Laundry lockers turn a wash & fold counter into a 24-hour service. Customers drop off and collect on their own schedule. You process the orders when it suits your plant, and you open more drop-off points without paying more counter staff. KioskForce designs the locker hardware and the software in-house and builds the door mix around your orders. We are taking reservations for the first production run now.
Quick answer
- What it is: secure doors where your customers drop off dirty laundry and collect clean laundry 24/7. No staff are needed at the locker.
- How customers pay: they save a card at drop-off and are charged after the order is weighed. They collect with a code sent by text.
- What is different here: optional weigh-at-drop-off. A sensed door records the bag’s weight as it closes, so the customer sees a price range immediately and you see tomorrow’s load tonight.
- Price: indicative bands from about US$500–600 per door. Software is US$99 per location per month, with no revenue share. Get an instant estimate for your door mix, no email needed.
- Who it is for: laundromats, wash & fold and pickup-and-delivery operators, dry cleaners. Also property managers who want a laundry amenity run by a local operator.
- Lead time: about 8–12 weeks for a custom build. First-run slots can be reserved now.
How a laundry locker order runs
| Step | Customer | Locker and software | You (the operator) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Drop-off | Taps Drop off or scans the QR code, enters phone or email, saves a card | Assigns a door of the right size and opens it. On a sensed door, records the bag weight when it closes | New order appears in the portal with the door number and, if sensed, the estimated weight |
| 2. Collection | — | Shows the driver which doors hold orders | Driver opens the doors with a driver code and takes the bags on the next run |
| 3. Weigh and charge | Gets a text with the final weight and price | Charges the saved card for weight × your rate plus any extras, with your minimum order applied | You weigh the order on your scale and enter the weight |
| 4. Return | — | Reserves a clean-side door | Driver puts the clean order back |
| 5. Pickup | Gets a pickup code by text, collects any time | Releases the door only once payment has cleared | Nothing to do. The door goes back into the pool after a ventilation cycle |
Unlike a laundry drop box, every order arrives tied to a named customer with a saved card, and nothing leaves the locker until it is paid for. This is the same reserve → drop-off → pickup sequence that runs our food and parcel delivery lockers, with laundry door sizes and a weigh-then-charge step added. If a card is declined at step 3, the customer is texted a payment link and the pickup code stays locked until they pay. That design keeps unpaid orders out of the “collected” pile.
Weigh at drop-off: the price question, answered at the locker
Every laundry locker on the market today works the same way. The bag goes in blind, and nobody knows the price until someone weighs it on a counter scale the next day. That gap is why customers hesitate the first time, and why operators find out their load only when the driver comes back.
With optional per-cell weight sensing, a sensed door weighs the bag when the door closes:
- The customer sees an estimated weight and price range before walking away. For example, “about 14 lb, about US$24–27 at your rate”.
- You see the estimated load in the portal tonight, so you can plan staff, machines and rush capacity before the driver leaves.
- Your minimum order can be checked on the spot. Under-minimum bags are flagged at drop-off, not argued about at pickup.
Weight sensors are specified per door when the locker is ordered and fitted at the factory. They cannot be retrofitted, so decide which doors need them at the start. The locker reading is an estimate. If you charge by the pound, bill from a scale that is certified for trade use under your local weights and measures rules. The weigh-at-drop-off guide explains how the two readings work together.
Door types
| Door | Built for | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Wash-dry-fold | One full laundry bag, roughly 600 mm (24 in) clear height | Household wash & fold orders, the core of most banks |
| Hanging / long | Full-height door with a hanging rail | Dry cleaning returned on hangers, suits, dresses |
| Express | Small door | Shirts, single items, repeat small orders |
| Clean-only or dirty-only | Any of the above, assigned in software | Keeps soiled drop-offs and clean returns apart in larger banks |
Because every bank is built to order, the mix is yours to choose. A laundromat might want nine wash-dry-fold doors and three hanging doors. A dry cleaner might want the opposite. Branded fronts, outdoor-rated cabinets and through-wall installs, where customers drop off from the street and you unload from inside, are all specified at order.
Price bands
Indicative bands in US dollars, before freight, import duties and taxes. Your quote fixes the price for your configuration.
| Item | Indicative price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wash-dry-fold door | US$500–600 | Controller and keypad/QR access included per bank |
| Hanging / long door | US$550–650 | Hanging rail included |
| Express door | US$350–450 | |
| Per-cell weight sensing | + US$90–150 per sensed door | Factory-fitted only; choose the doors at order |
| Touchscreen payment kiosk | US$1,800–2,400 per bank | Card reader on the locker for walk-up customers; optional, since customers can use their phones |
| Outdoor-rated cabinet | + about 20% | Weather sealing, for unsheltered sites |
| Volume | about −10% from 25 doors, −20% from 50 doors | Across one order |
| Software | US$99 per location per month | Unlimited orders. No revenue share, no per-order fee |
The instant estimate shows a price range for your own mix before asking for contact details. For the full breakdown, including freight, duties and what other vendors publish, see how much laundry lockers cost.
The software
The operator portal is where the orders live:
- Orders: drop-off time, door, estimated weight (on sensed doors), final weight, price, status.
- Pricing: your rate per pound or kilo for wash & fold, per-item prices for dry cleaning (both can sit on one order), minimum order, rush and extras such as hang-dry, hypoallergenic detergent and folding preferences.
- Payments: the customer’s card is saved at drop-off and charged after weighing. Money settles into your own payment account, and KioskForce never holds it. Declined cards trigger a payment link, and the pickup code stays locked until payment clears.
- Notifications: texts for “order received”, “ready for pickup” and “payment needed”, carrying your brand.
- Driver access: driver codes with an audit trail of who opened which door and when.
- Multi-site: one account for every locker bank you run, in your store, in apartment buildings or at gyms.
- API and webhooks: drop-off and pickup events for your POS or your own app, on the same documented platform as our delivery lockers.
Where laundromat lockers make money
Lockers don’t create demand. They capture demand your counter misses: people who work through your opening hours, buildings without in-unit laundry, and gyms and offices where people would rather drop off on the way past. The locker’s return is the extra wash & fold orders it brings in, times your margin per order. The software fee and the hardware come out of that.
Run your own numbers in the wash and fold locker ROI calculator. Enter your price per pound, average order weight and expected orders. It needs no sign-up, and nothing leaves your browser. If you are deciding whether to start a laundry business at all, how to start a laundry business with lockers and how much laundromats make cover the economics first.
Where this is the wrong answer
- You have no way to collect. A locker bank away from your store needs a driver run, at least daily. Without one, put a single tower inside your own laundromat first.
- You take a handful of drop-offs a week. The hardware and the software fee need steady volume. A drop-off shelf behind your counter costs nothing.
- There is no power at the site. Our lockers need mains power and a mobile or Wi-Fi signal. Some vendors sell battery-only keypad lockers for sites with no power, but those cannot weigh, take card payments at the door or report events in real time.
- You want someone else to run the service. We sell the lockers and the software to the business that does the cleaning. We do not wash laundry or operate locker routes.
What to send us
- Your business: laundromat, dry cleaner, pickup-and-delivery, starting out, or property manager.
- Where the lockers go: in your store, an apartment building, an office or gym, or outdoors.
- Your orders: wash & fold orders per week today, average bag weight, and how many you would expect through lockers.
- Door mix: wash-dry-fold, hanging, express, and which doors need weighing.
- Timeline.
The fastest route is the instant estimate. It prices your mix and sends us the brief in one step. We sell direct and, in some regions, through local distributors. Support is by email, and where a local distributor supplied the lockers, it handles warranty and service.
Every page in this cluster
- Laundry locker instant estimate: price your door mix and reserve a first-run slot
- Wash and fold locker ROI calculator: payback from your own price per pound and order volume
- How much do laundry lockers cost?: hardware, software, freight and what other vendors publish
- Weigh-at-drop-off laundry lockers: pricing wash & fold before collection, and the legal-for-trade rule
- How to start a laundry business with lockers: wash & fold and pickup-and-delivery, step by step
- How much do laundromats make?: revenue, margins, and what wash & fold adds
- How to price wash and fold: per-pound rates, minimums and locker orders
- 24-hour laundry drop-off lockers: extending a laundromat’s wash & fold beyond opening hours
- Dry cleaning lockers: hanging doors, 24/7 drop-off and pickup for dry cleaners
- Laundromat KPIs: turns per day, revenue per square foot, cost per pound and the locker numbers to watch
- Laundromat vending machines: detergent and supplies vending, machine types and margins
Frequently asked questions
How do laundry lockers work?
The customer chooses drop-off on the locker screen or by scanning a QR code with their phone, enters a phone number or email, and saves a card. A door of the right size opens, the bag goes in, and the order is created in the operator portal. The operator’s driver collects on the next run. The bag is washed and weighed on the operator’s scale, the saved card is charged for the actual weight, and the clean order goes back into a locker. The customer receives a pickup code by text and collects whenever they like.
How much do laundry lockers cost?
Our indicative price bands are about US$500 to 600 per wash-dry-fold door, US$550 to 650 per hanging door and US$350 to 450 per express door, before freight, duties and taxes, with volume breaks from 25 doors. Optional per-cell weight sensing and a touchscreen payment kiosk add to that. Software is US$99 per location per month with no revenue share and no per-order fee. The instant estimate on our quote page shows a price range for your own door mix before asking for any contact details.
Can the locker weigh the laundry at drop-off?
Yes, as an option. Per-cell weight sensors are specified when the locker is ordered and fitted at the factory; they cannot be added later. A sensed cell records the weight of the bag when the door closes, so the customer can see an estimated price range at drop-off and the operator knows tomorrow’s load before the driver leaves. The locker sensor is an estimate. Where you charge by the pound, the final bill should come from a scale certified for trade use under your local weights and measures rules.
Does the laundry operator or KioskForce receive the customer’s payment?
The operator. Card payments settle into the laundry business’s own payment account. KioskForce never holds the end customer’s money and takes no share of it. We charge the operator a flat software fee per location and nothing per order, so a busy locker costs the same to run as a quiet one.
What does a laundry locker need on site?
A mains power outlet, a mobile or Wi-Fi signal the controller can hold, and a footprint with clearance for the doors to open fully. Indoor lobbies, laundromat walls and apartment mail rooms are the usual spots. Outdoor and through-wall builds are available to order. Installation is a matter of anchoring the towers and connecting power; it is optional from us and, in some regions, provided through a local distributor.
How long does it take to get laundry lockers?
Custom builds take about 8 to 12 weeks from an approved drawing to dispatch, plus shipping. We are taking reservations for the first laundry production run now. A reservation holds a slot in that run and the published price band while the door mix, branding and payment setup are finalised with you.
Can I use laundry lockers with my existing laundry POS?
The lockers ship with their own operator portal for orders, weights, charges and pickup codes, so you can run them on their own. Locker events such as drop-off and pickup are also available to other systems through a documented API and webhooks. Tell us which POS you use when you ask for a quote and we will confirm what connects and what does not.
Are laundry lockers worth it for a small laundromat?
They are worth it when there is unmet wash and fold demand at hours your counter is closed, or at a site you cannot staff, and when you already run a driver or plan to. A single tower in your own store is the cheapest test. They are not worth it if you take only a handful of drop-off orders a week, because the software fee and the hardware then outweigh the margin. Use our wash and fold locker ROI calculator with your own price per pound and order volume to check.
Related
- Smart lockers: how access-controlled lockers work
- Food and parcel delivery lockers: the platform laundry lockers share
- Locker configurator: other locker types and cell layouts
- Payments: card readers and cashless payment options
Talk to us about laundry lockers
Tell us your business type, where the lockers would go and roughly how many wash & fold orders you handle a week. The instant estimate is the quickest way, or use the form below.
Project brief · 60 seconds
What are we building together?
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