Local WashStop laundromat goes high tech with ozone system
New ozone produces cleaner, more efficient clothing
A local laundromat is back up and running, with more high-tech equipment to get clothes cleaner than ever before.
WashStop Laundry Center, located at 850 S. Valley Forge Road in the Allen Forge shopping center, now features all-new washers and dryers, ecofriendly lighting and decor, and a “San-O-Tyzer” ozone system that owner Barrett Van Dame says will make clothes cleaner than ever.
“The customers really seem to notice. You can smell the difference in the clothes — it’s actually a lack of odor, but it’s a very clean, fresh smell,” he said.
Van Dame and wife Janet have owned the WashStop at the current location since 2000, and had operated it just a few doors down in the same shopping center for roughly 15 years prior. Last fall they were looking into equipment upgrades when a Chinese restaurant next door caught fire, causing extensive smoke damage to both buildings, and much of the equipment within.
“This place was filled with smoke. I have pictures where, from that door, you could not see this counter,” Van Dame said, standing at a front counter just a few steps away from the entrance.
“The last thing you want is a smoke smell while you’re in a laundromat,” he said.
Once a remediation company stripped down and cleaned the building down to the duct work, Van Dame decided to go modern, replacing the 18-year-old washers and dryers with a total of 86 newer, larger, more energy efficient and smarter models, with washers that go up to 80 pounds capacity and dryers up to 50 pounds. Each machine is linked to a smart card system that lets users get text messages (and soon, check an app) when their wash is done, and each is connected to the ozone system, located at the rear of the laundromat.
The ozone system takes normal water provided by the North Penn Water Authority, and uses electricity to split typical oxygen molecules which contain two oxygen atoms and recombine them into ozone, which consists of three oxygen atoms. The third oxygen atom provides more cleaning power when used to wash clothing, by helping to break down the contaminants so
they can be removed more easily by detergent — and may leave a familiar smell in your clean clothes.
“If you’ve ever gone outside after a thunderstorm and smelled that fresh odor, that’s ozone,” Van Dame said, created when lightning splits oxygen in the same way.
“If you go into hospitals, or other large institutions, typically they use ozone to do their wash, but that’s a system that injects it right into the washer. They’re huge, and much higher capacity, to actually sterilize their linens,” he said.
The WashStop ozone system blends ozone into the water that is fed into each washing machine, and the system monitors the level of oxidation reduction potential to determine when it needs to recharge. Lights and bubbles are the main sign of the system recharging, according to Van Dame, who said the ozone system and new efficient appliances should cut utility bills by 40 to 50 percent. The nearest such system to the North Penn area is in Pottstown, but having the ozone system locally means users need less soap, can use cold instead of hot water, and is less harsh on clothing meaning it should last longer.
“The ozone is a strong disinfectant, so it kills mold and mildew and bacteria, and eliminates the odors that are generated by those kinds of bacteria. Plus, it makes the clothes softer: customers will really notice it,” he said.
The ozone system is surrounded by new corrugated metal decor installed by Van Dame’s son Jason, who is a member of Lansdale’s borough council, and flower decor was chosen by Janet. The remodel and switch to more efficient appliances allowed the two to install large-screen HD TVs for customers to watch while folding laundry, more tables where they can do so, and a new floor made of recycled tires that cuts down on noise and slips.
Also new to WashStop is a modernized smart card system, where users can now use credit, debit or EBT cards to charge their individual WashStop account cards, which are embedded with personalized chips containing their account info and balance. Those cards can be registered to individual users, so a lost card can still have any balance remaining on it recovered, and those who register online can also receive text message alerts when their washer, dryer, or folding by one of the laundry center’s five attendants is done.
“I love this place now. It’s so much better — everything just works,” said attendant and cashier Donna Dougherty.
WashStop is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, with last loads due in by 8:30 p.m., and Dougherty said frequent visitors often have a favorite attendant who folds their clothes.
“They get to know them, and they get a certain style of folding. We try to keep everything square and the same size, but if this guy likes his T-shirts long, and this guy likes them square, what they want, we do it,” she said.
Another frequent customer brings in 30 pairs of socks every three weeks, Dougherty said, and she (and Van Dame, through upgraded security cameras) keep an eye out for any jams, unbalanced loads, or other problems.
“Somebody tried to put his girlfriend in the other day, just to see if she would fit, but we didn’t let that happen,” Dougherty said.
Van Dame said his favorite laundry story is the time another frequent visitor put a comforter in the wash, then couldn’t find it.
“She was really upset, and she said ‘Get the cameras, let’s figure out who took my comforter,’” he said.
“She left, and about an hour later I go by the machine, and the comforter is laying in the machine. It was so thin, it had plastered around the outside of the machine. She was real happy when I called her up and said ‘Well, here it is.’”
WashStop Laundry Center is located at 850 S. Valley Forge Road in Towamencin. For more information call 215-362-7700, email WashStop@verizon.net or visit www.WashStop.net.