cost of running washing machines
I am doing some research for the cost of running a 9kg and 7kg washing machine. This is on behalf of a community in a residential home. The cost of one wash in the laundry room is £2.00. This feels very high. The residents are a captive audience, have health problems that amount to medical reasons for having to do more washing and are physically unable to take washing out into private laundrettes. For most of the residents, there is no room for, nor plumbing, for privately owned machines.
Additionally, we are advised the load capacity is that of commercial machines but according to information, the kg loads of 9kg at the most, is that of a large family machine.
Any info or pointers for me to add to my research.
thank you
Sally
Solution Summary
AI-generated from this discussion
This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.
Query about whether £2 per wash is a reasonable laundry-room charge
- The problem
- The discussion was not about a machine fault. The user wanted guidance on the running cost of 7kg and 9kg washing machines in a residential home where a shared laundry charge was £2.00 per wash, having previously been £1.00.
- Likely cause
- No appliance defect was reported. The accepted reply said the charge cannot be judged from electricity use alone because overall cost also depends on detergent, machine purchase, maintenance and repair, supplier profit, usage levels and the type of machine. The original poster later confirmed residents provide their own detergent and softener, and that heated airing rooms and tumble dryers are also available.
- What fixed it
- The accepted advice was to compare the laundry charge against typical annual energy usage figures and to consider all operating and ownership costs before deciding whether the price is excessive. The original poster decided to pursue the matter with the local authority/councillor rather than carry out an appliance repair.
- Checks to try
- Accepted reply referenced a random budget-brand 9kg machine with quoted annual cost of £42 for a 40°C cotton wash used 4 times a week
- Original poster stated residents supply their own detergents and softeners
- Original poster stated there are 80-100 residents, two airing rooms and tumble dryers charged at £1.50 per use
- Original poster stated the wash price had risen from £1.00 to £2.00
4 Answers
Hello sally. As you say if people have no choice they shouldn't be exploited. But it's difficult to work out what is reasonable. I've checked out the specs on a random (budget brand) 9Kg washing machine. I found the quoted costs of using 40 degree cottons wash 4 times a week every week for a year was £42. I would expect this figure could vary a reasonable amount from model to model and brand to brand but it shouldn't be massively different.
However, this is just energy costs. Detergent is likely to be much higher. Also, the costs of each wash need to include a proportion of the purchasing costs, and maintenance and repair costs. If the washing machines are supplied by a company aiming to make a profit they need to charge a lot more than the real costs. It's difficult to guess at whether the charge is high or not without knowing how many people use it, how often and what kind of machine it is.
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
Thats really good points. Thank you. The owner is our landlord, a housing department with a local authority. We supply our own detergents and softeners. There are 80- 100 people in the block. We have airing rooms, with indoor clothes line, which are always heated, so that has to be factored in. But the lines are always full, never empty. We have two airing rooms and also have tumble dryers, which cost £1.50 per time, but I haven't used them, so don;t know how much time you get for your £1.50.
The cost was £1.00 per wash and doubled overnight, some while ago.
Thanks
If you have 100 people all paying £2 a wash that's going to bring a fair bit of money in. However, as I said there are a lot of costs involved in supplying and keeping running the machines. One way of looking at it might be to work out how much it costs you each month and decide if it's worth it considering there's no washing machine to buy, no repair costs etc.
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
2nd reply..........its that many people doing multiple washes, it is a rip off. thanks for help, as its local authority, I may get a councillor involved.
Thanks
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