An overcrowded load will most definitely not come clean.  Clothes need a certain amount of room in the washer to move around.  This way, the clothes are subjected to a sufficient amount of water and detergent.  This extra room also causes them to move against each other, and that abrasion helps get them clean as well.  If the clothes aren’t subjected to enough water then the dirt, grime, sweat and detergent may not be released from the fabric.  All of that equals dingy and still-dirty clothes.

The other issue that you have to deal with when you load too many clothes into a machine is wrinkling. If there’s not enough room in the drum of the washer for them to move around, they will come out crunched up and wrinkled. Clothes should come out with folds, not a massive amount of wrinkles.

Most people don’t know that if you overload a washing machine that your clothes will pill more easily. When the washing machine is over crowed then the clothes will rub together too much. That’s a little too abrasive and it will cause the to look older and make them pill faster. “Pilling is a surface defect of textiles caused by wear, and is considered unsightly,” according to Wikipedia. “It happens when washing and wearing of fabrics causes loose fibres to begin to push out from the surface of the cloth, and, over time, abrasion causes the fibres to develop into small spherical bundles, anchored to the surface of the fabric by protruding fibres that haven’t broken.”

General Guide to Loading a Washing Machine

The following guidelines are defined for loosely packed clothes. If you have to shove or smash the clothes down, there’s too many clothes for that particular size load.

1. A Small Load usually fills about 1/3 of your machine.
2. A Medium Load fills the machine to about 1/2 full.
3. A Large Load is around 3/4 full.

The more often you use your machine, the easier it will be to judge when a load is too full.  If you are using a top-loader this matters in that you might have the option to select the load size.  If you are using a front-loader this won’t matter much at all since the washer senses the load and adjusts the water as it sees fit.

1. Ask your friends or other local people in town. Word of mouth is often the best recommendation you can get, especially from people who’ve used the facility before.
2. Use online search like Google or our findalaundry laundromat directory below. Both lay everything out on a nice little map with a link to directions.
3. Ask your dry cleaner. They might offer machines for you to use or they’ll direct you to a recommended laundromat.
4. You’ll generally find a laundromat near locations that might need laundry facilities like apartment buildings, hotels or college campuses.

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Laundries used to primarily be unattended businesses, where the customer would operate the laundry machines without the help of an attendant or the owner. You, as the customer, would take care of loading the washing machine with money, clothes, soap, fabric softener and then modify the settings to get your desired wash outcome. You would then transfer your clothes to a dryer, insert the proper amount of money for the settings and dry-time needed.

As laundry service has evolved, many owners are opting to staff their stores with an attendant or two. Attendants are staff members that can help you operate the machines, teach you more about the equipment within that particular store and sell you any over-the-counter products that they might have available.

Some stores offer a service called Drop-Off or Wash, Dry, Fold. That’s where you drop off all of your laundry only to come back at a later time to pick it up fresh and clean. Drop-off laundry is usually charged by the pound of laundry. The laundromat owner or one of their hired attendants will usually do your laundry for you, do minimal stain removal, wash, dry, fold and package your laundry for you to pick up. All you have to do then is take your clothes home and put them you your dressers.

With Drop-Off laundry being one of the benefits of convenience of using a laundromat, there are other benefits you might consider in using a laundromat. When you’re at home, you can only wash one load of a laundry at a time. When you use a laundromat, you can do as many loads as there are washers available. So when one load of laundry might take you 90 minutes from wash to dry at home, using a laundromat could mean that all 6 loads of your laundry could be done in the same 90 minutes.

Some laundromats have different amenities to make passing the time more tolerable, and often enjoyable. Some laundry owners will have installed video games, a television, free wifi-internet, free coffee, free popcorn and some even have computers setup for you to use.

A laundromat is a facility that you can go to and get your laundry done quickly, efficiently and with great convenience.

As a business owner, your number one priority is to increase your profits. After-all  that’s why we work: to make money! There are numerous ways to increase the profits of your laundromat. You can raise your prices, market more efficiently and bring in more customers. So go ahead and increase the profitability of your laundry business with education, service and support from industry experts focused strictly on you. The Coin Laundry Association is here to serve you, to help you and your business thrive, and to help take your laundromat to the next level. How do we know they can do this? They’ve been helping laundry owners for over 50 years now. That’s just what they do!

According to an independent survey by Readex, Inc., laundries with a Coin Laundry Association membership have 38% higher gross revenues than non-member stores.

“How successful do you want your business to be?” That’s our big question to you. We’re ready to help take your business to the next level, focusing on best practices and profits.

Learn more about joining the Coin Laundry Association and getting your store in the directory today!

Learn More

1. Laundromats are Green
   Home washing machines typically consume 30 to 40 gallons of water per wash load, or 2.5 to 3.0 gallons per pound of clothes laundered. High-efficiency, commercial clothes washers use as little as 0.5 to 1.5 gallons of water per pound of clothes laundered.
2. Drop-off Laundry Service
   You outsource your car maintenance and lawn care, why not save time by outsourcing your laundry? Weekly laundry can take just 4 minutes – 2 minutes to drop-off and 2 minutes to pick up.
3. Large Machines
   Don’t force your bedding into a home-style washer and dryer. Most household equipment holds up to 12 pounds of laundry (a basket of laundry), which is not an adequate size to accommodate a queen comforter. Commercial washers can hold up to 75 pounds.
4. Save Time
   Lots of washers and lots of dryers mean less time waiting to change loads. Get it all done at once. Plus, large machines wash multiple loads of laundry at one time. A 50-pound washer helps you launder four to five loads at once!
5. On-Staff Experts
   Have a stubborn stain? Professional attendants have seen it all. Talk to us about preventing and removing stains.

Take a moment and share your tips for laundromat owners on what would create a better experience for you. Please do not share the name or location of any laundromats.