Local Dhobi:
A person comes on a TVS – XL or a bike, takes clothes from the client, wash them in the dhobi ghat or a pond, dry them on the ground/fields/clothes line, iron with coal iron boxes and then deliver them back to the customer. There is no need of using power/water/chemicals/facility/human resources (as the person who is operating is himself/herself the owner)
The main points everybody is missing here are-
By using only soap oil, bleach there will be many side effects. This is because the lather will be present on the linen and we should use proper chemicals, neutralizers to remove that lather. Due to this residue people will get affected by skin allergies and infections when they get in contact with the linen
For Example:
B2B (Spa/Hotels) owners should change their linen once in 6 months when they use the service of a local dhobi. But when they come to mechanized laundry the life of the linen will be extended to another 6 months. By this the owner of a hotel or spa can reduce his/her investment on the linen by half per annum.
When there is heavy rain or any natural calamity they don’t have proper equipment to process the linen and hence the delivery will be delayed. The skillsets of these people are very low. They will be processing the linen in an age old way without any technological up gradation or without using any biodegradable chemicals. By doing these things they don’t know how much harm they are causing to the environment. The client is also happy as he is getting the work done at a low price. But when the linen starts losing its shine or prone to get damage easily, that is when the client starts facing the burnt.
Client Risk:
The investment a client puts on the linen will be going down the drain and it is impossible to stop. Till the time they realize this point, everything would be over.
The stains will not be removed as people here will only use soap oil, bleach and no other stain removals as they cannot afford them or they don’t have much expertise. Due to this the linen life will be reduced
Mechanised Laundry:
A mechanised laundry is the upgraded version of a normal dhobi-
The setup is done in the following way:
- Rent a place
- Construct a shed
- Install a transformer for power supply(a minimum of 40hp power is required for all the machines to run at a time. Washer, Extractor, Dryer, Calendar Iron Machine, Steam Iron Tables etc.,)
- Drill bore for water
- Water softener for water to be at the desired ppm(usually water should be lower than 50ppm for longer life of the linen)
- Vans for logistics(pickup and delivery of linen)
For setting up all these the person requires a minimum of 20-50L as capital investment depending on the size of the machinery capacity.
Recurring expenses:
The recurring expenses every month will be as follows-
- Rent
- Power
- Salaries for employees
- Logistics
- EMI s
- Chemicals
- Stain removals
Another important point which differentiates the local dhobi and the mechanized laundry is that-
A mechanized laundry has a variety of ironing machines- starting from coal iron, electrical and steam iron. He knows which type of iron to use for a particular garment.
Example: Coal Iron will be used for linen shirts and trousers, Steam Iron will be used for delicate garments.
A client before comparing a normal dhobi to a mechanized laundry should have these things in mind and take decisions accordingly.
If the life of linen, quality of service, delivery should be on time, one should definitely follow an organized process. Without the processes nothing can be achieved.
I don’t want to criticize anyone but want to enlighten people on how a laundry industry actually works.
Hotels or spas before onboarding a laundry service should do a background check on how they are actually processing the linen.
I always believe in setting up the processes which is time taking but at the end we get long term solutions rather than short term/time being solutions.
There goes a saying-
‘Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten’
People can get in touch with me in LinkedIN, Facebook, Instagram
PK,
PK Enterprises.
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