From day-to-day workflow disruption to energy, time, and cost wastage – an ill-equipped and under-resourced laundry setup can impact your business in all kinds of ways.
Indeed, the repercussions of managing a laundry room without the right equipment are far-reaching and detrimental. You could even fall foul of compliance, H&S, and regulatory standards, putting your reputation at risk as a result.
Of course, there are solutions you can implement to solve these challenges, not least investing in commercial laundry equipment that’s appropriate for your business type. Join our experts for a closer look at the common challenges you might face, and the solutions that will remedy them.
Key challenges at a glance
This guide is intended for laundry professionals in a range of industries, helping them overcome the issues associated with a lack of up-to-date and reliable laundry equipment. Here’s a quick look at topics our experts will be covering:
- Frequent equipment breakdowns causing operational disruption and emergency repair costs exceeding thousands per incident.
- Poor wash quality leading to customer complaints, reputational damage, and excessive rewash requirements
- High energy and water costs from inefficient equipment, consuming 40-50% more resources than commercial alternatives
- Compliance and hygiene standard violations risking regulatory fines and failed inspections in healthcare and hospitality
- Limited capacity restricting business growth due to undersized machines, creating bottlenecks during peak demand
- Excessive staff time spent on maintenance, multiple smaller loads, and manual processes that commercial equipment automates
Table of Contents
6 Common Laundry Challenges Businesses Face Without Proper Equipment
Equipment breakdown and downtime issues
Outdated, inefficient and unsuitable laundry equipment can leave you in a tight spot should things go wrong and faults develop. Whether that’s an old washing machine on its last legs or a domestic tumble dryer being used in place of a business-ready alternative, relying on inadequate laundry equipment can spell trouble for the efficiency of your operations.
Let’s say you manage the laundry room in a busy hotel or perhaps even a care home. You can’t afford for your equipment to let you down, creating periods of downtime that will have a knock-on effect in other areas of your business.
Did you know? Laundry equipment breakdowns, particularly from outdated appliances, cost British businesses an average of £1,840-£5,600 a year in repair costs and associated operational overheads.
Poor wash quality and customer satisfaction
The job of a professional laundry room isn’t simply to process items as quickly as possible. Often, the quality of the final product is just as important as speed and efficiency, particularly for customer-facing businesses like hotels, whose long-term reputation may be at stake.
If you can’t rely on your laundry equipment to deliver high-quality and consistent results, it may be time for an upgrade. Commercial laundry equipment is designed to process high-volume laundry loads without compromising on quality and end results, so you can be sure of great results cycle after cycle.
Did you know? 93% of UK hotel guests said the quality of towels and bedding would affect their decision to return to a hotel.
High operating costs and inefficiency
It’s impossible to curb operating costs and improve efficiency if your business is reliant on outdated equipment. Old, non-commercial laundry appliances simply aren’t built with long-term efficiency and cost saving in mind, so you could be missing out on a range of modern features and functionality that actively save your business time and money.
For instance, JLA’s range of SMART commercial washing machines integrates a range of intelligent features, each designed to improve performance, boost efficiency, and reduce overall cycle times. Ultimately, making the switch could help you make significant long-term savings, mitigating the cost of updating your laundry room equipment.
Did you know? New commercial laundry equipment can reduce energy consumption by an average of 30%.
Compliance and hygiene standards violations
Businesses reliant on ineffectual laundry equipment could, inadvertently or otherwise, be in breach of compliance and hygiene standard regulations for their industry. Outdated appliances or those not developed for professional use are unlikely to operate within compliant limits, with potentially disastrous consequences for the business at large.
Non-compliant laundry equipment could easily result in the failure of inspections and H&S audits, potentially leading to fiscal penalties or even operational shutdowns. Of course, there’s also the reputational damage to consider, which could prove detrimental in the short and long term.
Did you know? Over one-third of UK businesses may not be fully compliant with fire safety regulations as a result of ineffective laundry equipment.
Capacity limitations restricting growth
Laundry equipment for commercial use is available in a variety of sizes and capacities, ultimately providing total flexibility to scale up your laundry operations as and when required. But what happens when businesses are stymied by equipment that doesn’t afford opportunities to scale up and grow?
We’ve encountered several instances where businesses feel restricted by their current laundry operations, which provide neither present-day efficiency nor scope to kick on and take things to the next level. For instance, guesthouses may be reluctant to open up more guest capacity, simply because they lack the commercial laundry infrastructure to process bigger and more demanding loads.
Did you know? More than half of UK service businesses feel that inefficient laundry processes and high utility costs contribute to restricted business growth.
Maintenance nightmares and hidden costs
We speak to a lot of UK businesses that have faced disastrous repercussions as a direct result of ineffective laundry equipment. From indefinite periods of downtime to spiralling costs associated with the ongoing repairs and maintenance of tired, scrapheap-ready equipment, your business could be exposed to some major operational challenges if you fail to update your laundry equipment in a timely way.
Of course, businesses with high-demand laundry requirements are most exposed to these kinds of pressures, be it hotels or healthcare facilities. That’s why we encourage long-term thinking when choosing appropriate laundry solutions; an investment today could well make the difference in avoiding maintenance nightmares, hidden costs, and disastrous downtime in the future.
Did you know? Around 68% of hotel laundry equipment failures are caused by preventable maintenance issues, leading to unplanned operational downtime and service disruption.
How professional commercial equipment solves these challenges
Rather than relying on ineffective laundry solutions that leave you exposed to the kinds of challenges outlined above, investing in professional commercial laundry equipment is the only way forward.
Business-ready commercial laundry equipment is designed for continuous daily use. Appliances are constructed from durable materials like stainless steel, which reduces downtime and increases expected lifespan. They also integrate state-of-the-art features and functionality that proactively help you to reduce cycle times and save resources, so you get great results without compromising on speed and performance.
Don’t forget, too, that by investing in commercial laundry equipment from JLA, you get ongoing servicing, maintenance, and full aftercare support. That’s particularly true for our Total Care customers, who receive all-inclusive repairs, servicing, and maintenance to mitigate the impact of equipment downtime.
Real business impact: cost analysis
If you’re a small business with big ambitions for future growth, we appreciate that spending your hard-earned capital on upgrades to your commercial laundry setup may be way down on your list of priorities. But with that said, the numbers speak for themselves when it comes to the potential savings that can stem from commercial laundry room upgrades, as this chart shows
Cost category | Inadequate equipment | Proper commercial equipment |
Annual energy costs | Baseline | 25-35% reduction |
Annual water costs | Baseline | 40-50% reduction |
Emergency repairs | £4,000-£12,000 per incident | Included in service contract |
Equipment lifespan | 5-7 years | 10-15 years |
Downtime per year | Multiple incidents | Minimal with preventive maintenance |
Compliance risk | High | Managed |
Labour efficiency | Multiple small loads | Fewer large loads |
ROI timeline when investing in new commercial laundry equipment
When you’ve made the switch to new laundry equipment, you want to know when you can expect a return on your investment. Of course, you need to factor before-and-after running and maintenance costs into account here, as well as the cost of buying or renting new commercial laundry equipment from JLA.
Usually, the businesses we work with achieve break-even within 2-5 years of procuring new laundry equipment. Of course, that is dependent on operational size, utilisation, and cost savings from reduced downtime, utilities, and maintenance, so consider this a rough ballpark.
Taking action to overcome laundry challenges
Downtime, delays, drops in productivity, and the potential to fall foul of compliance-related issues are all problems that businesses could face if they fail to update their on-premises laundry equipment. Of course, we shouldn’t forget cost-related factors, too, with resource wastage, ongoing maintenance, and poor overall efficiency posing a serious risk to your business’s long-term profitability.
By upgrading your commercial laundry equipment with JLA, you can solve all these challenges and scale up your on-site operations in the process. If you’re ready to take action and get started, get in touch with our experts today on 0808 239 7578, and we’ll be happy to help.
FAQs
What’s the difference between domestic and commercial laundry equipment?
There are significant differences between laundry equipment that’s designed for business as opposed to domestic use. From size and capacity to the internal components and materials used, you can learn more about why commercial laundry equipment is far superior to domestic counterparts in our full commercial vs domestic laundry equipment guide.
How much can businesses save by upgrading to proper equipment?
There’s no easy way to put a figure on the potential savings that could come from upgrading your laundry equipment. However, it’s widely held that, while making the switch may require some upfront investment and outlay, the long-term cost savings will significantly outweigh these overheads within the space of around five years.
What compliance standards must commercial laundry equipment meet?
There are a variety of compliance-related standards that commercial launderers must consider when kitting out their on-premises laundry suite. For instance, some regulations concern fire prevention, while others, particularly in the care sector, govern benchmark hygiene standards. Of course, the compliance standards you’re bound to will differ depending on your industry sector.
How do you calculate the right capacity for your business?
The right laundry capacity for your business will, of course, depend on your industry sector. For instance, hotels, care homes, hospitals, and other such organisations will have significantly higher laundry demands than, say, hair salons, so you’ll need to consider your industry, along with your ambitions for future growth and scaling.
What should you look for in a commercial laundry service provider?
Not only should you find a commercial laundry provider that offers innovative, efficiency-boosting solutions, but also those with value-add services like 24/7 help and support, flexible servicing and maintenance plans, and a network of nationwide engineers that offer speedy same-day callouts.
How long does commercial laundry equipment typically last?
Modern commercial laundry equipment has a typical lifespan of around 15+ years, assuming that recommended servicing and maintenance schedules are properly adhered to.
George Barclay
Laundry expert
Since joining JLA as an apprentice engineer in 2011, George has built extensive hands-on experience across plumbing, electrical and mechanical engineering, and now oversees laundry design and project delivery as our Head of Installations.
George’s career progression has given him detailed knowledge of commercial laundry operations, from on-site practicalities to meeting compliance standards. He is Gas Safe and COMCAT 1, 2, 3 and 5-qualified , and holds IOSH Managing Safety and 18th Edition accreditation.
From new laundry rooms to existing site upgrades, George’s expertise ensures that every project is completed safely, efficiently and with minimal disruption, so that operations can perform reliably from day one.
