On average, small care homes have an expected daily laundry capacity of 6-18 kg, whereas large facilities require 18-60 kg. That’s on top of specific compliance and hygiene standards, which are closely monitored by bodies like the CQC.
With a lot to consider, ensuring your on-site care home laundry is up to standard can be a significant undertaking. So, if you’re a care home manager looking to upgrade or scale-up your laundry operations, join our experts for a closer look at the things you’ll need to consider, based on expected volumes and total number of residents.
Key challenges at a glance
- Small care homes need 0.4-0.5kg laundry capacity per resident daily
- Large facilities require 0.5-0.75kg capacity per resident for higher dependency needs
- All care home laundry equipment must meet WRAS Category 5 compliance
- HTM 01-04 thermal disinfection standards apply regardless of home size
- Commercial equipment lifespan averages 10-15 years vs 5-7 years for domestic machines
- Equipment financing options available through Total Care contracts
Table of Contents
Equipment sizing calculator based on resident numbers
It’s possible to calculate typical laundry care requirements based on metrics like the number of residents in a facility. As such, we’ve created a handy calculator to help you get a gauge on your approximate laundry demand and throughput, so you can deploy the appropriate equipment and plan accordingly.
Small care home equipment specifications (under 20 residents)
Based on our experience of working alongside small-to-medium-sized care homes around the UK, we can confirm that these facilities typically need to process an average of 0.4-0.5 kg of laundry per resident, per day.
Scaling these figures up slightly, that equates to around 10 kg of laundry per day, based on a maximum occupancy of 20 residents. That falls well within the capacity of commercial washing machines, which are rated for an average load capacity of 7-28 kg.
Given the comparatively low demand for daily laundry in small care facilities, you might be tempted to opt for standard domestic appliances that are rated for a load capacity of 10kg. However, as you’ll quickly discover, capacity is not the only consideration when equipping a care home laundry suite.
Washing machine specifications for small care homes
Typically, we advise that small care homes invest in a commercial washer that’s rated for a capacity of 7-14 kg, which is more than sufficient for an average occupancy of 5-20 residents. There are, of course, other features and characteristics which can make a commercial washer better suited to care home use, including…
- Stackable machines can be easily combined with other appliances – like a tumble dryer – to maximise space in laundry rooms tight on square footage.
- Care home washing machines must comply with the latest WRAS Category 5 compliance guidelines, offering features like thermal disinfection to eliminate the risk of cross-contamination
- Durability, build quality, and lasting performance are prerequisites of commercial washing machines, even in small-scale laundry rooms. You want the assurance that your equipment will continue working at its best, to avoid breakdowns and downtime.
Dryer requirements for small-scale health and care facilities
To ensure expedited laundry processing times, a hard-working commercial tumble dryer is an essential piece of kit in a care home laundry suite. We typically recommend units with a comparable capacity to their washer counterparts; dryers with a capacity of 8-18 kg should be sufficient to process bedding, towels, and clothing from a maximum of 20 residents.
As with commercial washing machines, there are certain attributes to consider when selecting the right tumble dryer for a small care home, including:
- An appliance’s energy rating is critical in curbing overheads and retaining optimal efficiency. Look for commercial dryers with a high score on the A++++ to G energy efficiency rating scale.
- Consider your existing utilities to ensure that you select the appropriate tumble dryer for the size and layout of your laundry suite. For example, vented vs condenser commercial dryers have unique requirements, so choosing the most appropriate format is essential.
- Durability is also of the essence when selecting a tumble dryer for a small care home. While the appliance may only be used daily, it’s critical that it can deliver reliable performance day after day.
Additional equipment for small care homes
Even the smallest care homes have specific laundry care requirements, so it’s important to consider any additional equipment that will aid day-to-day management and ensure complete and lasting compliance. Examples of additional equipment include:
- Commercial irons and finishing equipment
- Infection control accessories – including colour-coded laundry bags, safe storage solutions, and, if required, specific appliances like medical macerators and bedpan washers
- Chemical dosing systems for consistent disinfection
- Essential spare parts and maintenance supplies
Large care home equipment requirements (20-50+ residents)
For large care homes with an average occupancy of 20-50 residents or above, laundry requirements hit a whole new level. High-volume laundering at this scale requires a wholly different approach, alongside careful workflow management that ensures efficient planning and delivery.
Focusing specifically on the equipment requirements of large care homes and health facilities, let’s take a closer look at the recommended appliances, features, and characteristics of high-volume laundry suites.
Industrial washing machine specifications
Since large care facilities will be processing an average of 0.5-0.75 kg of laundry per resident, per day, they require a high-performance washing machine that can handle high-capacity loads on a near-continuous basis.
Enter our industrial washing machines, hard-working appliances capable of processing large loads of up to 180 kg per cycle. Of course, such an appliance may be overkill in a residential care home with around 20 inpatients, but for large-scale facilities with an occupancy of 50+ residents, a high-capacity machine can make light work of even the highest laundry demands.
Other characteristics to consider when investing in a large-scale commercial washing machine include…
- A selection of laundry care programmes that enable you to tailor different loads by laundry type – be it flatwork, towels, or resident delicates.
- Barrier control technology to remove the risk of cross-contamination from soiled and clean items.
- In-built smart technologies to aid monitoring and auditing, while supporting your broader laundry workflow management strategy.
Commercial dryer systems for large care homes and health facilities
With dozens of rooms to attend to daily, ensuring expedited laundry turnaround times is critical in large-scale care and health facilities. As such, a hard-working industrial tumble dryer is essential in providing expedited drying times.
Typically, we’d recommend a large-scale commercial tumble dryer with an average capacity of 25-90 kg for use in high-volume care facilities. Other features to consider when investing in such an appliance include…
- Smart technologies like moisture monitoring and steam heating to offer faster drying cycles, while helping to save energy.
- In-built heat recovery systems to maximise efficiency and ensure rapid drying cycle times on a continuous basis.
- A high level of durability and performance, to ensure round-the-clock operation with minimal risk of breakdowns and downtime.
Specialised equipment for large care homes
Large care homes are responsible for a full scope of laundry-related processes, including finishing, contamination prevention, and infection control. As such, the following specialised equipment may be required to ensure complete oversight, ease-of-management, and optimal day-to-day efficiency…
- Industrial ironing systems, including flatwork ironers, pressing equipment, and rotary irons.
- Automated chemical dosing and monitoring systems – to ensure maximum efficiency and streamlined day-to-day management.
- Conveyor systems and material handling equipment
- Digital monitoring systems like JLA Connect for asset management
Compliance requirements for all home sizes
It’s no secret that care home laundry regulations are tightly controlled in the UK, perhaps more so than in any other sector. And this makes sense when you consider how critical hygiene standards are to the safety of residents, visitors, and staff, particularly given the health risks that can arise from inadequate infection and cross-contamination prevention.
While we’ve covered current care home laundry legislation in our comprehensive resource linked above, it is worth providing a quick refresher on the various requirements that both large and small care homes must adhere to to maintain complete compliance.
CQC and HTM 01-04 Standards
The CQC is responsible for enforcing the HTM 01-04 standard, which is listed in the Health and Social Care Act 2008. This applies specifically to the safe handling, processing, and decontamination of linens in care facilities, in a bid to eliminate the risk of healthcare-associated infections and contamination.
Not only does HTM 01-04 cover safe linen handling and segregation, but it also instructs care homes on thermal disinfection and the specific temperatures required. These recommendations include…
Disinfection route | Requirement |
Thermal disinfection | 65°C for 10 minutes |
Thermal disinfection | 71°C for 3 minutes |
Chemical disinfection | Equivalent validated process for suitable items |
WRAS Category 5 Water Regulations
Since care facilities may emit water that carries a serious risk to human health, these centres are bound by WRAS Category 5 Water Regulations. This helps ensure that no contaminated water containing fecal matter, sewage, or pathogenic microorganisms is able to enter the public drinking water supply.
Under the current WRAS Category 5 regulations, all commercial washing machines must be fitted with adequate backflow prevention to protect the water supply. Failure to make these provisions could lead to a broad scope of potential penalties – from CQC inspection failures and monetary penalties to criminal charges in light of the most serious offences.
Equipment selection checklist by care home size
If you’re looking to upgrade your on-site laundry suite, you’ll need to carefully evaluate your requirements to ensure you deploy equipment that aligns with your exact laundry needs. So, to help, here’s a quick checklist of things to consider that should make finding perfect-fit appliances that much simpler.
Calculate your expected daily laundry volume in kilos
Use our helpful calculator to accurately work out your expected daily laundry volume based on your total number of permanent residents. From there, you can get a good handle on the optimal capacity requirements of your on-site equipment, scaling up slightly to allow for future growth and ad-hoc laundry processing needs.
Consider the size of your laundry room
It’s no good calculating your average per-day laundry requirements without considering practical factors like the total square footage of your current laundry room. If space is tight, you may need to think outside the box to ensure you get the volume and capacity you need; for example, stackable laundry equipment is one of the best ways of optimising capacity in a space-poor laundry suite.
Work out your total budget – while considering finance options
Upgrading commercial laundry equipment requires careful budget management and planning, particularly if you’re operating within a strict spending ceiling. Of course, there are finance options which can make equipment procurement that much simpler and more affordable, including our all-inclusive plan, JLA Total Care.
FAQs
What size washing machine do I need for a 15-bed care home?
Typically, we would recommend a commercial washing machine that’s rated for loads between 7-14 kg for a small, 15-bed care home.
How many machines should a 40-resident nursing home have?
That depends on the type of commercial washing machine you’re using. A single, industrial-grade washer may offer adequate capacity to handle this volume on its own, provided you have the space to install it. Elsewhere, you may prefer to opt for two or more large-scale commercial washers, perhaps even in a stacked tower configuration where space is at a premium.
Can small care homes use domestic washing machines legally?
No. Domestic washing machines are not equipped with the backflow prevention technologies to meet WRAS 5 regulations. Also, they may not offer the level of infection control that is required from regulatory bodies like the CQC.
What's the difference in maintenance costs between small and large care home setups?
Naturally, maintenance costs will be significantly higher for large-scale care home laundries versus smaller outfits. However, don’t forget that these costs also depend on the type of machines being used, as well as the presence of any servicing contracts that offset the cost of repairs and maintenance.
How do I calculate the right laundry capacity for my care home?
You can use our helpful tool to calculate required laundry capacity based on the size and scale of your care facility.
What financing options are available for care home laundry equipment?
Here at JLA, we offer a variety of financing options to help you get the equipment you need with no upfront cost. Total Care is our flagship service, and this includes brand-new equipment, full aftercare support, and ongoing servicing, maintenance, and repairs.
If you’re a care home manager looking to upgrade your laundry room equipment, the experts at JLA are here to help. Contact us today on 0808 239 7578 to discuss your priorities and requirements.
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.
