Next up in our series of articles on sustainability, efficiency, and reducing your carbon footprint is about the chemicals you use within your commercial laundry system. Unlike our previous articles on improving your water usage or drying costs, changing your chemical usage to be more environmentally friendly is not as likely to save you money, but it still could.
What impact can laundry chemicals have on the environment?
Some laundry chemicals and detergents contain harmful ingredients that can be damaging to the environment, particularly in waterways and the ocean. Cleaning chemicals such as phosphates and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) are the main culprits.
NPEs are toxic to most aquatic life, either causing internal damage or exposing fish to parasites and damaging their gills.
Phosphates, on the other hand, suffocate aquatic life. Weird right? They do this through the creation of toxic algae blooms and immense amounts of bubbles, both of which suck the oxygen out of the water.
So, what can you do?
Use (more) eco-friendly chemicals:
The most obvious way to reduce the environmental impact of a laundry business is by using more eco-friendly laundry chemicals. These chemicals are made from natural and/ or biodegradable ingredients, which break down quickly and easily without harming the environment. By switching to eco-friendly laundry chemicals, you can reduce your commercial laundry carbon footprint while still maintaining high-quality cleaning results. even though it might be a little more expensive to use these specially designed-products.
Another way to do this is using powder rather than liquid detergent. Powder products typically use less plastic packaging than their liquid counterparts, helping you protect the environment with each cycle. Powder often appears cheaper per cycle, however, keep in mind that it requires higher heat to properly dissolve, and can leave a residue on cleaned garments.
Use a chemical dispenser/ dosing system:
You could also implementing a chemical dispensing system. These systems accurately measure and dispense chemicals based on the weight of the laundry load and the type of fabric. This eliminates the guesswork involved in manually adding chemicals, which can lead to excess chemical use and higher costs. By using a chemical dispensing system, laundry businesses can reduce the amount of chemicals used (and resulting environmental impact) while improving the quality of the wash.
You don't have to be a big facility like a hospital, hotel or prison to make use of dispensers either! Using a vended machine in a laundromat will encourage your users to be more mindful about how they can reduce chemical usage too! If you are looking for some examples of dispensers, check out our range here.
Be mindful of spills and outlets.
Spills and messes are inevitable, but you should take care to minimize these and ensure that you clean them effectively. Keep chemicals away from waterways! Make sure your washers are properly connected to wastewater pipes, and that if they do leak, they are not in danger of leaking down a stormwater drain or other waterways. You can further mitigate this risk through leak detection software, like in Speed Queen Insights.
Want to find out how our experts can help your commercial laundry?
