Whilst the washing and drying will make up most of the income, there are several other revenue opportunities that can be explored when owning a laundromat.

Ironing.

This simple add on is probably the most profitable. It is normally only offered in serviced laundromats but owners with a hard working ironing person and a simple, strong hand steam iron and table can easily increase revenue and gain customer loyalty,

Packaging.

A simple vacuum bagger makes packing and shrinking and storing bulky items much easier and often attracts “change of season” clients into the store where they wash and pack their winter clothes in a single visit. The packaging can also extend to regular folded items and can offer environmentally friendly material rather than single use plastics.

Chemicals.

Whilst top load washers need to be manually dosed (someone needs to add a cup of detergent into the drum) the other washers can be programmed to use a liquid detergent that is plugged into the back of the machine and is automatically dispensed according to the program selected. As a laundry owner you have the choice as to whether to include this option in the wash (the advantages are good quality chemicals, accurate dosing every time, less shrinkage) or whether to supply separate detergents for sale in the store. In this case, all washers can be manually dosed as required. Chemicals can be sourced locally from a number of reputable companies in most countries.

Extra offerings.

Several laundromats also offer additional services. It is the owner’s choice whether to offer these or not and most decisions will be driven by the needs of the customers. Such services can include carpet cleaning (hiring out machines), clothing repairs and alterations in store, shoe repairs and linen hire for events (tablecloths etc) amongst others.

Professional garment care.

The cleaning process used to clean delicate garments using a solvent other than water is called “drycleaning”. The instalment of a drycleaning machine is often seen as a way of expanding the offering in the store and bringing in a source of higher revenue via the cleaning of delicate items and suits. In reality, a drycleaning machine is an expensive and complicated piece of equipment that requires specific handling of dangerous chemicals and a high throughput of items to ensure it is being used all day. It is unlikely to be seen in a laundromat.

However, an easier, cheaper and simpler solution offered by Alliance exists in the form of professional wet cleaning and is called “SoftWash”. SoftWash a fast dry-to-dry wet cleaning solution of which the whole process – cleaning, drying and finishing – only takes one hour. A SoftWash-machine (a special washing machine with custom programs and chemicals) can be used to process approximately 95% of garments that would normally be drycleaned. These are only found in serviced laundromats and come as a set with a matching dryer and finishing table. It is worth noting that the machine can be used as a normal washer when not being used for Softwash / wetcleaning. More info on www.softwash-solution.com