ways to cut water cost'

[bodman]

my front loaders have a 1) pre wash cycle 2) wash cycle 3,) 3 rinse cycles . To cut down on water usage but get clothes clean which cycles can I delete and still have good results.

[laundryowner]

I would think one of the 3 rinse cycles. When you do, let me know, as I cannot get an anser on how to jump termnals to delete one rinse cycle. Thanks

[Laundry_Mike]

Wrong. Do not eliminate a rinse cycle. If you have to eliminate something, eliminate one of the wash cycles. (pre wash, or wash cycle) Find out how to do it by contacting your distributer, or equipment manufacturer.

[fatboy]

I eliminated the pre-wash and one rinse on my Wasco 50# W185, AND then I did two loads of my own clothes, including a sleeping bag. It was good.

[teancum]

Is water really costing you that much? I spend more to heat the water than I do for the water its self. Most machines have cold rinse cycles so they are actually very cheap.

The prewash gets the clothes cleaner by remove the large and easily soluble soil before the main wash. This leaves less soil for the chemicals to act on during the main wash. Its the same principle as rinsing your dishes before putting them in the dish washer. Its a pain but it really does get them much cleaner.

Rinsing helps get rid of redeposited soil. A portion of the soil that is worked loose during the main wash ends up getting caught back in the fibers of the fabric. Each rinse works a large fraction of the redeposited soil back into the water and down the drain. It also helps rinse away residual chemicals. It is important to get as much of the redeposited soil out before drying as possible because drying sets it permanently (usually). You won't notice the affects of insufficient rinsing immediately but after a number of washings your whites will look gray and your colors dull.

[galaga]

I will take the "pre wash" out,what washer do you have?some can be done,some can not.

[MGS]

I spend $12,000 annually on water. My gas bill is about $24,000 so I think I spend more on water than on gas to heat it (I have 52 dryer baskets and I estimate that my dryers use 50% of my gas, and heating in the winter uses 10%).

I just replaced some 1980 triple loaders which used 80 gallons of water per wash (always 2 washes and 3 rinses with a full spin between each rinse) with new machines which use 1/3 the water. The new machines require payment for a pre-wash, don't spin between the 1st and 2nd rinse, and have a short spin between the 2nd and 3rd rinse. They are fully programable, to allow you to set water level of each wash and rinse, plus spin time. You can be super-frugal with water if you want to with new programable machines.

Customer reaction? Everyone loves the new machines. They are the most popluar in the store.

[teancum]

$12,000! I spend a tenth of that!

If your dryers use 50% of gas and water heating is 10% where is the other 40% going?

[Laundry_Mike]

Just a thought, why not raise your prices rather than cheapening the product? I know if I was to eliminate one of the fills on my washers, many of my customers would be upset. They would rather pay an extra quarter on the vend price, than lose a fill.

[MGS]

teancum - 40% is for heating water.

[MGS]

Laundry_Mike - Good question, with a long answer. First of all, I sort of do - I charge $0.50 for a pre-wash on the big machines. But my big problem (besides the $12,000 water bill) is that my water main is too small, and water presure too low (I'm on top of a hill). If I use any more water per machine, and it gets busy, the machines take double time for a wash because they take so long to fill. I have had the water department, various plumbers, my distributor, Natco, water presure booster salesmen, etc etc look into the situation and it boils down to this; either I dig up my landlords parking lot and install a larger water main, or I add a presure booster with a 750 - 1000 gallon back-up tank. I'm not paying for option #1, and don't have space for option number 2. So it's water efficiency mode for me - period! I have yet to have a customer complain about my new water effiecient machines, they are the most popular in the store. Everyone loves a new machine.

[petefritz]

if you can program to get rid of one of the rinse cycles nobody will ever know the difference. That should save you 1/5 on water and $ewer costs.

[fatboy]

I agree that it isn't good to cheapen the product. For some reason, I'm having a hard time doing that in this situation. I will re-think it. Thanks for the reminder.

[teancum]

Raising prices will reduce water usage but it sounds like the real problem is surges in water demand. You might consider changing your pricing to smooth out demand - higher during peak periods and lower at other times. Something like raising prices generally and then offering a discount during non-peak times (during the week for my mat).