Washers and dryers are always going to be expensive, but when you’re buying commercial washers and dryers, it’s a whole ‘nother level of pricey. Commercial laundry equipment can cost upward of $1,000 a pop—and that’s a large purchase regardless of what you are doing for your company.
As a laundry room owner, it’s your job to make sure that you stretch that dollar as long as you can. Getting your laundry machines maintained can help extend their lifespans and also boost your laundry room’s efficiency. These tips below can help you maintain them better.
Keep laundry machine doors open during periods of unuse.
While it may be a liability to keep machine doors open during operational hours, the truth is that even doing something like keeping the doors open overnight when the room is closed can be a smart move.
Most people don’t don’t realize how much laundry equipment needs to air out. This simple trick of keeping machine doors open can help reduce moisture in machinery, which in turn, can reduce mold and mildew. It also helps keep your laundry room smelling fresher and cleaner.
Set your machines up correctly.
You cannt just plunk commercial laundry equipment down anywhere and get good results. They need to be on a flat, level surface to perform their best. This is doubly true with smart washers that often have sensitive machinery that get stressed under uneven workloads.
A washer/dryer on a slant will often wash unevenly or even break early. You don’t want that to happen, so make sure it’s on a level surface. If you have an uneven or “rocky” floor, use a flooding tray to prevent water damage.
Wash your washing machine and dryer.
Dryers can be specially serviced to get a lint cleanout that goes beyond the lint trap. It can be done once every couple of months. Lint trap removal is not enough, but it’s a good start. Cleaning the dryer drum can also help.
Washing machines, on the other hand, tend to be the ones that need more regular cleaning. They need to be cleaned by running a cycle on hot with either vinegar or a specially-formulated washing machine cleaner.
A personal washing machine will need to be cleaned once every two months. Commercial washing machines will often get dirtier faster, especially since they are being used by multiple families over the course of a week. Doing a weekly cleaning may be the best way to keep them running smoothly.
If your commercial equipment has been a bit “rusty” in terms of wash quality, you may also want to get a professional team to wash every unit’s drum. You’d be surprised at how much fiber gets stuck there!
Some groups also suggest wiping down the exterior of your units—both front and back. For the most part, this is a good way to make sure that dust doesn’t clog up your area too much. However, it’s more important to focus on on getting to the interior workings.
PRO TIP - A good way to tell if your machines need a wash is to give them a sniff test. If it smells damp or moldy, it’s time to give them a wash.
Check the hoses and belts once a month.
Washing clothing is not exactly easy. A lot of different machine parts have to work together to make a simple washing machine work. It’s easy to assume that you will be able to keep things running without occasional changes and alterations. This isn’t true, though.
Even the most well-cared-for machine will experience wear and tear. It’s up to you (or your maintenance crew) to watch for it and step in when things get a little too worn out. Not watching for worn-down parts can lead to a breakdown of bigger parts—or a need to replace the machine altogether.
The two most common machine parts to break are the hose and the belt. A quick inspection of these can help you figure out whether or not you should call a maintenance crew. If you see leaky hoses or a worn-down belt, replace them as soon as possible.
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