Pressure on Water Resources Is Growing

The world is sweltering. Asia, Europe, Canada, South Asia and the United States all suffered from unimaginable heat and its dramatic consequences in 2026. Excess mortality rose significantly worldwide during the hottest months. Devastating wildfires destroyed vast, mostly forested areas. A lack of rainfall led to crop failures and further exacerbated the already poor supply of drinking water in parts of the world. Major rivers were reduced to trickles, bringing inland shipping virtually to a standstill and forcing nuclear power stations offline due to a lack of cooling water. In addition to the devastating environmental and social consequences, there are also severe economic losses: the World Bank has found that continuing with business as usual and failing to implement water management strategies could result in annual losses of between 2 and 10% of gross domestic product by 2050, depending on the region.

The effects of water scarcity will hit industries that depend on this resource particularly hard, including the textile and textile care industries. If the water supply for cotton cultivation and textile finishing dries up, the supply of workwear, hotel linen and other textiles to rental and contract laundries will be put at risk. Moreover, the very business of textile care, which relies heavily on this natural resource, could itself begin to dry up. The textile care industry must therefore find ways to reduce its water consumption.

To counter the threat of declining water resources and rising water supply and wastewater disposal costs, China adopted its Three Red Lines strategy as early as 2011. It limits total national water withdrawals and water-use intensity by sector, while requiring annual improvements in efficiency. Key industries such as the textile sector are required to install 24-hour monitoring systems and report water quality data to local environmental authorities. According to Watertech China, almost all provinces now meet or exceed the efficiency targets. Europe has not yet reached this stage; its Water Resilience Strategy was only adopted in mid-2025.

However, the consequences of continuing to use water without sufficient regard for its scarcity have long prompted textile care companies, their trade associations and suppliers to take action. Following the principle of rethinking water in laundries rather than simply disposing of it, a laundry in the Baltic region is saving considerable resources and operating costs while reducing its wastewater load after upgrading its wastewater treatment system. This has been achieved through the installation of microfilters and membrane filters, heat exchangers and evaporation systems with mechanical vapour recompression.

However, saving water during the washing process does not always require the latest technologies. Here are a number of measures that can help reduce the water footprint of a commercial laundry:

• Check supply pipes: Undetected leaks in water pipes – whether carrying fresh or process water – can significantly increase costs. Installing water meters upstream of each point of use makes actual water consumption within the facility transparent. Data collected at the machines can also be used to benchmark performance against industry standards and to compare the volume of water supplied by the utility with the volume actually consumed on site. 
  
  
• Effective pre-sorting and appropriate wash programmes: Using the same washing process for every type of soiled laundry is inefficient. Processes should therefore be tailored to the type and degree of soiling as well as the textile. Ideally, a facility’s standard procedures should be displayed prominently on the machines to make it easier to select the correct programme. Pictograms on the control panel can make this even simpler. 
  
  
• Monitor rewash rates: Rewashing doubles the amount of water used per kg of laundry by requiring an additional specialist wash. Continuously monitoring rewash volumes and comparing a laundry’s performance with industry benchmarks can reveal potential resource wastage – for example, due to inadequate pre-sorting of soiled laundry, ineffective washing processes or technical faults in the machines. 
  
  
• Make use of water recirculation: Continuous batch washers have long reused rinse and press water in the pre-wash and main wash stages. Further savings can be achieved by filtering process water and routing it through storage tanks. For example, lightly contaminated wash water from the main wash can then be reused to wash heavily soiled textiles, provided that no adverse chemical effects are expected. 
  
  
• Implement water recycling systems: Recovering and recirculating water is complex, but worthwhile. Recyclable wash liquor is pumped through pipework (and heat exchangers), via filtration systems, into tanks, from where it is fed back to the washing machines through supply lines. However, the entire water management system requires careful planning due to the temperature of the wash liquor, the chemicals it contains and any residual soil load. Recycling water is generally used according to the ‘clean to dirty’ principle, mirroring the way continuous batch washers operate. Finishing liquors require separate tanks. 
  
  
• Implement ozone washing processes: Ozone reactors use UV-C light to increase hydrogen peroxide levels in the main wash section of a continuous batch washer. This reduces the amount of disinfecting washing agents required, meaning that the textiles carry fewer chemicals into the subsequent rinse chamber. As a result, rinse cycles can be shortened. According to studies, water consumption can be reduced by around 10%. At Ruess in Wolfsburg, the technology saves an average of almost 1 litre of water per kg of laundry. 
  
  
• Go water-free: Water-free alternatives include textile cleaning using liquid or supercritical carbon dioxide, as well as machines that use nylon beads. 
  
  
• Carry out regular maintenance: Regular maintenance of laundry machines ensures that they operate efficiently and prevents unintended water losses caused, for example, by leaking pipes. 
  
  
• Train staff: Commercial laundries around the world often lack adequately trained staff. A lack of background knowledge can lead to machines being operated incorrectly – for example, overdosing detergents, particularly powders, or selecting the wrong wash programme. This can result in rewashing, unnecessarily high resource consumption and problems with water recycling. Staff training can help address these issues. National industry associations may also be able to provide support by offering training and professional development programmes. 
  
  
• Invest in modern, efficient washing technology: In some countries, top-loading machines are still used in commercial laundries, despite being extremely wasteful in their use of water and energy. Investing in modern front-loading washer-extractors can reduce consumption by up to 50%. Further savings can be achieved by equipping machines with weighing systems that determine the weight of each load and automatically adjust water and chemical dosing accordingly. High spin speeds during the final extraction cycle also ensure optimum dewatering, allowing more rinse water to be recovered and reused. 
  
  
• Build rainwater storage tanks: Collecting, treating and using rainwater in appropriately sized storage tanks could become an effective way of alleviating water scarcity, at least on a seasonal basis. 

There is no doubt that falling groundwater levels, increasing pressure from water authorities and rising water supply and wastewater disposal costs are accelerating the adoption of recycling systems in the textile care industry. These systems can recover up to 85% of wastewater and, following appropriate treatment, return it to the washing cycle. This not only helps conserve vital drinking water resources. According to the Laundry Water Recycling System Market Research Report 2034, water-related operating costs can also be reduced significantly – by as much as 50%.