Cleaning Up.

New Laundry Equipment is Efficient and Smart

Remember doing the laundry at your first apartment? Chances are you stayed at home to sort through lights and darks, dug through your dresser or under the front seat of your car for enough quarters to finish two or three loads, found a night when you could spare a few hours, and schlepped down to the basement with your basket, stack of change and a book.

How times change. At some communities, particularly upscale rental homes, communal laundry rooms have been replaced with in-unit washers and dryers. Where laundry rooms are still popular, those dingy basements have been done away with. In their place are bright laundry centers with the latest technology and plenty to keep residents entertained while their clothes go through the cycles on new, whisper-quiet and fast washers and dryers. Some even incorporate fitness equipment, allowing residents to buff up while their wardrobes are spiffed up.

Like so many other facets of apartment home living, laundry rooms are designed to make residents happy. That means that not only do their clothes get cleaned, but they're entertained and don't feel like laundry night is such a sacrifice. And on many properties, those stacks of quarters carefully saved throughout the week have been banished to history. Instead, residents use laundry cards, debit cards or credit cards to run washers and dryers, saving them the heavy pockets and mental arithmetic needed to have just enough quarters for several loads.

There's no question about it: laundry facilities have become a sellable amenity on many apartment properties. It's a trend that's sure to continue.

New Developments

The most startling change to old-time renters is probably the lack of jingling pockets in the laundry room. Increasingly, quarters are being replaced by plastic when it comes to doing the wash, and residents are grateful for the change.

"Many properties have already made the conversion to card-based rather than coin-operated laundry rooms," says Cathy Jackson, Director of Marketing with WEB Service Company Inc. "The obvious advantage to residents of these kinds of systems is that they will no longer have to collect coins for wash day; they simply `add value' to their card at an add-value station using their credit or ATM card, and then use it like cash on any device equipped with a card reader."

This system saves residents the hassle of figuring out exactly how much cash they need to finish their laundry, and it relieves properties of the headache of emptying and counting all that change.

For those residents who are a little phobic of using their ATM or credit card, Jackson says the new system still is a welcome change from having to lug around pockets full of quarters. "If residents don't have or prefer not to use a credit or ATM card, some systems have a bill-direct option that will issue a card to the resident and bill them monthly for its use."

Others agree. "State-of-the-art cashless/smart card/debit card systems bring increased security and flexibility to the laundry room," says Mitchell Blatt, President and COO of Coinmach Corp. "Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, ATM cards and personalized property debit cards can all be used right at the machine," he says. "These systems can also be integrated throughout the property, providing access to apartments, business centers, vending machines and loyalty programs."

Other innovations in laundry include a telephone monitoring system, which allows residents to call into an automated system to find out if the washers and dryers they need to do their laundry are available, saving wasted trips to a full laundry room. "The resident can instruct the system to call when adequate machines are free," Jackson explains. "Once laundry is underway, the system can be prompted to call the resident when laundry is ready to be moved or retrieved." So much for long Friday nights with a book in the laundry room--residents can relax in their own apartments, confident that they can tend their wash.

A big bonus to apartment owners is a new generation of high-efficiency washers and dryers, and ergonomics are playing a new role as well. "New stacked washers and dryers save space in common laundry areas," Blatt explains. "This allows route operators to design laundry rooms with proper equipment to resident mix with minimal space requirements."

Tending to the Environment

Thanks to new federal regulations, laundry rooms are about to become a whole lot more efficient and environmentally friendly. New Department of Energy (DOE) standards regulating laundry equipment will go into effect starting in early 2004. "Currently, commercial washers are not regulated by DOE," Blatt explains. "This new DOE standard will influence manufacturers to design new energy features on commercial top loaders to maintain the viability of this product for multihousing." He points to a new Speed Queen model that already meets the new requirements and is more efficient than anything else on the market when it comes to resources used per load.

"A new generation of high-efficiency washers and dryers is making its way into apartment laundry rooms," Jackson says. "These new systems use significantly less water and energy than traditional equipment, and often do a superior job of cleaning."

She says that concerns about water usage have prompted many apartment owners to rethink in-unit washers and dryers in favor of community laundry rooms. A recent study showed that laundry rooms are 3.3 times more efficient than in-unit laundry equipment, and average 158 fewer used gallons of water per week. "The wasted water alone could be motivation for preferring laundry rooms, because it adds up to enormous water and energy savings for both owners and the communities in which they live," she says.

New equipment also saves resources by design, Blatt points out, noting that front-load washers can reduce water usage by as much as 40 percent more than their top-loading counterparts. State-of-the-art equipment can be electronically monitored as well, helping owners take care of potential problems before they arise, he says, and improving overall efficiency.

Keeping Things Running Smoothly

There's perhaps no greater headache to an apartment resident than a laundry room whose machines are out of order. There are steps owners can take, however, to ensure that their rooms keep humming along--keeping residents happy and revenue up.

Blatt says there are several steps apartment owners can take to keep their laundry rooms in tip-top condition:

* Inspect water inlets and drain hoses once a year. Look for leaks or tears.

* Clean water drains by snaking the pipes.

* Vacuum clean all dryer vents at least once per year to allow maximum airflow. Jackson also gave a few tips for apartment owners:

* Insist on quality commercial-grade machines from reputable manufacturers.

* Post laundry equipment instructions in the laundry room.

* Investigate any unusual noises coming from laundry equipment.

* Use knowledgeable service technicians to fix any problems that arise with laundry equipment.

"Washers and dryers that don't work can't make money in the laundry room, but worse than that," she says, "they create a negative impression among residents that can be difficult or impossible to overcome."

The look of the laundry room, as well as the equipment in it, has changed. Make sure your community is up-to-date ... your residents will appreciate it.

Kim Fernandez is a Freelance writer for trade and consumer publications who lives in Bethesda, Md. A former Managing Editor for Units, she has written about the multifamily housing industry since 1994.