Commercial Laundry Preventative Maintenance Tips
If you are in the laundry business then you can use a few tips on commercial laundry maintenance.
Nothing bleeds business like machine downtime. Whether you operate a multi-family laundry room, a laundromat, or any other type of commercial laundry, commercial laundry equipment maintenance is vital to the success of your business. While you wait for your commercial laundry repair service, your customers are going somewhere else.
The good news is that ongoing preventative maintenance of your commercial laundry equipment can often help prevent downtime, and keep your customers in your laundry room–and their money in your pocket. Here are 7 Commercial Laundry Preventative Maintenance Tips to keep you on track.
Read the owner’s manual
One of the best laundry maintenance steps you can take is to read the owner’s manual for your equipment. Even if you won’t be doing your own commercial laundry equipment repair or service, a solid understanding of how your machines work will help you to manage their general upkeep and maintenance.
Many owner’s manuals also will tell you when you should perform maintenance, and when you will want to clean or replace which part of your commercial laundry machines.
Keep your equipment clean
Our next commercial laundry equipment maintenance tip is to keep your equipment clean. We recommend cleaning your machines daily, both inside and out.
Cleaning the exterior will not only make your laundry room look better, but it will reveal potential problems that may otherwise be overlooked. It will also help your overall commercial laundry maintenance by keeping dirt, lint, and other debris from being pulled into the motors and intakes in your machines.
We also recommend regular cleanings of the inside of your machines. Medium says, “It should be a part of your start up procedure to check the compartments free from dirt and residues. You must remove these unwanted materials to keep the inner part of the machine clean, and the spinner could rotate properly.”
Conduct regular inspections
Not only should you keep your equipment clean, but you should perform regular inspections of your washers and dryers. While your owner’s manual (which you read, right?) will usually give you a full list of what to inspect, here are some good places to start.
For commercial washing machine maintenance:
Check hoses regularly: check your hoses for leaks. What about the washers? Are the connections tight?
Clean your filter screens: Check the drainage filter screens to make sure they are clear of debris and soap residue.
Check the gasket between the door and the machine: Make sure that the door shuts correctly, and that the seal is tight and consistent. This is especially important for front-loaders.
For commercial dryer maintenance:
Clean the drums: Make sure that your dryer drums are clean and in good shape.
Clean your lint filters and ducts: Make sure that your lint filters are clean, and that the exhaust ducts are free from lint.
Check your belts: Visually inspect the belts that drive the drum. Are they in good shape with no signs of wear? Check for belt noise when the machine is running.
Set a commercial laundry equipment maintenance schedule
Whether you do it yourself, hire a handyman, or bring in a commercial laundry repair service, make yourself a laundry maintenance schedule, and stick to it. As indicated in your owner’s manual (you read that, right?), make a plan to regularly:
Change belts
Change hoses
Tighten screws and bolts
If appropriate, oil the motor to the drum
Maintain your coin laundry equipment
Find a commercial laundry repair service tech you can trust
If you can’t (or don’t want to) do the commercial laundry equipment repair and maintenance yourself, make sure you find a commercial laundry repair service you can trust.
If you rent your equipment (we’ll come back to this), the maintenance the rental service provides may be a good bet–or it may be better to hire a separate maintenance technician. In any case, make sure that the tech is only making (and charging you for) repairs you actually need.
Know your warranty
Part of making sure you are paying the right amounts for your commercial laundry maintenance is to understand your warranty. Learn what it covers and what it doesn’t, and be ready to ensure that you are getting the best price for repairs if they are needed.
Use the best equipment
And finally, our last commercial laundry equipment maintenance tip is to get the right equipment from the start.
Learn more on our blog about the benefits of owning your own equipment instead of renting, and contact us to learn more about the high-quality laundry equipment that SelfOp Laundry offers.
Want to know more about how SelfOp Laundry can help you save on laundry maintenance costs? Learn more here.
