Key Takeaways
- Most restaurants underestimate in-house laundry because they count detergent and forget labor, utilities, repairs and replacement linens.
- Labor is usually the biggest cost, especially for tablecloths and napkins that need pressing.
- The fair comparison is cost per piece: your monthly in-house cost divided by the pieces you wash.
- In-house can make sense for one simple item, like bar towels, at high volume.
The Short Answer
For most restaurants, a linen service costs less than doing laundry in-house once every cost is counted. In-house laundry can make sense for very high volume of one simple item, like bar towels, but tablecloths and napkins that need pressing rarely pencil out.
What In-House Laundry Really Costs
When owners compare, they usually count only the detergent. The full list looks like this:
| Cost | What to include |
|---|---|
| Equipment | Commercial washer and dryer, plus a press or ironer for tablecloths and napkins. Divide the price by the years you expect them to last. |
| Installation | Plumbing, venting, electrical work and any permits |
| Utilities | Water, gas or electric for heating water and drying, and sewer charges |
| Chemicals | Detergent, degreaser, bleach and softener sized for commercial loads |
| Labor | Staff hours to sort, wash, dry, press, fold and stock, at your real wage plus payroll taxes |
| Linens | Buying your own linens, and replacing what wears out or disappears |
| Repairs | Service calls and parts when a machine goes down mid-week |
| Space | Floor space that could be storage, prep or seating |
Labor is usually the biggest number. Pressing tablecloths and napkins well takes time and skill, and it competes with prep and cleaning for the same hours.
What a Linen Service Costs
A linen service turns all of that into one line on your invoice: a price for each piece washed. What varies between providers is what gets added on top. Larger providers often add weekly service charges, fuel or environmental surcharges, minimums and loss charges, and many tie pricing to a multi-year agreement. Our contracts guide explains those terms.
How to Compare for Your Restaurant
- Count your weekly pieces: napkins, tablecloths, bar towels, kitchen towels and aprons.
- Add up one month of in-house costs from the table above, including a monthly share of the equipment.
- Divide by the pieces washed that month to get your cost per piece.
- Compare that to a linen service's per-piece price, plus any charges it adds on top.
When In-House Can Make Sense
- Very high volumes of a single simple item, like bar towels
- Locations far outside any linen service's delivery area
- Businesses that already own commercial laundry equipment and have the staff hours
Even then, many restaurants send tablecloths and napkins out and keep only towels in-house.
How Five Star Linens Fits the Comparison
If you're comparing in-house laundry with service from us, these are the facts that change the math:
- Per-piece pricing from one price list, with no fuel or delivery fees added on top
- No contract, so you can start with only the items that cost you the most to wash in-house, and stop whenever you want
- No equipment, utilities, chemicals or laundry labor on your side for the items we wash
- Counted at our facility in Dalton, so your invoice follows what was actually washed
- The same pickup and delivery day every week, scheduled around your busiest hours
Get a Real Comparison
Request a free invoice review. If you wash in-house, we'll start with your rough weekly counts and walk through the per-piece cost of service with us, side by side with your own numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to wash restaurant linens in-house?
Usually not once every cost is counted. Equipment, installation, utilities, chemicals, labor, replacement linens, repairs and floor space all belong in the comparison. Labor for pressing tablecloths and napkins is often the largest piece.
How do I calculate my in-house cost per piece?
Add up one month of in-house costs, including a monthly share of what the equipment cost, then divide by the number of pieces washed that month. Compare that number to a per-piece price from a linen service.
How long do commercial linens last?
Laundry industry sources often cite around 200 wash cycles for linen used as intended. Using napkins and tablecloths as rags shortens that quickly, which raises replacement costs whether you wash in-house or use a service.
Can I use a linen service for some items and wash others myself?
Yes. Many restaurants send tablecloths and napkins out for pressing and keep simple items like bar towels in-house. With Five Star Linens you can choose which items to send, with no contract.