When it comes to selecting washers for your vended laundry, it’s important to understand the differences between hard-mount and soft-mount washers. Then consider the user interface/control, disinfection capabilities and machine efficiency.
Soft-Mount or Hard-Mount?
Hard-Mount Washers: Hard-mount washers are bolted to a reinforced concrete foundation and generate sustained extract speeds of 75-250 G-force. They are a more economical option in terms of purchase price than a soft-mount washer, but do not reach extract speeds as high as a soft-mount washer. In turn, hard-mount washers remove less moisture during extract. This results in longer drying times. The longer drying times mean more energy/natural gas is required to dry a load. It also means it takes longer for customers to complete laundry, which negatively impacts customer turnover.
Soft-Mount Washers: By contrast, soft-mount washers are not bolted to a concrete foundation. They are freestanding and reach extract speeds of between 300-450 G-force. They are more costly to purchase than hard-mount washers but will ultimately lower utility costs, improve customer turnover rates and shorten the time it takes to complete laundry. Thanks to their high-speed extract, soft-mount washers cut drying time by up to 50 percent over hard-mount washers. This creates a huge savings in energy/natural gas used while boosting customer turnover.
Size and Mix
It’s important to consider your space and utilities when choosing a mix of equipment. Large-capacity machines of 80- to 130-pound capacities are popular in vended laundry settings as they can tackle large, bulky laundry loads. Continental Washers come in capacities from 20 to 130 pounds. Your Continental Laundry Solutions distributor can help you choose the right capacity machines and type (soft-mount or hard-mount) to match your specific needs.
Touchscreen Interface
A washer’s user interface should offer a number of washing options, be simple to understand and appeal to customers. GS-Series Washers feature the industry’s largest waterproof and impact-resistant 10-inch touchscreen/customer interface. It switches from a self-service control to a full service wash/dry/fold control as needed. An added bonus are the additional washing options that can be customized and added to regular wash cycles. When selected, these add to vend price and customer convenience. The touchscreen can also be used to display store advertisements or information.
Status Lights
Finally, new to the industry are 360° Corner Status Lights, which illuminate in different colors to let customers know cycle status with a glance. These are only available on GS-Series Washers and make monitoring laundry simple.