Resources

Laundromats use a tremendous amount of utilities to operate the commercial washer and dryers. We need to make sure that our new Laundromat is equipped with enough utilities to properly power the store. Laundromat utilities consist of water, sewer, electric and gas. Karl Hinrichs of HK Laundry Equipment cautions prospective Laundromat business owners to make sure that their new store will have sufficient utilities to power the store. Every Laundromat needs to have sufficient water supply to fill the washers in a timely manner. Typically a 1-1/2 to 2” water line is required. Every Laundromat needs to be connected to city sewers. If the Laundromat location has only septic available and no sewer, sorry, don’t even consider building a Laundromat there.

The sad reality is that Laundromats need sewers. Laundromats discharge thousands of gallons of water per day. This will just overload any septic system. Washers, dryers and lights need to be powered by electricity. The typical 2000 sf Laundromat will require at least 400 amps of 3 phase electrical service. This is a starting point and may require more or less service depending upon the equipment requirements and other electrical draws used in the Laundromat (like well pumps or air conditioning).

Recently, new gas service for Laundromats has become a big problem. A customer in Waterbury, Connecticut was quoted over $70,000 to install a new gas service for his Laundromat. The gas companies are having new gas consumers (like Laundromats) pay for work to increase the gas main sizing.

In most cases this is in the $10-20,000 range for a one-time charge. But if a new gas service requires hundreds of feet of main gas piping, then this could be a significant expense. Utilities are a basic requirement to operating a Laundromat. Before you pull the trigger with an equipment order and a nice long lease, check out and make sure there is not going to be any problems with your utilities.