According to IRS’s annual tax returns data, there are about 2.5 million laundromats across the United States. It is clear that laundromats are one of the more preferred small businesses for Americans. While laundromats seem like a straightforward business, their profitability can suffer if a close eye is not kept on costs and revenue. According to North One, laundromats can gross $500,000 a year with a 20-35% ROI due to the industry’s stability. Let’s look at 4 ways in which you can reduce the operational costs of running your laundromat.
67% of laundromat owners believe that the increase in utility costs is the biggest problem facing their current industry. A laundromat’s washing machines and dryers form a large chunk of its monthly electricity bills. If any of your washers/dryers need to be replaced, you should consider investing in a high-efficiency machine as it will consume relatively less energy to operate, helping you reduce your monthly electricity bills.
Paying for laundry supplies is another necessary business expense. While you shouldn’t switch to low-quality laundry supplies in order to save costs as this can result in customer dissatisfaction, controlling your spend on laundry supplies in other ways can significantly impact your profit margin. If you are not buying your laundry supplies in bulk already, it is highly recommended to do so since products generally cost lesser in bulk. Moreover, it never hurts to call multiple suppliers and negotiate a better price.
Many laundromats spend a part of their revenue to promote their business, in order to generate more revenue and gain more customers. An audit of your marketing expenses can help you determine avenues where you can reduce your expenses without compromising on results. For instance, investing in Google search ads might result in a higher number of store visits than a local newspaper ad for the same cost. While there is no single solution to this factor, experimenting with different marketing activities is always a good idea to determine how you can get the most bang out of your buck.
Another recurring monthly cost that laundromat owners must be aware of is the price they pay for water heating. Commercial washers in a laundromat consume large quantities of hot water all the time. Tank-style water heaters operate 24×7, keeping a large quantity of stored water constantly hot. Conversely, a tankless water heater heats water only when there is a demand and is more energy efficient. By switching to a tankless water heater, laundromats can save significant amounts of cost on their energy bills. You can use Intellihot’s fuel savings calculator to estimate how much money you can save by replacing your existing boiler with an Intellihot tankless water heater.
While our fuel savings calculator does not have a category for laundromats yet, you can choose “dormitories.” One dormitory room is equivalent to 30 gallons of hot water usage everyday. You can select an appropriate number of “dormitory rooms” by dividing the amount of hot water your laundromat consumes in a day by 30. By doing so, you will be able to receive an estimate of the annual gas savings you can expect by installing an Intellihot commercial tankless water heater for your laundromat.
Intellihot’s commercial tankless water heaters are designed to function efficiently in high-demand settings. They can save commercial properties up to 40% in operational costs with their efficient design. Apart from their energy efficiency, Intellihot’s tankless water heaters use a patented scale-free design which eliminates the need for regular flushing and decreases overall maintenance needs. With a redundant setup, you can rest assured that your laundromat will never face water heating downtime and be forced to shut down due to lack of hot water.
You can size our system for free and receive three guaranteed Intellihot water heating options to fit your business’ hot water needs instantly. If our results are unable to meet your hot water demand, we will pay for any additional equipment charges. Simply enter some basic details on our calculator below. You can also view our product guide by clicking on the second button.
Click on the third button to learn more about a laundromat in California that adopted Intellihot’s water heaters. Read how the facility with 6 large washers and 6 large dryers were able to fire up 750,000 BTUs/hr. with just three wall-hung tankless water heaters.
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