A National Study of Laundry Water Use in Multi Housing A Comparison of Use by Residents with I n A p a r t m e n t Wa s h e r s a n d R e s i d e n t s w i t h Common Area Laundry Rooms MARCH 2001 prepared by NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER INC Boulder Colorado Table of Contents PAGE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 Results of the National Laundry Water Use Study 2 Study Background and Methods 2 Estimated Laundry Water Use 2 Metered On Site Laundry Water Use 3 FIGURE 1 Average Metered On site Laundry Water Use per Apartment Unit per Week Gallons 3 FIGURE 2 Metered On Site Laundry Water Use per Apartment Unit per Week Gallons 3 Adjusted Laundry Water Use 3 FIGURE 3 Days and Numbers of Residents Away from Home During Study 3 FIGURE 4 Average Percent of Laundry Done On and Off Site 4 FIGURE 5 Average Total Laundry Water Use per Apartment Unit per Week On and Off Site Gallons 4 FIGURE 6 Estimated Total Laundry Water Use per Apartment Unit per Week Gallons 4 FIGURE 7 Metered On Site Laundry Water Use per Apartment Unit per Week Gallons 4 FIGURE 8 Estimated Off Site Laundry Water Use per Apartment Unit per Week Gallons 4 Study Methods 5 Site Selection 5 TABLE A Characteristics of Selected Sites 5 Monitoring Washing Machine Water Use 6 Machine Selection 6 Metering the Machines 6 Residents Self Reported Questionnaires 6 TABLE B Mailing and Response Characteristics of Selected Sites 6 Data Analysis 7 Conclusions 7 Executive Summary National Research Center Inc was contracted to conduct a national study comparing laundry water use rates of apartment residents whose buildings have common area laundry rooms with use rates of apartment residents whose buildings have laundry facilities in each unit From September to December 2000 laundry water use was calculated in part using water meters attached to 191 in unit washing machines and 50 common area washing machines in 8 apartment buildings matched for quality and size in 4 cities across the U S Results were adjusted to reflect residents self reports of off site use during the study period Despite similarities in resident and apartment characteristics at all sites residents of apartment buildings with in unit laundry facilities and residents of apartment buildings with common area laundry facilities had markedly different laundry habits overall as well as at each of the four study sites Residents with in unit washers used 3 9 times more water to do their laundry on site as did their counterparts in buildings with common area laundries After adjusting for self reported off site laundry use and averaging figures for all four national sites the study revealed that residents of apartments with in unit laundry facilities used 3 3 times more water for laundry on and off site than residents in apartments utilizing common area laundry facilities The average washing machine water use on and off site for residents with in unit laundry facilities was 227 gallons per unit per week while the average washing machine water use on and off site for residents with common area laundry facilities was 69 gallons per unit per week 1 Results of the National Laundry Water Use Study S t u d y B a c k g ro u n d a n d M e t h o d s National Research Center Inc NRC is one of the leading survey research and strategic planning teams in the United States Its principals have more than 20 years of experience in critical areas such as water use and conservation transportation and land use They are the authors of Citizen Surveys How to Do Them How to Use Them What They Mean published by the International City and County Management Association and of numerous articles about survey research methods social science and healthcare outcomes National Research Center Inc was contracted to conduct a national study comparing laundry water use rates of residents of apartment buildings having common area laundry rooms and no in apartment laundry facilities with laundry water use rates of apartment residents whose buildings had laundry facilities in each unit but no common area laundry rooms Included in the national study were apartment residents in four states California Georgia Oregon and Texas In a large city in each state two apartment buildings were selected one with common area laundry rooms but no in unit laundry facilities the other with in unit laundry facilities but no commonarea laundry rooms Resident demographics and property characteristics such as rent levels adjusted for cost of living and grades quality of apartments were roughly equivalent New hot and cold water meters Model 50 1 2 were rented from the Daniel L Jerman Company of Hackensack New Jersey After testing by Jerman Company they were installed on 50 washing machines in common area properties and 191 in unit 2 washing machines Meters were left in place for approximately 60 days Of the 241 metered machines only 8 3 had readings that could not be used When water use monitoring ended all participant residents were sent a survey questionnaire about their laundry habits Their responses were used to adjust the metered water use rates to account for laundry that may have been done off site Of the 641 questionnaires mailed to occupied apartments 310 completed surveys were received yielding a 48 response rate A more detailed methodology description may be found in the Study Methods section page 5 E s t i m a t e d L a u n d r y Wa t e r U s e Fifty units from each property with in unit laundry facilities in four cities were metered over a twomonth period Washing machines from comparable properties with common area laundry facilities in the same four cities were likewise metered during the same time frame See Study Methods beginning on page 5 for more information on how units were selected and how the overall study was conducted After the metering period ended apartment residents were asked to complete a written survey questionnaire The information obtained was subsequently utilized to adjust water use readings to account for laundry done away from the apartment buildings gallons of water 250 Metered On Site Laundry Water Use A d j u s t e d L a u n d r y Wa t e r U s e As shown in Figures 1 and 2 residents of properties with in unit laundry facilities sometimes called domestic properties used much more water per apartment unit than residents of properties with common area laundry facilities Average laundrywater users in in unit properties required 221 gallons per apartment unit per week which was approximately 3 9 times more than the average
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