It takes a lot of energy to get clothes clean, so the rising cost of electricity hits laundromats and dry cleaners pretty hard. Even so, alternative energy sources aren’t that common in the industry.
One Central PA business, Steininger’s Cleaners, is embracing new forms of energy at its self-serve laundry in Selinsgrove. Last month Steininger’s started using solar power to run the facility, which has 27 washing machines. Owner Chuck Steininger says the solar units have saved about $500 in just two weeks, a big dent in gas bills that average $3,000 per month. “If I could save $1,000 a month on that, it would be tremendous,” he says, adding that he’d like to pass the savings on to customers.
Steininger says he looked into solar energy for about two years before having the units installed. The project cost about $42,000, of which all but $17,000 was covered by state and federal grants. He says the cost of alternative energy is a barrier for many others in the industry but encourages them to take advantage of similar grants.
Solar energy isn’t Steininger’s only green initiative. The business, which also includes dry cleaners in Selinsgrove and Lewisburg, uses environmentally responsible cleaning methods and plans to completely transition to eco-friendly cleaning solvents by the end of the year. It began returning clothes to customers in soy-based garment bags when it could no longer find a place to recycle the plastic ones it used to use.
“It’s more expensive, but I feel better about it,” Steininger says.
Source: Chuck Steininger, Steininger’s Cleaners
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen
