The Future Of Commercial Laundry Services

Laundry. What might be a mundane, mindless chore in our daily lives has in fact developed into large commercial services which businesses depend on heavily to operate effectively. Through these developments, laundry services are adapting with new techniques, goals and technology. Our guide to the future of laundry services is here to help you understand where commercial laundry services could be headed in the future. To find out more, keep on reading!

Commercial Laundry: Explained

Commercial laundry services take care of textile cleaning and management for large corporations. Hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses often rely on commercial laundry services to supply them with fresh linens that they use daily within their industries. For businesses, linens, sheets, napkins, towels, and uniforms will all need high quality laundry services to keep them of a high standard.

 

Businesses choose to use commercial laundry services for a range of different reasons:

 

• It is more cost-effective for businesses to outsource their linen maintenance to a commercial service to save money and time. Washing and maintaining linens can be time consuming and expensive to carry out in-house.

 

• Outsourcing linen services also means that businesses can have clean and well-kept linen for all of their requirements. Linen services will maintain a high standard of cleanliness and good quality linens.

 

• When businesses use a commercial laundry service, damaged linens and dirty items are the responsibility of the laundry service, rather than hospitality businesses having to replace linens (which can be quite expensive)!

 

• Laundry services operate on a large scale which many hospitality businesses would struggle to match. They can wash, maintain and distribute a vast amount of linens to various businesses across the country.

How Are Commercial Laundry Services Evolving?

Commercial laundry services are developing in a range of ways and we’ve picked out some of the most important ones you should be aware of!

Environmental Factors

It’s no secret that industrial laundry services will use a lot of water and electricity to run their businesses. Over time, however, more and more commercial laundry services have switched to high-efficiency equipment that allows them to complete their laundry tasks while reducing costs and reducing environmental damage. Switching to efficient equipment models reduces a business’ environmental footprint, which can also be done by switching to more eco-friendly detergents and cleaning agents. Choosing an eco-conscious service is important to lots of businesses as they want to rely on their linen supplier to be ethical.

Convenience

Another development which has positively impacted hospitality industries is the convenience created by pick-up and drop-off linen services. Developments in technology such as our smartphones have also made it convenient and easy to schedule drop-offs and track order status online. This can prove extremely useful to businesses and make linen services much more convenient.

Technology Developments

 As we’ve already mentioned, with technology developments, the process of ordering and scheduling deliveries is much easier, and other technological developments have also helped commercial laundry businesses.

 

Artificial intelligence, also known as AI, has been taking the world by storm and being used as a great tool in a range of industries. In the commercial laundry business, you may be wondering where AI fits in, but it plays a vital role in improving tasks and methods. AI can be used to optimise the laundry process by using AI algorithms to analyse data from equipment. This information then allows the processes to be optimised based on the fabrics, resulting in quicker, cleaner and more durable final products.

Machine Learning

Using AI to improve the way commercial laundry businesses operate can often be referred to as machine learning. Not only are the algorithms used to optimise washing cycles, machine learning can help to predict  when equipment may not be working properly or need some maintenance. Machine learning can also be used to analyse things like customer laundry preferences, helping businesses improve customer experience too.

 

 

Trends In Commercial Linen Services

With commercial linen services evolving in a range of ways, trends in the industry are also developing. These are some of the key trends to be aware of when it comes to commercial laundry service, and where they could be going in the future.

Sustainability

Sustainability is on the tip of many businesses' tongues, and more and more industries are trying to take more ethical, eco-friendly approaches to business. In the laundry business, detergents can damage the environment, not to mention the industrial use of electricity and water on a day to day basis.

 

Many detergents are derived from petroleum products, which are harmful to the environment and are active carbon contributors. In response to the growing demand for these commercial services, ingredients such as natural washing products, coconut oil and other mineral based products are being used instead. These products are less harmful to the environment and most of these raw materials are relatively accessible.

 

Recycling materials is also a big part of sustainability, and more and more laundry businesses are considering this. From packaging to the amount of energy and water being used, commercial laundry businesses are considering their environmental impact and making an effort to consume fewer resources.

Smart & Digital Laundry

Innovative washing machines are even able to now sterilise clothes and kill harmful bacteria! Smart/digital laundry is extremely effective for businesses and these machines can even be operated remotely/through a smartphone. Because these washing machines are newer models, they also have a lower electric and water consumption.

 

Future machines may even come with self-cleaning programs which create a self-cleaning machine. This could optimise the laundry industry massively. Another development which could take the industry by storm is the help of radio frequency identifications (RFID). These sensors help program the machine with what kind of wash should be given, and the machine will be able to identify the kind of stain/damage and apply the right wash. Brands like Samsung, LG and Panasonic are trialling these AI based machines. 

Waterless LaUndry

While most of us are used to the wet-nature of laundry, new and exciting developments have led us to waterless laundry. With more and more pressure on water conservation, the laundry business is taking on new frontiers with waterless washing techniques.

 

So, how does it work? Some of these machines used charged air particles alongside electro-static action to create air-dried fabrics. Machines can also take a different approach, with the release of non-polymer beads into the drum. These small beads are great for absorbing dirt and are extremely useful for getting rid of visible dirt and stains.

 

Waterless laundry can reduce the amount of water being used by up to 90%, which is great for conserving energy, water and detergents. These machines are still being developed and may not be used in commercial settings for a while, however companies such as LG are trialling machines with this waterless technology.

Growing The Business

It’s no secret that pick-up and drop-off delivery services are on the rise, as well as laundry services reaching out to businesses on more platforms. With these modern developments in the laundry sector, and a range of new trends emerging, this sector is developing and becoming more streamlined.

 

With hassle free-service and sustainable practices at the forefront of the commercial laundry industry, we can look forward to exciting and convenient developments to come in the future!

Stalbridge Linen: Prioritising Sustainability Since 1975

Founded in 1975, here at Johnson’s Stalbridge Linen we have been providing quality linen hire and laundry services to a range of industries. We pride ourselves on delivering luxury quality alongside luxury service no matter what. Our reliability and quality of service are designed to make your life easier when it comes to laundry drop off and pick up. We offer hotel laundry services, hospitality linen hire and are reliable hotel bed linen suppliers. You can read more about our products on our website. 

Laundry Services Near Me

If you want to find out more about our commercial laundry services, head to our website to see more. Alternatively, get in touch with us today to speak directly to our team! We will be happy to help you find what you are looking for and answer any questions you might have.