Professional laundries handle laundry maintenance compared to households at half the financial cost of energy consumed. Specialized equipment also consumes significantly less water during washing and has a lower carbon footprint. They fare better in this regard, even when compared to hotel operations. These findings result from a new study prepared by the University of Technology in Brno for the Czech Association for Textile Care.
Washing, drying and ironing are routine activities of every household. A new study prepared for the Czech Association of for Textile Care (APaČ) focused on the comparison of laundry maintenance in domestic conditions and in a professional laundromat, in terms of energy consumption, water, financial costs and CO2 production.
The results of the research demonstrate that although professional laundries have almost twice the energy consumption of domestic laundry, they are better off in terms of financial costs, water consumption and the carbon footprint produced. “The study shows that in professional laundries, laundry maintenance costs are half cheaper than in home conditions. Specifically, for one kilogram of textiles, we are talking about an average of 4.8 crowns in the case of maintenance at home, compared to only 2.1 crowns in a laundry,” comments Jan Chrištof, vice president of APaČ.
Professional equipment then consumes up to 60 percent less water. Approximately 4.5 liters are used for washing one kilogram here, 11.9 liters in households. Laundries also benefit from carbon dioxide production. “The difference in the case of CO2 is not so significant, however, thanks to the lower emission factor of natural gas, which is the dominant energy source of professional laundries, the production of carbon dioxide is almost 15 percent lower,” says Vítězslav Máša from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Technology in Brno. which processed the study.
In addition to households, the study also offered a comparison with hotels. In terms of some procedures and techniques, these operations tend to be closer to a professional laundromat, but even so, they fared worse than professional facilities in all monitored indicators. “Overall, the research focused on a pure energy comparison of laundry maintenance. He therefore did not take into account the quality of maintenance, the rate of textile wear or the time required. However, all the mentioned categories speak positively for professional laundries,” adds Monika Býmová, executive director of APaČ.
Environmentally responsible laundry maintenance
Professional laundries and dry cleaners do not have a similar position in the Czech Republic as, for example, in the USA, where a large part of the urban population routinely washes in them. In the country, their services are mainly used by the aforementioned hotels, hospitals, restaurants, fitness centers, social facilities, schools and theaters. “The textile industry is one of the most important producers of carbon dioxide in the world. At the same time, laundry maintenance is an important area where it is possible to reduce the burden of this sector on the environment. The role of laundries and dry cleaners is therefore crucial in the transition to a more sustainable functioning of our industry. We are therefore very happy that APaČ members regularly invest in modern innovations, thanks to which they manage to reduce CO2 production, as well as the amount of water consumed, when caring for their laundry,” concludes Jan Chrištof.
The complete version of the study is available in the members section HERE.
Czech Association for Textile Care
