THE WATER SAVING BENEFITS OF COMMONAREA LAUNDRY ROOMSA White Paper Prepared forMunicipalities and Utility Water Professionals1700 Kylie Drive, Suite 100, Longmont, CO 80501Tel: 800.380.3652, www.laundrywise.comScope of This DocumentThis document provides an introduction to the benefits of common area laundry rooms. It presentsthe basic concepts, highlights the advantages andprovides information on developing common arealaundry rooms. Whether you are a city planner,water engineer or utility manager, this document can help you.A Brief BackgroundWater usage varies. On average, daily indoor wateruse per capita in America is about 56 gallons for atwo adult household. Forty-five percent of this figureis dedicated to bathroom use, while 21.5 percent isfor laundry purposes. (1)It’s a simple fact. As the population increases, thedemand for water rises. Growing industrial needscompound this problem. Unfortunately, the supplyof water is a finite resource and, more and more,cities are discovering that they must take action nowto plan for their future water needs. Otherwise, manycities will face the hard realities of severe drought,dried-up rivers, poor water quality, groundwaterdepletion, escalating infrastructure costs and diminishing alternatives.Ask any city engineer responsible for procuring waterwhat the most cost-efficient method for solving thisproblem is. Most, without blinking an eye, will tellyou “conservation.”For years, cities have encouraged the conservation of water through a variety of methods includingbuilding codes and regulations, incentive programsand public education. Builders and developers arerequired to utilize low-flow showerheads, faucet aerators and low-flush toilets, and encouraged toconserve water in outdoor landscaping by installingautomatic sprinklers and by xeriscaping. While these methods take care of some water usage,what about the 21.5 percent of water that is used forwashing machines? Many municipalities and utilitycompanies across the U.S. are already taking actionto encourage water savings in laundry appliances insingle-family residences. However, an often-over-looked method of conservation, which can beapplied to a large sector, is common area laundryrooms in multi-housing properties.FIGURE 3: Total Laundry Loads per Week Type of Laundry Facilities Number of Loads Common Area In-Unit02%0%1 11% 9%2 28% 13%3 22% 13%4 19% 14%56%14%66%14%7* 6% 23%TOTAL 100% 100%Average Loads 3.32 5.08* Differences between respondents from common area versus in-unit properties werestatistically significant p<0.05.250200150100500Common Area*In-Unitgallons of waterFIGURE 1: Estimated Total Laundry-Water Use per Apartment Unit per Week On and Off Site (Gallons)cold water hot water total water53166917948227* Differences between laundry-water use in common area versus in-unit properties werestatistically significant p<0.05.A Comparison of In-UnitConnections and Common Area Laundry RoomsAccording to a 2002 water-usage survey by an inde-pendent marketing research firm, washing machineslocated in apartment rental units are a major drainon natural resources.From September to December 2000, laundry-water usewas calculated using water meters attached to 191 in-unit washing machines and 50 common area washingmachines in eight apartment properties matched forquality and size in four cities across the U.S.In a head-to-head comparison of washing machineusage rates in apartment units versus that of coin-operated machines in common area laundry rooms,the study found that each in-unit washer used anaverage of 11,804 gallons of water annually. Coin-operated machines in the common area laundryrooms, on the other hand, averaged water usage ofonly 3,588 gallons a year per apartment unit served. That figure amounts to 8,216 excess gallons of waterrequired per in-unit machine per year. In total, residents with in-unit washers used 3.3 times morewater for their laundry than their counterparts inbuildings with common area laundries.Residents with in-unit washers tend to operate theequipment far more often and less efficiently, sayresearchers, in explaining the water savings realizedthrough the use of common area laundry rooms.FIGURE 2: Estimated Total Laundry-Water Use per Apartment Unit per Week On and Off Site (Gallons)* Differences between laundry-water use in common area versus in-unit properties werestatistically significant p<0.05.Type of Laundry Facilities* Ratio of In-Unit Meter Type Common Area In-Unitto Common AreaCold Water 52.91 179.53 Hot Water 16.22 47.58TOTAL 69.13 227.11 3.3 times higherConservation Potential of Common Area Laundry RoomsIn 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau completed an“American Housing Survey for the United States” tolearn more about rental housing. Included in thesurvey were questions about amenities available toresidents. The following table details their findingsas they pertain to common area laundry rooms andin-unit connections.Based on the above figures, more than 33 billion gallons of water could potentially be wasted acrossthe U.S. in apartments with in-unit washingmachines – in just one year!With in-apartment laundry equipment, water isn’tthe only resource being wasted. There’s also the attendant gas and electricity as well as massiveamounts of extra sewage generated by less efficientin-unit washers. Encouraging the use of commonarea laundry rooms in apartment complexes is aneasy, yet significant way to preserve resources withoutcreating an insurmountable hardship for residents.Common Area Laundry Rooms as an AmenityA common misperception is that apartment managers and owners believe their residents preferin-unit connections. In reality, well maintained,affordably priced, convenient laundry rooms makeapartment complexes more desirable to residentsthan complexes that lack common area laundryrooms but provide laundry connections inside theapartment units. And, there are many benefits common area laundry rooms impart when residents utilize them rather than in-apartment equipment. For these reasons, many managers are consideringadditions or enhancements to common area laundryrooms as a way to improve the property they manage. Cost Savings of Common Area Laundry RoomsNot only do common area laundry rooms relievemanagers’ concerns about noise or potential damages resulting from in-apartment laundrymachines, but in-unit connections simply cannotjustify their expense. They take up valuable floorspace, require more plumbing, venting
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