Jason Wentworth,
Washboard Eco Laundry.
How much of an impact do these eco-improvements make on your bottom line? Is it possible to get a good handle on what sort of efficiencies you are gaining? -- Marc Chapman, Wahkon, Minn.
We made almost all the improvements at the same time, except for the solar hot-water system that was added in the second year and a very basic heat-recovery system for the dryers that was added this past winter. I track energy consumption pretty carefully, so I can see things like when I added the heat recovery, we got about 7 percent greater efficiency from our dryers. We save about 30 percent on our utilities each year over a typical laundromat, and we choose to invest the savings in better pay for our employees, lower prices for our customers, and re-investment in the business. Of course, we could choose to put more profit in our own pockets, but our investment choices have helped grow our business more than 100 percent in the past three years while all our competitors are losing market share. So in the long run, we'll see our own equity grow substantially.
How many customers come because your place is trendy, and how many because it's practical? Any idea of a ratio? -- Josh Ellis, Chicago, Ill.
We don't survey our customers on this question but my educated guess is that about 50 percent come because it is convenient and 50 percent because we're trendy. After our first full year of operation, I think we were getting most of the people for whom it was convenient, and we've seen more than a doubling of our business since then.
Have you found barriers to introducing/educating people about the wet-cleaning concept? -- Sara Standish, Washington, D.C.
Overall, we have had very little resistance to wet cleaning, with more than 80 percent of our customers choosing it over traditional dry cleaning. The biggest concern that customers have is shrinkage, and that is the biggest challenge for our contractor as well. Clothes react differently in water than they do in perchloroethylene (the most common dry-cleaning chemical), and that means the processor has to make new judgments about temperature, cycle time, and rotation speed for different fabric types. This learning process and the risks associated with it is the biggest reason traditional dry cleaners are reluctant to switch. With most of our customers, we have found they gladly choose the wet cleaning once they know that dry cleaning soaks their clothes in a petrochemical.
In light of your experience designing and implementing a greener laundromat, what aspects and innovations would you imagine to be most easily and effectively adopted in other laundromat settings? -- Bo Bentele, Tallahassee, Fla.
This is a hard question to answer in a few paragraphs because there are so many areas to look at, but I would say the most important -- although not cheapest -- thing other laundromat owners can do is update their equipment to the most efficient machines that meet their needs. In response to rapidly increasing utility costs and efficiency standards in states such as California, manufacturers have significantly improved washer and dryer efficiency in the past five years. Our focus on machine efficiency has resulted in about a 30 percent reduction in utility costs over the typical laundromat, and that translates into a 30 percent reduction in our environmental impact from the consumption of water, gas, and electricity.
Lighting is another big area for savings in most businesses, but particularly for laundromats because the industry encourages over-lighting by preaching ultra-bright stores as one of the three pillars of success, along with a clean facility and working machines. (Wide-screen TVs are fourth.) Installing new high-efficiency lighting that is well designed for customer and employee comfort can dramatically reduce electricity consumption, saving money and the environment, and making your place more pleasant to be in. And turn off everything you can at night! The idea that lighting a building at night provides more security is not supported by anything but the electric company's studies. We installed a good alarm system and leave our building completely dark at night, cutting our lighting bill in half from what the previous owner was paying; the savings in the first year alone more than paid for the cost of installing the system and the monitoring service.
What goes into the machines for detergent, bleach, and softener, etc. is another important area as it often is ending up being discharged with the treated waste water into rivers or the ocean. For most laundromats that vend soap in boxes, it is not easy to add in lower-impact cleaning products because the companies like Seventh Generation and Sun & Earth thankfully are not getting into the wasteful production of single-serving boxes. But it is possible to sell these types of products by the bottle and to use them in the laundromat's own wash, dry, and fold, or commercial laundry services.
Finally, I suggest that any small business owner have an energy audit done to determine where the potential for savings is. In many states, there are free audit services provided by the local utility, utility regulators, or economic development agencies, but even if it means hiring a professional, the savings are nearly guaranteed to offset the cost.
Did you buy an existing business or start from scratch? Who is your clientele? Is being an eco-friendly business the main way you advertise? How else are you involved in the community? -- Megan Draheim, Washington, D.C.
We bought an existing business that was about to fold (pun intended) due to neglect. We lease the building, which was constructed around 1900 as an A&P general store and then converted to a laundromat in 1958. We gutted the structure, saving only the framing, siding, tin ceiling, and roof. In the rehab, we added 22 windows for solar gain, natural light, and ventilation; we insulated for the first time in the building's history; replaced all the plumbing and electrical; and added a radiant floor-heating system in a 2-inch dyed concrete slab that serves as a finished floor and thermal mass.
Our neighborhood is one of the most diverse in Portland, which gives us a great mix of customers. Our city is also a major refugee resettlement area in the U.S., so we have a high percentage of customers from Central Africa, Asia, and Central America -- many of whom are not familiar with how to use a washing machine. Our varied customer base gives us a good mix between the three primary services we offer: wet cleaning, self-service machines, and wash, dry, and fold.
In addition to being in a mixed neighborhood, one of the things that has helped us build a diverse clientele is the support we have given to local community groups. The primary way we've given this support is through fundraisers we hold at the Washboard where we turn the laundry over to a group for an evening and they get half of the proceeds from the machines. We also give away lots of free washes, wet-cleaning gift certificates, and discount coupons to just about any local group that asks, and they use these to raise money in benefit auctions and raffles or as contest prizes. There's nothing ingenious about this, and it's obvious that it's not entirely altruistic, but I am amazed by how many local businesses do not do this kind of thing. This is how I spend my advertising budget, and in addition to bringing new customers to our business, it helps to strengthen the local groups that provide services that our customers need and want, making our community a better place to live.
Given that many laundromat users belong to a less affluent demographic, how do the prices at your facility compare with those at other facilities? -- Marie Fisher, Telford, Pa.
We have many customers who live paycheck to paycheck, so affordability has always been a big concern for me. The total cost for doing a wash at the Washboard is less than all the other laundromats in Portland, and I would bet that we are also the most profitable. This is a direct result of our dramatically lower utility costs, which for the typical laundromat can be as much as 30 percent of the operating expenses. The real savings for our customers comes from much shorter drying times due to the very high extract speed of all our washers; of course, we still have customers who cook their clothes for an hour, but generally 30 minutes gets everything dry.
Have you thought about franchising the business in order to bring the high quality and sensible methods you use to the rest of the country? -- Carla Criqui, Jersey City, N.J.
Though I am quite confident that what we have done could be successfully franchised, there are several reasons why I am not likely to be the one to do it: First, what excites me on a professional level is developing something new, getting it to the point of success, and then handing it off to someone who gets fulfillment from "operating" an enterprise. I look forward to my next project being something totally new in the eco-business world, something with a new set of challenges and rewards. Second, I really don't like franchises at all. I know I risk getting burgers and fries hurled at me for saying this, but I think franchises are the most boring element of our business culture. I would much rather see 100 different versions of the Washboard concept -- each with the unique character of its owner -- than 100 laundromats just like ours. Third, franchising is primarily about controlling and profiting from a particular business model, and neither of those are big motivators in my life. One of my goals with this business is to get broad exposure for the success of our model and make it easy for others to learn from what we have done. I want other laundromat owners to copy us without having to pay for a franchise license.
Do you think your business would be able to succeed without you or your wife at the helm? Do you foresee being able to sell your business down the road and if so, having that support your retirement? -- Marco Negro, Rochester, Neb.
Part of the success of our business comes from us both being there on a regular basis, but I don't think it is essential. What matters most is that the place is well run, details don't slip, and there is a constant effort to learn how to do things better -- and this could be accomplished by a good manager. I do think customers like to see the owners in the store, but I wouldn't want to overestimate how happy they are that we are there. There's no question that we are building a valuable business, but I think its true worth is not something that a traditional buyer would see immediately. The daily praise we get from customers or the positive conversation about our business that we overhear in the grocery store across town is not something that will show up on a realtor's evaluation, but it does have a value that, if we choose to sell, should be recognized by a potential buyer. All laundromats have a limit on how much business they can do (when all the machines are full all the time), and we are nearing our limit in this building so I doubt we will be able to retire on this, but it certainly will help.
I use biodegradable detergent and non-chlorine-based bleach, but sometimes I use Shout or similar sprays for tough stains. My rationale is that if I am able to "save" the piece of clothing then I won't be buying new clothes (more cotton, more pesticides) and I won't be throwing out my old clothes (more waste). Do you have any tips for effective stain treatment? Or words of wisdom to assuage my stain-fighting guilt? -- Roz Cummins, Arlington, Mass.
I think one of Newton's laws of physics has to do with this problem -- something like, clothing attracts stains in direct proportion to their cost and how new they are. I wouldn't feel guilty for environmental reasons about using a little Shout or other commercial stain remover now and then; in the big laundry picture, this is a very small contributor to the pollution problem. Stains are a diverse group of pest, and there is no one product that works on all of them, but there is a universal rule that always helps -- treat the stain immediately. The longer a foreign substance sits on your favorite clothing, the harder it is to get it to leave. If you like the convenience of a stain-fighting product in a nifty container, one of my employees swears by a product from Ecover. Otherwise, using a small amount of laundry detergent directly on the stain, leaving it to do its work for half an hour, and then rinsing it out will lift many blotches. There are a bunch of sites on the internet that give more specific "natural" remedies for particular stains and many of these actually work. One big "don't" is to put a stained item through the dryer, as this almost always cooks it into the garment. If something comes out of the washer with the stain still there, try again to remove it while it's wet. Finally, I have personally found that eating posture makes a big difference on stains -- I get fewer when I lean forward more to eat.
I switched to an environmentally friendly laundry detergent, fabric softener, and non-chlorine bleach a year ago. They're way more expensive than the "regular" brands I used to use, and I've wondered if they make much of a difference in the environment, or if my money would be better put to use buying more organic produce (I can't afford to do both). -- Lisa Meacham, Austin, Texas
If the choice is between environmentally friendly detergent and organic food, I'd go with the organic food without question. But I think there's a way for you to have both, although it may mean some careful budgeting. If you buy a natural-brand detergent in the largest container that your local store sells, and even better, when it's on sale, you'll probably pay about 40-50 percent more than you would for a decent commercial-brand detergent. Then use half the recommended dose and your clothes will still come clean. Most detergent manufacturers -- even some of the eco ones -- recommend using much more soap than is actually needed to get clothes clean. The amount of detergent you need is determined by how much water your washer uses, not by how dirty your clothes are or what the bottle says. Once the wash water is fully saturated with detergent, all the extra soap turns into foam, so if you can see suds in your machine then cut back on the amount until there are just a few bubbles. For really dirty clothes, you can spot-treat them with diluted detergent and use a longer wash cycle in your machine.
Regardless of whether I hang dry or machine dry my clothes, they never really get dry enough to put into drawers or closets -- any tips for getting stuff truly dry enough to put away? -- Roz Cummins, Arlington, Mass.
This sounds to me like a problem with your dryer or an issue with too much moisture in your house. In my experience here in New England, where our humidity is moderate most of the year, there shouldn't be an issue with hang drying outside on most days. Another contributing factor could be your washer not spinning very fast on the extract cycle, so you are starting out the drying process with more water to remove.
I've seen ads for a water extractor for home use that spins your laundry more dry before you put them in the dryer. Do you have any advice about those? Also, I have often wondered: at what point do clothes become laundry and then laundry becomes clothes again? -- Kaiten Rivers, Tacoma, Wash.
The extractors that you speak of work great for further reducing the moisture content in clothes and to a point, it is cheaper to spin the water out of laundry than it is to dry it out. But I don't think they are a good buy for a home application. With the ever increasing array of front-loading washers available, it is far better to buy a new machine with a very high extract speed than to add a centrifuge extractor to your laundry equipment. I looked at one of these for a commercial setting and might have put one in our laundry had I had more space, but they are not good for some fabrics and in a home setting, it would be a big investment that wouldn't get regular enough use to justify the cost.
I think clothes become laundry when they still smell like the wearer after sitting overnight.
Do you get any students from Bowdoin (I know Bowdoin's not too far from Portland) or any other colleges that come to you with their laundry? -- Eliza Mutino, Pound Ridge, N.Y.
I do get some graduates of Bowdoin coming in but no students, as the campus is about 35 minutes from Portland. I know that Bowdoin and Bates, like many other colleges and universities, have upgraded their laundry services to include front-loading washers and gas dryers, so they are already getting some good energy savings. Unfortunately, many institutions that have laundry services simply contract this out to a "route operator" who has no incentive to use energy-efficient machines because they almost never pay the utility costs; their incentive is to get the cheapest machines regardless of how much energy they use. As cost-conscious energy managers at these institutions discover how much money they are wasting on their laundry services, many of them are demanding that their contractor upgrade to something more efficient so there is some progress on this front.
We would like to use the gray water from the washing machine for our vegetable garden. Any suggestions on a product that cleans well and is plant-friendly? -- Edward Curren, Mililani, Hawaii
Gray-water systems are not my area of expertise, although I think they are a great tool for conserving and purifying waste water, and I highly encourage their use. I would stay away from all commercial detergents that contain petroleum-based constituents (just about all of them). My guess is that products from Ecover, Seventh Generation, Sun & Earth, and other plant- and mineral-based detergents are your best choice, but I would check with the manufacturer to see if they have any specific information about compatibility with gray-water systems. You could also seek advice from someone like John Todd, an expert on gray-water system design and operation.
Do you have any experience or recommendations about using bioremediation (i.e., constructed wetlands) to process the wastewater generated by laundromats? -- Jeffrey Adams, North San Juan, Calif.
I do not have any experience in this area, although I'm sure it is possible. Again, I think John Todd could be a great resource. The biggest problem for water recycling or treatment from a self-service laundromat is controlling what people put in the machines. I have not been in this business very long, and I have already seen some nasty stuff put in the washers -- stuff that might create some challenges for a "living machine."
I know that there are a lot of companies selling phosphate-free detergents and truly biodegradable products. Do you use or sell products from Amway Corporation? -- Dick and Solveig Bertrand, Guatemala City, Guatemala
I do not use or sell any Amway products in the laundry, although I have been approached several times by local distributors. I choose to sell three eco-friendly brands that I am familiar with and that are recognized by our customers, but I know there are many other good products out there that I don't offer.
I wondered if you had ever heard of the guy who invented the bicycle-powered clothes dryer? This could be the start of a whole new business concept: Laundro-Gyms! -- Trudi Rhynold, Merigomish, Nova Scotia, Canada
This guy may be onto something. My wife immediately thought of a fitness center where all the patrons could be doing laundry as they exercise. Seriously, there is a huge amount of human energy being expended every day in fitness centers and given that Americans actually need more exercise, this is likely to be a growth area. Now we just need to find a way to harness that energy for something useful.
How can a family who really wants to live as you and your family do get a solar array when their total income is less than $20,000 a year? -- William Erlenbach, Surprise, Ariz.
I'm a big fan of solar, but I don't think it's the most important thing to pursue to lower the environmental impact of a home. The first and most cost-effective step is to work on conservation. That means replacing the refrigerator if it is not highly efficient, installing compact fluorescent bulbs in every light except those that get less than about an hour's use per day, insulating the walls and ceiling really well, and getting double-insulated windows. When all this is done, then it's time to have fun with solar.
In some places in the U.S., particularly Arizona, solar hot-water systems are very efficient and can be very simple, thus more affordable. A solar batch heater, essentially a black tank that sits on your roof, can be a great way to augment, or even replace, your current water heater, and in some states, there are financial assistance programs that make these systems very affordable. If you've done the efficiency improvements, then I would get on the web and find the closest solar dealer and go talk to them about what you can do in your case. These professionals are aware of whatever financial incentives might be available on the state or local level, and if they are good, they'll be able to offer you a way to start small and add on as your budget allows. You may be very surprised at how little you really need to invest to get started with solar.
My husband and I are thinking of retiring to Maine in a few years. We are hoping for a place that combines ocean, land (for a garden), and town. And with minimal reliance on an automobile. Would Portland be suitable? -- Marcus Stephanus, New York, New York
Do you really want to retire to an area that has nine months of something like winter and six weeks of summer? Portland is a great city and increasingly a place where one can live without being dependent on a car, but it is the only place in Maine where that is possible right now. If you really want a place where the car is not a necessity, I would suggest looking near the other Portland, as Oregon has made some great investments in public transit and limiting growth to condensed areas so that sprawl is not the dominant development pattern.
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