Commercial Washers and Dryers: Rental vs Owning

Hey multi-family property owners, are you renting your commercial washers and dryers? Hey commercial laundry owners, have you thought about dumping your industrial washing machine rental in favor of self-ownership?

Let’s take a look at the most important decision you may make in terms of your commercial laundry profitability–which is a better approach to commercial laundry machines, rental or ownership?

Before we get to the big questions, like how much do laundry machines typically cost, and why someone may want to undertake that cost upfront, let’s explore some of the basics about commercial laundry equipment.

Is a commercial washer worth it?

Before you can decide between a purchase or rental of a commercial washer and dryer, you first need to commit to getting commercial-grade machines for your facility in the first place.

We sometimes get asked if a commercial machine is truly worth the expense–and the simple answer is ABSOLUTELY.

We discuss this question elsewhere on our blog, but the quick answer is that commercial-grade equipment:

• Is made to last for many more loads than residential machines

• Is generally more energy efficient and water efficient than even high-efficiency residential equipment

• Is designed to be repaired instead of replaces, making for easier and less expensive replacement parts

• Is made from the factory ready to be run as coin laundry, or with newer payment technology, or both

This all means that it’s better to pursue a commercial washer and dryer rental or purchase to make sure that you get the most out of your investment.

How long do commercial washers and dryers last?

When you are deciding between industrial washing machine rental and purchase, it helps to know the overall lifecycle of the machines. Our friends at LaundryLux say “Most commercial laundry machines are rated to last approximately 5,000 cycles” which they say translates to 6-7 years, more or less, depending on usage.

LaundryLux goes on to say “High-quality machines, however, can have a significantly longer lifetime. For example, Encore by Laundrylux is rated to last 15,000 cycles – three times longer than the competition.”

You can use this information to estimate your costs over time. Remember, though, that commercial washers and dryers are usually large capacity, so your residents, clients, or others will be able to do more with fewer load cycles.

How much do commercial laundry machines cost?

To make a good decision about whether to pursue a commercial laundry machine rental or purchase, you’ll need to know some ball-park costs.

While prices vary from vendor to vendor and depend a great deal on the equipment you choose (top load vs front load washers, for example), commercial laundry equipment prices range from $1000-to $20,000. We realize that this is a HUGE range, which is why it pays to work with a vendor who specializes in helping provide equipment for multi-housing and other commercial laundry operators like you!

The right vendor can help you to get the perfect equipment for your on-premise laundry, multi-family facility, or laundromat.

Commercial laundry machine rental or purchase?

And now for the big question– is a commercial washer and dryer rental better than a purchase?

For years property managers or owners like you have assumed that, given the cost of commercial laundry equipment, renting or leasing their commercial washer and dryer was the only option.

On the surface, leasing a commercial washer and dryer looks like a convenient option. The rental service places their equipment in your laundry room, comes by on a set schedule to collect the quarters, and cuts you a check for the profits (minus your rent).

As a result, those owners have been beholden to the owners of the equipment. Laundry operators have reported an overall lack of transparency in this process. With the rental service handling all of the payments on both ends, many operators suspect that their profits are not being reported correctly.

This is why we recommend owning, not renting, your commercial washer and dryer. In this business plan, you have complete control over your revenues, you handle the quarters yourself. Or if you select a more high-tech payment system, you can see your profits as they roll in.

SelfOp Laundry can help you arrange financing for your equipment, and help with your entire business plan. We are pretty much the one-stop-shop to get you from renting to owning your commercial washers and dryers.

Ready to own your own equipment? Learn more about SelfOp laundry.