The Benefits of Outsourcing Laundry in Assisted Living Facilities
Residents and staff in assisted living facilities have a great deal of needs, so outsourcing as many as possible in an efficient and cost-effective way will have numerous benefits for the well-being of everyone involved. Let’s look at what commercial laundry is and what the benefits of outsourcing laundry in assisted living facilities are.
What Is Commercial Laundry?
Commercial laundry refers to the professional cleaning and laundering of materials, linens, and garments for businesses, institutions, and organisations. Unlike residential laundry, which typically involves smaller quantities of personal clothing and linens, commercial laundry services generally handle much larger volumes of items.
Commercial laundry facilities are equipped with specialised machinery and technology designed to efficiently clean, sanitise, and maintain various types of fabrics. These facilities cater to a wide range of industries, including hospitality (hotels, resorts), healthcare (hospitals, nursing homes), food service (restaurants, catering), education (schools, universities), and much more. If any business generates laundry, they can use commercial laundry services.
Commercial laundry services typically also offer specialised cleaning for specific industries and may also provide additional services such as repair, alterations, and linen inventory management.
Overall, commercial laundry services play a crucial role in ensuring cleanliness, hygiene, and quality in various businesses and institutions, contributing to the smooth operation and success of these establishments.
How to Outsource Laundry
Outsourcing laundry to commercial laundry services involves partnering with commercial providers to handle laundry needs efficiently and effectively. Here’s a summary of the process:
- Assess facility’s laundry requirements
- Research reputable commercial laundry service providers
- Request quotes based on specific needs
- Evaluate proposals for pricing and any extra services needed
- Develop a transition plan for seamless outsourcing
- Implement the outsourcing plan according to the agreement
- Maintain ongoing communication and quality monitoring
With an increase in the use of modern technology, laundry services near you can easily be found online through a simple Google search. You can also read client testimonials and reviews to help you find the right business for your laundry needs.
But first, it’s a good idea to weigh up the benefits to make sure outsourcing your laundry is right for you. Let’s look at the benefits of outsourcing laundry in assisted living facilities.
The Benefits of Outsourcing Laundry in Assisted Living Facilities
Assisted living facilities are residential housing options designed for elderly or disabled individuals who require assistance with daily activities but don’t necessarily need the level of medical care provided in nursing homes. These facilities offer a combination of housing, personalised support services, and healthcare as needed, tailored to the individual needs and preferences of residents.
Outsourcing laundry services in assisted living facilities can offer several benefits. Overall, outsourcing laundry in assisted living facilities can lead to cost savings, operational efficiency, and improved resident and staff satisfaction as staff are allowed to focus on providing excellent care and support to residents. Let’s look at each benefit in more detail.
Allow Care Staff to Care
The staff in assisted living facilities are there to support the residents with their everyday activities, but when staff are short, they can end up having to neglect their main caring duties for other activities such as cleaning and laundry. By outsourcing laundry to commercial laundry services, care staff can concentrate on spending time with the residents and seeing to their needs rather than taking care of laundry.
This also saves them a great deal of time as in-house laundry can take a lot of time and effort, separating colours, washing, drying, ironing and folding. Outsourcing the entire laundry process frees up staff to focus on other important responsibilities, leading to improved productivity and efficiency – and most importantly – happier residents.
Cost-Effective
While you may not think that paying for a laundry service is going to be cheaper, it may work out so in the long run. By outsourcing your laundry from assisted living facilities, you’re removing the need for investing in laundry equipment, maintaining it, and hiring dedicated staff in a laundry department, all of which can be significant expenses.
Professional Services
Different businesses and industries have different laundry needs, and assisted living facilities are no different. Laundry service providers often have specialised knowledge and experience in handling various types of fabrics and removing different stains. This expertise ensures that laundry is done efficiently, returning each item to its best and extending the lifespan of linens and clothing.
Plus, when you use the services of a reliable laundry service, you can count on high-quality products each and every time.
Laundry service providers are also well-versed in industry regulations and standards regarding sanitation, infection control, and environmental sustainability. Outsourcing to respectable services that have experience in your industry ensures that the facility remains compliant with relevant regulations.
Saving Space and Scaling
Assisted living facilities don’t always have the most space, so the last thing you want to do is take up room in the facility with bulky equipment. Laundry facilities take up valuable space that could be utilised for other purposes within the facility, so it can be better to outsource to allow for better space utilisation and potentially more amenities for residents.
Additionally, as the facility grows or experiences fluctuations in demand, outsourced laundry services can easily scale up or down to accommodate changing needs without the hassle of hiring or laying off staff or investing in additional equipment.
Does Outsourcing Laundry Have Benefits in Other Businesses?
Outsourcing laundry isn’t just beneficial for assisted living facilities, it has many benefits across a number of different business models, including:
- Hospitality
- Healthcare
- Food services
- Education
- Fitness centres
Hospitality can involve a variety of different businesses, each of which can benefit from the advantages of outsourcing laundry to professionals. Hotels can outsource their laundry needs to commercial laundry services to save money on their own laundry rooms and staff as well as ensuring all bed linen and towels are cleaned to a suitable standard for their guests. As hotels in different areas can face significant challenges during peak seasons, employing commercial laundry services can make it much easier to cope with the workload when it arrives and ensure that internal laundry services aren’t an unnecessary expense during off-peak times.
Airbnbs can reap the same benefits, saving space in small locations by removing laundry services and ensuring high cleanliness standards for guests while providing flexibility for fluctuating demand.
Resorts often use external laundry services too, as guests often have high expectations so professional cleaning of linen and towels can greatly enhance a guest’s experience and ensure a positive review. They also usually have very busy peak periods and quiet months during off-season, so outsourcing can save money on resources.
Theatres should also use commercial laundry services for their costumes as the materials are often delicate and complicated to wash well. Professionals in laundry services can ensure each item is suitably cleaned ready for the next performance or cast member to wear.
Like hotels, education facilities like boarding schools will also require high standards of cleanliness for the school children when it comes to their bed linen. But other institutions can also benefit from the professional services for items that require specific cleaning like sports equipment which also must be cleaned to strict hygiene regulations.
Outsourcing Laundry from Gyms
When we think of gyms it’s easy to just think of the equipment we see daily such as weights, static bicycles and treadmills, and when we think of laundry we may simply think of our own gym clothes. But lots of gyms include many other facilities that require specialist cleaning services.
Whether you’re using the swimming pool or going in the sauna, steam room, yoga studio or for a massage, you’ll most likely need to borrow a towel or a robe to cover yourself or dry yourself. As each of these locations is susceptible to bacteria growth from the water, regularly passing people and warmth, each fabric item will need to be cleaned at a high temperature and with specific chemicals to ensure all bacteria is eliminated and the fabric is soft, so the next user can be comfortable.
Thinking About Outsourcing? Contact Love2Laundry
If you think your business may benefit from one of the best commercial laundry services in the UK, take a look at Love2Laundry! With expertise in a variety of industries, our professionals are ready to help you tackle your laundry.
