Trevor
for what its worth, I was a licensed Cosmetologist until just a few years ago and actively worked in the profession from 1970 thru 1985. When I first started in the business we always had a linen service for the towels, mainly because the State Board of Cosmetology had very stringent rules about the sanitation of towels.
Then in 1980 I went to work for a salon that had a Maytag washer and dryer in the back, and we washed our towels. The machines were always overloaded, because everyone waited until the last minute to do the towels, so they were never as clean as the linen service towels. And the towels were constantly having to be replaced due to holes from using so much LCB to sanitize them.
I have no idea how much a linen service charges now for towel service, or if you can even get towel service in your town. But if I were going to own a salon I would seriously consider just biting the bullet and having a linen service. I think if you run the numbers for the cost of the towels to begin with, the cost for replacement of the towels, the cost of the washer and dryer initially and the future repairs and replacement, the cost of the extra utilities and detergent and bleach, not to mention the strain it puts on the water heater and running out of hot water when you have a full salon, in the end its probably not much more costly to have a linen service, if not less expensive. And it sure frees up your time to make more money providing paid services, instead of either you or your employees make’n with the laundry.
The linen service towels were always immaculately clean and sanitized, and not worn out. They gave a better impression to the customers too.
But thats just my opinion. And I love to do laundry, but not under those conditions.
Eddie