Insurance and Laundromat Fires: Including Some Little Known Facts

One of the biggest insurance exposures in a Laundromat is a fire. Most of the reasons for having a devastating fire, as seen in the photographs, can be greatly limited, or eliminated by proper care from the owner.

The majority of fires in Laundromats are caused in conjunction with the following:

1. Build up of lint inside dryers.

(Clean your lint screens)

2. Build up of lint inside the exhaust vents of the dryer.

(Check & clean you dryer vents)

3. Clogged exhaust vends caused by birds and debris.

(Checks that flaps move freely)

4. Cigarettes disposed of in non-fireproof trash cans.

(Buy and use only fire-resistant trash receptacles)

5. Vandalism related – intentional acts – or arson.

(Don’t leave the store open all night or when there are very few customers)

6. Fires in neighboring businesses that spread to the Laundromat.

(Ensure that fire walls – to ceiling - separate your business from your neighbor’s business)

7. Failure to properly maintain and repair safety heat limiting devices – switches - on dryers.

(Never bypass or fail to replace defective safety switches)

8. Owners storing combustible material too close to the back of dryers.

(Teach your cleaning attendants about the danger and don’t do it yourself)

9. Owners storing combustible material too close to the water heaters.

(Teach your cleaning attendants about the danger and don’t do it yourself)

10. Customers washing or drying materials soaked in flammable liquids – such as gasoline soaked rags - or flammable powders.

(Put up a sign of the dangers and instruct your attendants to stop people from washing this type of material)

11. Built up washing powders with oxygen agents, oxygen-based bleach or other oxygen-agents used to promote cleaning. the oxygen residue can assist in ignition of fires when exposed to the heat of a dryer if not properly washed out in the wash cycle.

(Try to stop customers from over soaping in the washers)