the laundry to the experts. No one wants to use linens that look or feel dirty. You can pass along the peace of mind that industry standards are being met with the processing and handling of staff wear and linens. You can also share how you’re making a positive impact on the environment by having an industrial launderer efficiently clean your textiles.

Focus on What Matters

A top priority in any business should be guest satisfaction, which extends to the appearance of your uniforms and linens. Make sure they are properly washed, sanitized and delivered. Outsourcing your facility’s laundry needs means one less thing to worry about. It allows you and your staff put your energy where it matters most – delivering an exceptional customer experience.