Laundromats have always been more than rows of machines. They are essential community utilities that keep families, students, travellers, and small businesses functioning day after day. In 2025 the same question keeps surfacing. Do people still use coin laundry, and if so, who uses it the most. Is it hygienic and safe to rely on a shared facility. How long do coin laundry machines last. Are laundromats in decline or are they still profitable in Australia. What is the average cost to run a coin laundry, and how can owners future-proof a site for the next decade.
This article answers those questions with practical frameworks, checklists, and worked examples. It focuses on observable customer behaviour, hygiene science, cost structure, and realistic operating tactics. The goal is to give owners, operators, and researchers a comprehensive view of laundromats in 2025 without drifting into vendor talk or point of sale jargon.
Several durable forces continue to support laundromat usage.
Patterns vary by location.
Coin laundries handle bulky items efficiently. Large duvets, pet bedding, kitchen rags, work uniforms, and sports kits fit into high-capacity drums that finish faster than several small home loads. Customers value time saved, minimal queuing, and the ability to run multiple loads at once.
Renters who lack in-unit machines rely on nearby laundries as a predictable weekly routine. Share houses often coordinate wash cycles on weekends. The pay-per-use model eliminates appliance ownership costs, repairs, and energy risk.
University students and early-career professionals move between dorms, studios, and flat shares. They value speed, location, and extended hours. Many wash after work, which compresses demand into evening periods that good operators plan for.
Backpackers, road trippers, and remote workers build laundry stops into itineraries. They look for clear instructions, quick cycles, nearby food, and reliable Wi-Fi. Tourism districts often see daily peaks that differ from local residential patterns.
Gyms, Pilates studios, hair salons, cafés, cleaning companies, and community clinics require rapid turnover of towels and textiles. They need predictable results, clear invoicing, and safe handling. Many combine self-service for simple loads with drop-off wash and fold for busy periods.
Renovations, appliance failure, water restrictions, or short leasing gaps send even owner-occupiers to laundries for a period. Operators who communicate clearly during local disruptions often capture loyal customers for the long term.
Hygiene outcomes depend on temperature, chemistry, and time. Warm or hot wash cycles, coupled with suitable detergents, help inactivate common microbes. Dryers add another layer through heat and airflow. Commercial machines generally achieve more stable temperatures and more consistent rinsing than smaller home units, which supports predictable results when programs are followed.
Well-run laundromats document cleaning tasks and make them visible to customers.
Fragrance sensitivities are common. Operators can offer unscented detergent options in vending machines. Customers with eczema or asthma often choose an extra rinse to remove residues. Hypoallergenic practices can be presented in on-site signage to build confidence.
Commercial washers and dryers are built for frequent cycles. A practical planning range for a busy site is about ten to fifteen years for both washers and dryers under routine maintenance. Usage intensity, water quality, vent performance, and loading habits all influence the upper and lower bounds. Overloading shortens bearing life and stresses motors. Poor venting raises dryer temperatures and increases component wear.
Frequent unplanned stoppages, noisy bearings at speed, slow fill or drain issues, rising energy usage per cycle, or repeated error codes point to a replacement decision. Parts availability matters. A good rule is to compare the repair quote to the amortised value left on the equipment. If a major repair exceeds a sensible fraction of replacement cost, plan an upgrade.
| Frequency | Tasks |
|---|---|
| Weekly | lint removal, visible surface clean, spill checks, wipe gaskets |
| Monthly | filter inspection, hose check, empty and clean detergent compartments |
| Quarterly | vent airflow test, scale treatment, door alignment check |
| Annually | professional service, sensor calibration, belt or bearing inspection |
Counts of individual stores can dip in low-density areas where nearly every home has a washer and a heat pump dryer. In dense inner-city zones, in university suburbs, and in tourism corridors, demand remains healthy. The composition of demand changes, but the underlying need for reliable, quick laundry access does not vanish.
Modern sites evolve toward clearer signage, safer handling, card and mobile payments, and convenient add-on services like detergent vending, folding benches, and phone charging ledges. The result is a cleaner, faster, more predictable experience that keeps repeat business coming.
Laundromats serve essential public health functions. Access to clean textiles improves comfort, reduces odour, and supports dignity. During floods, storms, or apartment outages, laundries provide continuity when other services stall.
Profitability is a function of throughput and yield per cycle.
Assumptions for a medium site
Revenue drivers
Cost drivers
A simple sensitivity check shows that a small increase in daily cycles per machine yields large monthly gains. Longer opening windows and consistent cleanliness support this. Packages for repeat local customers can smooth weekday troughs.
Costs divide into fixed and variable categories.
A practical approach is to estimate per-cycle consumption, then multiply by cycles per day. If a washer uses a known kWh per hot cycle and a dryer uses a known kWh per standard cycle, an owner can model daily and monthly energy spend at current tariffs. Water use can be estimated from manufacturer program sheets, then adjusted by observed occupancy.
Clear on-machine instructions reduce repeat cycles and overuse of detergent. Detergent overdosing creates suds, which lengthen rinse times and waste water. Educating customers saves money and improves outcomes.
Fewer customers carry coins daily. Cards and mobile wallets dominate everyday purchases. A laundromat that accepts coins and Cashless payments serves both groups, which widens the addressable market and reduces lost sales from customers who arrived without enough change.
Cashless payment shortens the start of a cycle. It also reduces contact with coins and note handling. Staff avoid heavy coin lifts and the time required to bank cash. The net effect is faster turnover and cleaner counters.
Digital payment systems often allow loyalty credits, student discounts, or time-based pricing, for example a lower price in shoulder periods. Owners can run small experiments, then keep the settings that improve occupancy and fairness.
A hybrid environment, coins and cashless, is common in 2025. It supports long-time locals who prefer coins and travellers who arrive with only a phone. Clear signage, consistent pricing, and simple instructions keep it smooth.
A household with three baskets can occupy three drums at once, then move items to multiple dryers. What takes an afternoon at home often fits into ninety minutes at a laundromat. Customers value a predictable start and finish time, which lets them plan the rest of the day.
Large drums reduce mechanical stress on textiles and lower total cycles per month for the same volume of fabric. This benefits customers through less wear on clothing and benefits owners through reduced queueing at peak hours.
Good lighting, clear line of sight, and wide aisles reduce bottlenecks. Folding benches near dryers, hooks for bags, and labelled bins for lint and rubbish all contribute to faster turnover with less mess.
Customers respond to clear, specific claims. For example, stating average litres per cycle for common programs, or the number of lint screen cleans performed daily, communicates real effort without vague slogans.
Coin laundries remain essential in 2025. People still use them because they are fast, predictable, and cost effective. The most frequent users are renters, students, small businesses, tourists, and households facing temporary disruption. Hygiene is a function of temperature, chemistry, and time, and good operators make their cleaning routines visible so customers feel safe. Machines last longest under preventive maintenance, with clear signs that guide behaviour and reduce misuse.
Laundromats are not in uniform decline. The picture depends on density, tourism, universities, and building stock. In Australia, well located sites that control utilities, maintain equipment, and serve both households and small businesses continue to operate with healthy margins. The average cost to run a coin laundry is manageable when owners model fixed and variable costs, then improve the two levers that matter most in every market, throughput and energy efficiency.
Cashless payments complement coins and help customers start cycles quickly. Sustainability is practical, not abstract, when vents are clean, loads are matched to drum size, and programs are selected with purpose. With clear signage, steady housekeeping, and thoughtful pricing, a laundromat can remain a valuable neighbourhood utility for many years.