This photo has been doing the rounds in the Speed Queen offices recently. We've been taking bets on what the owner is going to do with all that lint. Are they creating a soft pillow? Will they peel it off and use it for insulation in their walls?
But most importantly, the question is "was the cleaner doing their job, or not"?
That much lint doesn't look good.
Your first thought might be that the site isn't being cleaned thoroughly enough. It could be due to simple neglect, where a cleaner is doing a quick and careless job for an easy buck. (Keep reading to see how you can figure that out!)
But it could also happen when the laundromat isn't being cleaned often enough for how much it is being used.
Either way, having this much lint is usually a bad thing long-term. It can dramatically increase drying times (leading to unsatisfied customers).
Lint can build up fast! Is that good, or bad?
Funnily enough, a massive buildup of lint like this could actually be a great sign! It means the machine is getting used, and based on that image, it's seeing A LOT of use.
Is this feasible? The short answer is yes.
During busy times, like a wet winter's day, your laundromat dryers might see up to 12 or more hours of CONSTANT use, even more if you are a 24-hour site. This much use can cause lint to build up FAST.
So what should you do?
You should make sure your dryers are regularly cleared of lint. That should be every time your cleaner visits - but at certain times in the year that might not be often enough. Speed Queen's Insights for Laundromats equips you with real-time monitoring of every machine on your site so you can see how many cycles each machine is performing, as well as tools such as leak detection and low power mode for less busy hours.
You can access insights on your PC or mobile device, letting you focus on what matters, spending time with family, travelling, fishing... At a glance you can check to see if your machines are getting more heavily used, and therefore need more regular lint clearing.
When you do spot checks on your cleaners, it's easy for you to use Insights to see how many cycles a dryer has run since the last clean - so you'll know whether the amount of lint your seeing is because of heavy use, or cleaner neglect.
Want to find out how else Speed Queen can improve your Laundromat?
