Cleaning an unattended store

[couvsuds]

To those who operate an unattended laundromat, how many times a day do you (or have someone else) clean your store? Had this discussion recently with another store owner, and I can't imagine not having it cleaned to some degree at least twice a day (early to mid-afternoon, and around closing). Sometimes more. But I know people who think once a day is enough. What say you?

[Adamski]

Nick,

One person's CLEAN is another person's FILTHY. It all depends on how high (or low) your standards are. Personally, I can't imagine cleaning a laundromat just once a day.

[rbh]

To me, cleaning a mat is an ongoing process throughout the day.....as needed when the mess is made, plus a standard list of cleaning to be done. Of course, unattended and you simply have no choice but to compromise some cleanliness standards. You just have to decide how much.

[CanCanCase]

My #1 and #2 stores are close enough that folks don't mind cleaning both on a split shift...
#1 cleaned first thing in the morning,
#2 attended and cleaned 9-12,
#1 cleaned again 1-3
#2 checked and cleaned 3:30-5.

Part of it depends on volume. I see days in the winter with less than 1 TPD, and it just doesn't require much upkeep. Then again, days like Dune Fest (this week) require nearly constant attention to keep things ship shape.

-Case

[KJ]

Cleaned once a day at night (closing)
If anyone complains I tell them to come earlier in the day, lol.

[Adamski]

Originally Posted by KJ

Cleaned once a day at night (closing)
If anyone complains I tell them to come earlier in the day, lol.

KJ,

Oh yes ... I'm sure that solves the problem of the dirty laundromat just fine.

[ldm]

Ours is cleaned thouroughly each evening after closing. Someone usually stops by to pick up in the afternoons. I carpet the store, so the occasional leaks here and there can be attended to in the evening. If I had hard floors, I would want someone there to address spills right away. This works OK for our area, our customer type. Our rep has a number posted in case someone needs to call. Les

[cleanman]

My mat is in a small village setting and is unattended (lol)! To me thats funny to say because when people tell me how clean the place always is I often say that it takes a Village to keep up a laundromat properly! Besides myself constantly stopping in to check things I have 3 others that live either across the street, next door or 4 doors away. Everyone takes pride in helping to keep it clean because they receive the pats on the back from the customers also!

We are still growing 3 years later after a 1.4 million dollar store opened up CLOSE by with better exposure and is fully attended !!

[rbh]

Les, just curious, how do you find the carpet to be? I also have it, put in a couple years ago. Curious what you find for life of the carpet and your cleaning procedures, frequency, etc.

[ldm]

Originally Posted by rbh

Les, just curious, how do you find the carpet to be? I also have it, put in a couple years ago. Curious what you find for life of the carpet and your cleaning procedures, frequency, etc.

RBH: We use a higher end carpet and it lasts 7 to 10 years. We have the carpet cleaned once a month by the pro's. Between these cleanings, we will use a small carpet shampoo machine to attend to spills and leaks.

I think our next carpet will be a similar high quality, but in 2 ft squares, so we can replace sections that get beat up.

The last carpet we put in did not have any problem with the normal L-Mat fluids we tested it against, but within 2 years we had spots that were showing from spills of ??.


Replacement will cost around $4,000 and monthly cleaning around $150. Customers love it and it was a must for me considering I am unattended. The carpet soaks up the water and other spills so we can adress the problem that evening. If we had a hard surface, I would need someone there full time to clean up the spills and leaks. Les