Wash with Wally: Using Too Much Detergent

By Wally Makowsky | Jan 08, 2010

I have a problem with some of my customers using too much detergent in my washers, especially my frontloaders. How can I discourage them from using so much soap without offending them?

This may be the most common day-to-day problem facing self-service laundry owners. I’ve known store owners to go to great lengths to prevent “over-sudsing.” One owner poured filler into the vended boxes of soap, while another owner placed blocks in his detergent dispensers. Unfortunately, I don’t have the solution. I do, however, have a suggestion.

I find that when you verbally suggest to customers how much detergent they should use, most get offended. What you’re doing, in their eyes, is telling them that they don’t know how to do laundry. So, after the insult, there is a rejection of you and your store. In my opinion, the best way to handle the situation is through signage. It would be best to have professional-looking easel signs placed on the bulkhead. Use pictures to illustrate your point, such as a measuring cup with a level of liquid inside. Word the sign tactfully, such as: “Due to our soft water, this is the recommended amount of detergent to use.” You also may want to say that the proper amount is “recommended by the washer manufacturer” — that way you completely remove yourself from the equation.

I just finished building a new coin laundry, and the flooring is ceramic tile. It looks great and washes up nicely, but it gets quite slippery, especially when wet. Is there a coating or something that I can put on the floor to make it less slick?

There is really nothing available to simply spray or coat a ceramic tile floor to make it non-slip, especially if you have glazed tile. Technically, this tile is glass over clay, and there is no coating that would stick.

There is, however, something that would help your problem. When you wash the floor, use an acid (such as vinegar or bleach) and warm water. Don’t use any type of detergent – that just adds another slippery coat to the already slippery floor.
    
For those who have vinyl tile, there is a slip-proof wax available that can be applied. Unlike ceramic, vinyl is impregnable, so the sealant will stick. You may need to apply it more often than the normal recommendation, however, because laundry floors are typically mopped more often than the floors in other types of retail businesses.

Yes, that’ll work. In general, the chemistry of a carpet cleaner is similar to that of laundry detergent. Sometimes, it’s just a little heavier- or lighter-duty, depending on the brand and type.  Dishwashing detergent works, too. They all fall into the detergent/soap classification.  

The main point I want to make is that you need to know on which types of stains all of these different cleaners will work. Carpet cleaners work great on soil-type stains, but are poor oil eliminators. That’s why most professional carpet cleaners buy different spotting chemicals to use in addition to their carpet shampoos. Go ahead and try the carpet cleaner in your laundromat, and let me know what the results are.