What’s Important When Designing A Commercial Laundry Room?

When planning a laundry room, there are many factors you need to take into account including functionality, safety, and efficiency. A well-planned laundry room can make all the difference in the everyday running of your care home, hotel, hospital, etc, it can significantly enhance staff efficiency, reduce turnaround times, and improve infection control.

When it comes to designed and planning a laundry room, every step must be carefully considered, from the design and installation to the operation and maintenance.

Ideal Location

It’s recommended that you located your laundry on the ground floor, as this is best for installation and maintenance – as well as daily access for your staff.

In the best-case scenario, your laundry should be located away from the main entrance or places such as offices or bedrooms. To manage infection control, it should also be a safe distance from the kitchen or any food preparation areas, ensuring that food and soiled linens do not share the same corridor.

When choosing location, you should also consider ventilation. Your laundry room should have at least one external wall for tumble dryer exhaust ducts and to be able to bring fresh air in without the need of expensive fan systems.

Flooring & Walls

 As your laundry room is going to be a high traffic area with exposure to moisture and vibration, a solid concrete floor is your best choice. It is slip-resistant, waterproof, and unsusceptible to bleach, detergents, and other cleaning agents. It will also bear the weight of your laundry equipment well.

Where PCC floors or block and beam floors and unavoidable, a structural engineers must be consulted. In most cases a concrete plinth will need to be cast on top of the structural floor (not the screed) to receive holding down bolts.

To prevent issues arising from the condensation that is produced during the laundry process, your walls should be oil painted or plastic clad. Any crevices or areas where lint might accumulate should also be filled in.

Drainage & Outlets

All laundry facilities should have a main drain, soil vent pipe (SVP), or stub stack entering the foul water system, and wastewater safely trapped.

Because a tumble dryer operates as a forced draught unit, the exhaust duct and the air inlet panel into the room always need to be the same size, irrespective of the type of heating the dryer uses.

Sinks & Storage

It is a good idea to install a sink in your laundry area as a precautionary measure for sanitation. This should then be paired with a separate utility sink for items such as mops and buckets to avoid cross-contamination.

Additionally, setting up linen collection, sorting, and storage spaces will be essential to the smooth operations of your laundry room. The sorting area should be well lit to easily be able to identify stains, whilst the storage space should be located at some distance from the soiled items to avoid cross-contamination.

Regardless of room dimensions, the room should be designed with 1/3 of the space available for the ‘wet’ side and 2/3 for the ‘dry’ side – both with their own sorting and storage area.

Fire Safety

To help reduce the risk of fire in your commercial laundry room, there are some key things to consider. These include:

• Your laundry should have two exits available in the vent of a fire that are kept clear at all times. You should also keep extinguishers that are in good working order accessible near the exits.
• Install an automatic fire alarm system with remote signalling to an alarm receiving centre to enable faster response times.
• A good sprinkler system can help to reduce the damage of laundry fires that result from spontaneous combustion. This can happen when linen is tightly packed into storage whilst still hot, causing residual chemicals and soiling from fat, grease, and oil to react with the heat.
• Have staff procedures in place to help prevent and mitigate the risk of fire in your laundry. These should include cleaning routines for lint and combustible rubbish, and proper training in fire safety.

At GA Commercial Laundry Equipment, we offer comprehensive site surveys to assist you in determining the optimal commercial laundry equipment solution for your needs. If you’re unsure about the type of equipment that suits your requirement, our experienced technical advisors are ready to provide on-site consultations.

With hundreds of years of combined industry experience, our team of experts will guide you through the entire process. From the initial design phase to the purchasing options, installation, and commissioning, we have knowledge and expertise to ensure a seamless experience.

Get in touch with our team today.