What’s The Truth About Soft Mount Washers for Laundromats?
By: “Laundromat 123”
There appears to be a certain fear that soft mount washing machines that allow extra high speed extract have some exotic parts that make failure more likely than with a bolted to the floor hard mount model. This subject is worthy of consideration by anyone considering new store construction or extensive washer replacement in a remodel.
There is no necessity to establish in detail all the benefits of soft mount construction except in summary including lack of installation cost, ease of movement for repairs, lack of concrete floor replacement, cleaner clothes, shorter customer time spent in your store, customer satisfaction, and reduction in the need for excessive dryer installation. The total benefits are numerous and conclusive.
Turning to the actual construction of the washers is appropriate. The same use of computer boards, dump valves, hoses, inverters, motors, water mixing valves, cabinets and all interior parts normally used in upkeep and repairs are exactly the same or similar to any hard mount washer.
The differences between the models comes in how they absorb the stress of extract and spinning of the interior drum of the washer, especially during an unbalanced load reaction. In a hard mount model, the stress is handled by tying the spinning drum to a frame that is held in place by a base with four to six ½ or ¾ inch bolts which are then mounted to the floor again with a similar number of steel expansive bolts drilled and installed into the concrete floor.
The hard mount model is successful in longevity if the concrete is of proper depth and quality, properly tightened on a regular basis and mounted to a well-built frame and the use of adequate strength mounting bolts. The machines are then bound to a certain spot and require adequate access to the front and rear of the machines to do the occasional repairs. This machine construction requires a notable waste of usable floor space just to provide ease of upkeep and the potential of needed rear access repairs. The washers cannot be easily moved to the needed space for maintenance.
It has been contented that over half of the hard mount washers installed in Laundromats have not been installed to the recommended requirements contained in factory provided installation instructions. Most notably the concrete depth and quality has not been followed, the fastening to the floor by expansion bolts instead of J bolts, proper grouting and the use of inadequate quality of mounting and fastening bolts has been ignored for cost reasons. The reality of loosening bolts, fastening bolt failures and loosening of washer to mounting frame are frequently cited.
Are the soft mount washers any better? Soft mount washers absorb the stress of spinning and unbalanced loads by utilizing a combination of shock absorbers and springs. This allows the washers to avoid the expense of installation costs of tying the washers to frames and floors including the necessity of verification of adequate strength of the concrete floor.
Is this technology new to the laundry industry? No, it has existed for decades in true industrial and commercial washers used by large bulk quantity clothes processors, it has just not been released as a benefit to Laundromat distributors to sell to the public. The technology of absorbing stress and movement in machines has been used by the vast majority of our population for over one hundred years. Your automobiles and trucks absorb the stress of bumpy roads by used springs and shock absorbers in their suspension. How is the life and failure rate of the springs in your car? How frequently are you replacing springs and shock absorbers? This concept of stress and movement control is well established and proven but is criticized by those manufacturers unwilling to make the large cash investment necessary for providing the soft mount method. It’s cheaper to criticize than correct.
I think the Laundromat community has reached the point of knowledge where they should stand up and demand the advanced benefits of soft mount washers be required in any of their new purchases of replacement washers. New construction builders and buyers should demand soft mount washers and insist that manufacturers spend the money to provide soft mount technology instead of pronouncing advanced computer technology as their only advancements. INMO. What do you think?