Three Signs It’s Time to Stop Outsourcing and Invest in Industrial Washers and Dryers
If your facility currently sends linens, towels or garments out to be cleaned, these three signals usually mean it’s time to look at industrial washers and dryers of your own. Your volume has outgrown what outsourcing pricing tiers were built for. Your team already has staffing hours that could run a laundry room. And you have, or can create, the space for it.
A facility handling twice the linen volume it outsourced two years ago, with staff already coordinating pickups and quality checks between every delivery, is closer to running its own laundry room than it might think.
Facility managers looking to lower operating costs and drive high-quality results keep landing on UniMac, and that’s not an accident. Industrial performance, proven reliability and technology that shows facility teams what’s actually happening in their laundry room are why on-premises laundry (OPL) keeps winning out over outsourcing once a facility crosses a certain size.
1. The Volume and Staffing Signals Worth Watching
Outsourcing contracts are usually priced around an expected volume. When actual volume climbs past that baseline, per-pound and per-load costs often climb with it, while the service itself doesn't get any faster or more flexible.
A few things worth tracking before your next contract renewal:
- Linen or garment volume has grown steadily over the past 12 to 24 months, but pricing hasn't gotten more favorable in return.
- Your team already spends staff time managing pickups, deliveries and quality issues with an outsourced vendor, hours that could instead run in-house equipment.
- Turnaround delays from an outside vendor have created par-level or inventory problems more than once.
None of this guarantees outsourcing is costing more than it should. What it does is give a facility manager a concrete starting point for the comparison, which matters more than a hunch when it's time to talk to leadership.
2. Space and Utility Requirements to Plan for Before You Commit to OPL
The biggest hesitation facility managers report isn't cost. It's not knowing what a laundry room actually needs to function. Getting this right early avoids a redesign later.
Space planning basics for your industrial laundry room:
- Footprint: Industrial washer-extractors vary widely by capacity. A UniMac UW200, for example, has a footprint of roughly 46 inches wide by 67.5 inches deep, a compact size relative to many comparable hardmount models in the same capacity class.
- Utilities: Plan for adequate water supply and drainage, gas or electric hookups sized to your dryer selection and proper exhaust ducting, since airflow issues are one of the most common causes of equipment strain down the line. UniMac ProCapture™ technology is designed to help manage lint at the source on UniMac dryers, collecting up to 98% of dryer-generated lint* in internal lab testing, which supports the airflow point above without replacing a regular duct inspection.
- Floor loading and anchoring: Hardmount washer-extractors like the UW series transmit extraction force directly into the floor and typically require a concrete pad, while softmount models are freestanding and better suited to second-floor installations or facilities where anchoring isn't possible.
This is also where healthcare facilities, senior living communities and hospitality operations tend to differ from a standard OPL laundry equipment setup. Higher volume and infection-control requirements often call for larger capacity and more robust construction from the start, which is worth factoring in before a facility settles on equipment size.
*Results derived from internal lab testing environment produced up to 98% lint capture efficiency with bath towel loads dried at 185 degrees Fahrenheit. No independent lab testing was conducted. These results represent findings from controlled laboratory conditions and may not accurately simulate real-world usage of the product, as effectiveness can vary widely depending on factors such as method of use, load type, environment, individual user characteristics and other circumstances.
3. How to Build the Case for OPL Using Operational Data, Not Guesswork
Once you've answered the volume, staffing and space questions, building the case for leadership is straightforward: compare your current outsourcing spend and turnaround performance against the projected industrial washer and dryer prices and running costs of owning equipment on-site.
A distributor can help run that comparison as a laundry operating analysis, looking at your specific volume, staffing and facility constraints rather than industry averages. Organizations like TRSA (Textile Rental Services Association) also publish industry benchmarks that can help facility teams sanity-check outsourced linen costs against the true cost of an in-house alternative.
Industrial laundry machines are designed to support the lowest cost of ownership over the life of the machine, not just at the point of purchase. Pairing that with UniMac CORE, which gives facility managers visibility into machine performance and utilization, means the case for OPL doesn't have to rest on a single upfront estimate. It can be revisited with real data once the equipment is running.
Case Study: What the Comparison Looks Like in Practice
When a Colorado hotel weighed repairing aging laundry equipment against replacing it, the operations team framed it as a question of price versus cost, not just the number on the repair bill. The answer: upgrade to UniMac washers and dryers with UniLinc™ Touch controls. Since making the switch, the property has cut linen processing time enough that an eight-person housekeeping team can now finish by mid-afternoon instead of running laundry around the clock.
Thinking about Making the Switch?
Moving from outsourcing to OPL is a real project, not a snap decision, and it starts with an honest look at volume, staffing and space. UniMac builds industrial laundry equipment for exactly this transition: equipment sized to your facility, backed by a proven track record in OPL performance and supported by a distributor network that can help you plan the space before a single machine arrives.
Outsourcing vs. Industrial Washers and Dryers FAQs
What laundry volume signals that outsourcing may be costing more than it should?
Steadily rising volume without corresponding price breaks, staff time already spent managing an outside vendor and repeated turnaround delays are the three most common signals. None confirm the answer on their own, but together they're a reasonable starting point for a formal comparison.
How much space does an on-premises laundry room need?
It depends on capacity and machine type. Hardmount washer-extractors need a concrete floor and specific utility hookups, while softmount models are freestanding and can work in more locations, including second-floor installations. A distributor can help translate your expected volume into an actual space and utility plan.
How do I present the case for OPL to leadership?
Bring a real comparison, not an estimate: current outsourcing costs and turnaround performance measured against a laundry operating analysis for your specific facility. A distributor can help build that analysis, and industry sources like TRSA can help validate the outsourcing side of the comparison.
