Water Consumption

Programmers in many laundries usually only have three water levels to choose from, low, medium or high. However, state-of-the-art controls are offering far more water levels — as many as 30 levels — to choose from. A wider selection of water levels allows for small changes that can effect annual water consumption by tens of thousands of gallons. Consider that if 60% of the water is hot, the energy savings can be even greater than the water savings.

Less expensive machines do not have this flexibility. While the facility may save money on the capital investment, the long-term cost of ownership increases with these units and the laundry as a whole is less environmentally friendly.

Beware of companies that boast of 50% savings in water. Water consumption is mostly determined by washer programming, not washer manufacturers. Even with 30 water levels, it can be difficult to save more than 10% in water while maintaining superior wash quality.