Mat Cleaners

[JMMUSTANG]

What brand of mat cleaners do you guys use?
Does anyone use the Rhino mat cleaner?
I thought that the purchase price was pretty steep for the coin-op/bill acceptor model.
I like the coin/bill acceptor model but am not sure if it's worth the extra dollars.
They told me that I could charge $4, $6 or $8 for a set of 4 flooormats.
Seems to me to be pretty high since the customer would be doing the work. Granted it's not a lot of work but would the customer do it for that price?

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Does anyone have a mat machine to clean floor mats?
Do they work good?
Does anyone have the carpet shampoo attachment to the machine?
Does anyone charge for the service?
Are they coin/bill operated or free for the customer to use?

 

[easywash]

Rhino Matwash

I do... message me

 

[easywash]

$5 for a set of 4 mats and usually my concierge does it for the customer.

I also let all my monthly members use it for free as part of their membership.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

What type of wash do you have?
That's a good idea having your employee do the customers floor mats.
Does the employee approach the customers or do you sell the option via signage?
Any problems getting $5 for a set of 4 floormats?
What percentage of customers buy the option?

 

[bigleo48]

The only problem I have with the Rhino is that it needs water hookup. So if it is outdoors and the temps drop below freezing, you have a problem.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Good call. I hadn't thought about that. I guess I would have to either hook up hot water in the winter or turn it off and disconnect.

 

[CleanWD]

The only problem I have with the Rhino is that it needs water hookup. So if it is outdoors and the temps drop below freezing, you have a problem.

there is a automatic heating coil/tape that keeps the pipes from freezing once temp drops to a certain level.

 

[JeffM]

I have a Rhino full-serve, we charge $5 per pair of mats and do between 500-700 pairs on a good month.

I have had the machine since 2010 and can tell you that after seeing various other similar units and owning the previous units (seperate washer and dryer, made by CWD) that the Rhino-Mat is the best unit I have seen. The old CWD units I had corroded quickly, required constant foam roller changes every few months and were more hastle then anything. Needless to say, when I was told that one had been purchased for my location I was less than enthusiastic.

One thing to consider (at least in our case) is that the unit requires a 30 amp hookup. So by the time that everything was said and done with the unit purchased, shipped, & installed the cost was just under $10k. Charging $5 per pair, the payback on the setup ended up being within the first 6 months.

The unit itself is a vast improvement over the previous models and has stood up quite well over the past 3 years. I would recommend spraying some form of corrosion inhibitor on all hardware in the side pannels and in the front around the blower setup. While it might not be necessary, it has make the unit easy to service as nothing inside is corroded. The only thing I would like to see would be a stainless frame, although I do realize that would drive the price up substantially.

With that said, service has been VERY minimal;

- replaced both blower motors after 3 years as impellers came apart
- greased roller chain every 6 months

We have this unit at 2 locations and plan to be purchasing a 3rd soon. I would highly recommend to anyone who wants a quality mat cleaner which will last.

 

[mjwalsh]

Since we also have a Laundromat with front loaders ... we have actually been encouraging some customers to use a front load washer & about 5 minutes in a dryer ... with good results. I wonder if any fellow Laundromat-car wash combo owners or anyone else for that matter ... has compared laundry front load washing machine results with some dedicated mat cleaners? If the mats are too cheap & falling apart then it is not so good.

 

[CleanWD]

Rhino-Mat

Goodmorning jeff
I am glad to hear that the Rhino-Mat has been doing well for you. Im wondering if your location purchased the Carbon Steel version of the Rhino-Mat. We offer a full Stainless Steel and a carbon steel with the same outer coating on all of our machines. Put a magnet up to the panels and see if it sticks. if so you probably have the carbon steel. They will rust over time depending on how the machine is maintained will determine its life. Im glad to hear that your ROI was less than a year. i have been contacting our existing customers and for the most part people are happy with the rhino-mat. We have the only mat cleaning machine to be certified by ETL Canada and US. If you need any assistance with your rhino-mat feel free to email me at scott@cleanwd or give us a call 8am-5pm PST.