Front Dryer Panel Treasure

I took off the front panel to one of my dryers recently and to my surprise was a symphony of coins hitting the floor. Dollars fell too!
$58

Not a bad haul for just opening the front panel on a dryer.

Now before you say, duh! You should be cleaning your dryers more often.

I do.

Daily. Multiple times even.

I even weekly reach under the basket and pull lint out with a special scrapper I fashioned. I usually get a dollar or two in coins each time I clean.

I thought I was doing a good job.

Like many owners I admit I got a little lazy and didn't pull the fronts off as often as I used to.

Lesson learned.

There is nothing like actually pulling the panel off.
Money was everywhere!
Coins were in places that I thought lint would have a hard time getting into!
The vacuum cleaner got a work out.
The customers clothes dried a little faster.
The dryer doesn't have to work as hard, and I got a few bucks! 

These lint drawers are not from my store, but just posting this here as a reminder that even if you have lint drawers that customers can open, you still need to check them daily at minimum and you'll still need to pull the panels on those dryers too.

Ev

A Heck of A Nice Guy

Interview Questions for Laundromat Attendants

Hiring any employee is tough. In todays job world, employers from every industry are screaming for good people. Laundromats are in the same position.
I've witnessed many laundromat owners and managers struggle to find the right people for their store because they didn't know what questions to ask.
Nick from WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems asks his potential employees the following.
Feel free to try them out.
Thanks Nick for sharing these with us!

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Money Saving Tip: Burning Drain Screens

 Do you use metal drain screens in your drain troughs to keep items from going down the drain like socks and bottle caps? If so you know how much of a pain it can be to clean them. Usually you need a power washer or just need to scrub them for a time.
Here is another method: burn them clean!
Let your screens get as dirty as you normally do. Rather than throw them out or waste time trying to scrub them clean, let them sit out of the water in the trough for about a week. Maybe less depending on how big the screen is and how much lint is on it. Make sure you have a second drain screen already in place so one screen can dry and the other protects your drain.
Once the screen is dry, throw it into your fire pit or burn it wherever it is legal, The lint is dry and it ignites easily. Be sure to be ready with something to extinguish the fire as lint can be blown around easily by the wind. After a few minutes of burning your screen will be clean and ready for use again.
The draw back is you can only burn the screen a few times before they get too flimsy and fatigued and you need to replace them. That being said, if you normally buy a new roll of screen every month, this should at least double the life of that roll of screen and save you half the money you would spend on screen rolls! I will warn you, they sometimes put off a funky odor when they burn.

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

Drain Trough Pennies

 

These are pennies that I scrapped off the floor of the drain trough. 

Normally I clean the troughs on a  regular basis. 

The concrete is clean and free of residue from soaps and fabric softener. 

I was injured for a time and unable to climb into the trough. 

A mix of dirt and sludge built up on one end and formed a mound a few inches deep and wide. I scrapped it off with a shovel and rinsed off all the coins.

This is what the pennies looked like after sitting in the sludge for about a month. 

If the soap residue and fabric softener made pennies look like this, imagine what the sludge looks like in your drain traps and troughs if you don't clean them and have filters on your drains! 

Ev

A Heck of A Nice Guy

Broken Chairs Need Replacing

 

The older style bucket chairs eventually break off the base. Sometimes the edges crack or break off. It is easy to ignore these seats, especially if you usually don't see people sitting in them when you are in your store. You might sit in them and they "seem fine." They are expensive and as an owner you want to get your monies worth, so you ignore the cracks and chips. 

What do your customers see?
They see old.
They see cracks and chips.
They see a chair they don't want to sit in.
They question if the chairs are broken, what else is broken in the laundromat...the machines?
If they can't trust the machines then they will take their laundry someplace else.
Is that a stretch to get that impression from a broken chair?
Maybe, however I bet there are some of your customers that make that leap.

While you are checking the seats, check the legs of the chairs too. 

Bolts loosen and welds break.

Customers falling off your chairs because of of legs collapsing or the bucket seats breaking off are not ways to endear your store to your customers.
Fix your chairs.
In these times at least remove the broken shells.
If you have a frame that is missing a seat or two, that might be okay for now.
You can say it is for people to keep their distance.
Ev

A Heck of A Nice Guy

Difference Between Axial Airflow and Radial Airflow for Dryers

So as a laundry owner have you ever been confused by talk from equipment salespeople when they talk about radial versus axial airflow? They make both sound fantastic but what do the terms mean?

In this example I'm strictly talking in context to laundromat dryers.
What is the better method to dry clothes?
Both are fine.
There are situations when one should be selected over the other. Venting and where your main makeup air is coming from might make a difference.

Axial Dryers

 
Maytag MLG33 dryers are
an example of axial airflow dryers

Axial dryers are called that because the blades of the fan push the air straight from the back of the dryer forward, as if there was an axis or axle that extended straight from the back of the dryer to the front of the dryer. A good example of this might be a box fan that you use to circulate air in a hot room. The air gets "sucked" into the back of the fan and blown straight out of the front.

One way to tell an axial dryer is usually the inside of the baskets are more smooth and not as full of holes. There might not be a few, but not many.
The air is meant to be "blown" inside the basket where the constant motion should dry the clothes fall through the air stream. Think about holding a hair dryer in one spot and moving your head back and forth through the air to dry your hair. 

An advantage of an axial airflow dryer is that they are more energy efficient as long as there is plenty of room for the clothes to tumble. The air stays inside the dryer to constantly dry the clothes. Once they get too stuffed then the air can't circulate as well and the clothes need more time to dry. 

Radial Fans

Maytag MLG32 dryers are examples of radial airflow dryers

A radial fan dryer generally pulls air into the dryer from the top or side vent. The air moves around the basket getting inside the basket to dry the clothes through a bunch of small holes in the basket.

Go back to the hair dryer. This time your head stays still, but move the hair dryer all around your head to dry your hair. In the radial fan laundromat dryer, the air moves all around to get at the clothes. A lot of "blower fans" like you would use to dry out a wet wall or floor are usually radial airflow.

Laundromat dryers have traditionally been radial airflow. The entire basket is heated and the air is moved in a circular pattern through the clothes as they tumble through the heated air. Tis disadvantage is a lot of heat is lost out of the exhaust vents and through the glass in the door.
The advantage is there is usually more air in a dryer that is more full compared to an axial dryer with the same amount of clothes.

Dryers have traditionally utilized a radial airflow pattern, in which the entire cylinder is heated and garments, towels and linens tumble through the heated air. It's been an effective drying method for decades, but as Regan explains, "with radial, a lot of that hot air will go straight out the stack without actually passing through the load."

I hope that helps!

Ev

A Heck of A a Nice Guy

The Winner is: The Wash Tub : Ev's Answers

 

For years I have had this particular blog. Originally it was called
"Ev's Sales Answers."
I started writing it when I was in recruitment advertising sales.
That name morphed into "Ev's Recruitment Answers," to incorporate sales and recruiting. It featured articles for sales people, HR professionals, recruiters, job seekers, or anyone else that ever has to sell themselves or a product.
Published with a touch of humor from someone in the trenches.
Since I'm now selling in the laundry industry, and have been in the laundry industry since 2011, I want to include articles relating to the laundry industry.
I didn't want to start a new blog because a lot of what I write can be used by various parts of the laundry industry, but since it isn't strictly recruitment or recruitment sales focused anymore I decided to rebrand with a new name.
Some of the contenders were:
Ev's Answers
A Heck of A Nice Guy
Ev's Laundromat Answers
Ev's Business Answers
R5-D8
SOAP

The winner is..."The Wash Tub : Ev's Answers" as suggested by my brother!

The title reflects the industry I'm in, and inside a wash tub everything gets all mixed together, just like the topics in this blog. Brilliant! 
If you are in sales and need some tips, all of my past tips are in The Wash Tub.
If you are a laundry owner and need to know the difference between radial and axial airflow dryers, the answer is in The Wash Tub!
If you're a laundry owner and need to know how to write a recruitment ad, the answer is in The Wash Tub!
If you are in recruiting and can't remember what interview questions are illegal, the answer is in The Wash Tub!

Add to those topics some historical articles, humor, and just plain old interesting things and you've got a great mix of items in The Wash Tub!
Thanks for reading and sharing these articles. Enjoy!

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

10 Stain Removal Tips

Sarah Aguirre posted these tips on how to get stains out of clothes.
This is not the kind of articles that you will usually see here.
Thanks for the great advice Sarah!
TLB

Removing stains can sometimes seem like a complex algebra problem. By the time you determine the stain type, origin of the stain, fabric type and color scheme you can feel pessimistic about stain removal. Try these 10 simple stain removal rules to get your laundry in shape.
1. Act quickly.
Fresh stains make stain removal an easy task. Give yourself the upper hand by treating stains as promptly after they happen as possible. If your stains are on a non-washable fabric, take them to the dry cleaners as soon as possible. Be sure to point out the stain to the dry cleaner and describe the nature of the stain. This makes the likelihood of success greater.
2. Follow the directions.
Follow the directions on any stain removal products you use. Don't forget to follow washing directions on the stained clothes. Getting the stain out, won't make much difference if you ruin the clothing in the process.
3. Test in a hidden area.
Don't forget to test any stain removal methods on a hidden seam or other inconspicuous spot. You want to check for colorfastness before applying a treatment to a large or noticeable area of the clothing. Do not use if the color changes.
4.Remove stains from the back.
Place the stained garment with the stain upside down on top of a clean white cloth. Apply stain treatment to the back of the stain. Our goal is to remove the stain from the clothing instead of making it travel all the way through to the other side. Make sure to move the stained clothing to a fresh spot as the stain begins to remove itself from the clothing and onto the cloth.
5. Be careful with dry cleaning solvents.
Make sure to rinse thoroughly, and allow to air dry any garment that's had dry cleaning solvents used on it. These solvents can be a fire hazard in a washing machine. Remember never to put dry cleaning solvents directly into the washing machine.
6. Be wary of color removal with bleach.
Bleaching only one stained spot on a garment may result in uneven color removal for the entire garment. Consider using the appropriate bleach listed in the garment tag to bleach the entire garment.
7. Don't mix stain removal products.
Mixing different chemicals can cause toxic odors and mixed results on your clothing.
8. Wash stain treated items.
Remember to thoroughly wash items that have treated with stain removal products to remove product residue along with the stain residue.
9. Be patient.
Stain removal can take time. Sometimes repeat treatments may be required. Be sure to thoroughly check the garment before drying to determine if a repeat treatment is necessary. Drying will cause a stain to set.
10. Some stains won't leave.
For some stains, no stain removal idea or tip can get rid of them without damaging the clothing or its color. But take heart in the fact that the other 9 general stain removal tips will give you a fighting chance against all the stains in your laundry basket. Just a few simple guidelines can take the guesswork out of stain removal.

10 stain removal tip

Program Laundromat Digital Door Timer

How to program events on the Enforcer digital door and light timer.

Programming Laundromat Digital Door Lock Timer 

Setting Laundromat Digital Door Lock Timer

Many similar name brand digital door lock timers are like this:

How to Set Laundromat Digital Door Lock Timer