Towel Shortages Are a Headache. Towel Services Can Help.
You know the feeling. Someone walks into the supply room looking for clean towels, only to find… nothing. Or maybe there are a few towels left, but definitely not enough to get through the day.
Now someone has to stop what they're doing, track down more towels, run the laundry, or make an emergency run to the store.
Running out of towels might seem like a small problem, but those little interruptions can add up quickly.
What Does Running Out of Towels Actually Cost?
The cost of a towel shortage isn't always the price of the towels themselves.
It's the time spent dealing with the problem.
An employee has to leave their normal responsibilities to:
- Check whether more towels are available
- Search storage areas
- Start or switch over a load of laundry
- Fold and distribute towels
- Pick up additional supplies
- Figure out why inventory keeps coming up short
Multiply that by several employees, several days a week, and suddenly a "small" supply issue is taking up a lot more time than it should.
There's also the impact on your customers and employees. In a restaurant, hotel, healthcare facility, salon, gym, manufacturing facility, or other workplace, having clean towels available is part of keeping things running smoothly.
Your team shouldn't have to wonder if they'll have enough towels tomorrow.
Different Businesses Need Different Towels
There's no one-size-fits-all towel quantity.
A restaurant may go through large numbers of towels every day for cleaning and food service. A manufacturing facility may need shop towels for employees working with machinery, tools, oil, or other materials. An auto shop has an entirely different set of needs.
Even two businesses in the same industry can have very different towel usage.
When determining the right towel inventory, a few factors matter:
How many people use the towels?
Employee count and customer volume can both affect how many towels your business needs.
How frequently are towels used?
A towel that's used occasionally has very different inventory needs than one that's being grabbed all day long.
What are the towels being used for?
Cleaning, drying hands, wiping equipment, food service, and industrial applications can all require different towel types and quantities.
How often are towels being picked up and returned?
Your service schedule plays a big role in how much inventory you need between deliveries.
Are there seasonal changes?
Some businesses experience busier seasons, increased staffing, events, or changes in customer traffic that can affect towel usage.
How Is the Right Quantity Determined?
A good towel service should be based on how your business actually operates.
Your service provider can look at your current usage, service schedule, facility size, employee count, and industry needs to help determine an appropriate inventory level.
Then, if your needs change, your inventory can change with them.
Maybe business picks up and you're suddenly going through twice as many towels. Maybe you've added a new department. Maybe your team isn't using as many as expected.
Your towel supply shouldn't be set in stone.
The right inventory is the amount that keeps your business supplied without leaving you with piles of unnecessary product taking up valuable storage space.
What Happens to the Towels Once They're Picked Up?
This is one of the biggest advantages of a managed towel service.
Instead of your team being responsible for washing, drying, folding, storing, and replacing towels, your service provider handles the laundry cycle for you.
Soiled towels are collected on a regular schedule and taken to be professionally laundered. Clean towels are then returned as part of your next service.
That means your team isn't spending part of the workday standing over a washing machine.
It also means you don't have to figure out:
- How many loads need to be washed
- Who is responsible for laundry
- How to handle heavily soiled towels
- Where to store clean towels
- When you're running low
- When it's time to buy more
It's one less thing for your team to manage.
That’s right, oily towels can spontaneously combust.
Certain oils generate heat as they oxidize, and when towels are piled together without proper handling or laundering, that heat can build up enough to start a fire.
Yep. Laundry fires are a real thing.
That’s why proper towel care, laundering, storage, and rotation matter WAY more than most people realize, especially for automotive shops, industrial facilities, restaurants, and anywhere towels come into contact with oils or chemicals.
A Small Towel Detail That Saves Time
This might sound like a small detail.
It is.
But it's one of those small details that can make a difference.
When your clean towels arrive from us, they're folded and ready to go.
You don't get a bag of clean, loose towels that someone on your team has to sort through and fold before putting them away.
You get neatly folded towels that can go straight into storage or wherever your team needs them.
It saves a little time. It keeps your supply area more organized. It makes it easier to see what you have on hand.
And those little things add up.
What If Your Business Keeps Running Out?
If you're regularly running out of towels, don't automatically assume you need to order more.
First, look at what's actually happening.
Track usage.
Pay attention to how quickly your team goes through towels. Are certain areas using significantly more than others?
Look at your service schedule.
If you're getting towels serviced once a week but consistently running out before the next delivery, your current schedule or inventory may not be working for you.
Check for seasonal changes.
Have your staffing levels, customer traffic, or production volume changed?
Consider where towels are stored.
Are clean towels easy for employees to access? Is there a designated area for clean and used towels?
Look at your towel type.
Using the right towel for the job can make a difference in both performance and how quickly your supply gets used.
Talk to your service provider.
Your towel program should be adjustable. If your business needs more towels, fewer towels, or a different service frequency, your provider should be able to help make those changes.
Don't Let Towels Become Another Thing Your Team Has to Chase Down
Running out of towels shouldn't be a normal part of running your business. Your employees have enough to manage without adding laundry, towel inventory, and emergency supply runs to the list.
A managed towel service can keep clean towels moving through your facility, from pickup and professional laundering to folding and replenishment. And when your business changes, your towel program can change with it.
Want to spend less time worrying about your towel supply? Talk with Oregon Linen & Uniform about a towel service that fits your business.