Reduce Commercial Laundry Water Costs in Singapore
Cut laundry water use by 45–65% and gas use by around 15% with water recycling. Get a free audit to explore the savings for your Singapore laundry.
At 100 tonnes/week
Singapore laundry water cost reduction
Key facts at a glance
Use less fresh water, reuse heat and lower laundry running costs. Your PUB account, gas bills and laundry workload show what that means in dollars.
This guide is for Singapore hotels, hospitals, aged-care facilities, textile rental plants and industrial laundries assessing water recycling. We’ll connect you with our partner, a company that works with Wientjens, for a free water audit and ROI assessment.
Use the process guide to identify suitable reuse stages, the installation guide to scope the retrofit and the Singapore regulations guide to review discharge requirements.
- Service area: Singapore commercial laundries.
- Main cost drivers: Fresh-water use, gas heating, account-specific discharge charges and system running costs.
- Savings and payback: 45–65% less laundry water and around 15% less gas. Payback can be as fast as 6 months at 100 tonnes/week.
- Singapore context: Use your PUB account’s water charges and any separately approved trade-effluent fees to estimate savings.
- Relevant facilities: Hotels, hospitals, aged-care facilities, textile rental plants and industrial laundries.
- How we help: We connect you with our partner, a company that works with Wientjens, for a free water audit and ROI assessment.
The Problem
The Hidden Cost of Water in Singapore Commercial Laundries
Fresh-water use and hot-water heating can be a significant part of your laundry’s running costs.
Water use, hot-water heating and account-specific discharge charges are key costs to check when assessing water recycling.
From 1 April 2025, before GST: S$1.43 Water Tariff + S$0.72 Water Conservation Tax + S$1.09 Waterborne Tax per m³. Any separately approved Trade Effluent Fee Scheme charges depend on your discharge volume and quality.
Use your actual PUB account, gas bills, laundry workload and installed quotation to assess the return for your site.
Cost Breakdown
Where Your Money Goes
Look at water charges, gas heating and operating costs together when estimating your laundry’s savings.
Example Budget Split
Illustrative allocation for a facility with separately approved trade-effluent fees, not a Singapore industry average. Your costs and other operating expenses will differ.
Illustrative Annual Water Costs by Facility Type (SGD)
Hypothetical profiles: daily linen quantities are assumptions, not averages derived from room or bed counts. Assume 15 litres of fresh water per kilogram and 365 operating days. Annual water cost = daily kilograms × 15 ÷ 1,000 × 365 × PUB’s S$3.24/m³ potable-water total, before GST, rounded to the nearest S$100. Separate trade-effluent fees, gas, chemicals and other operating costs are excluded. Use your actual consumption and account for a site estimate.
Ready to explore your savings?
Get a free water audit and assess potential savings using your own bills and laundry workload.
Root Causes
4 Reasons Your Water Costs Are So High
And what you can do about each one.
Fresh-Water Demand
Water used in one wash stage may be suitable for another. Water recycling collects and filters eligible wash water for reuse in agreed stages.
Water recycling can cut your laundry’s water use by 45–65%.
Water and Discharge Charges
PUB’s potable-water total includes Waterborne Tax. A separate Trade Effluent Fee Scheme applies only to approved eligible discharges; its fees depend on volume and quality.
Calculate savings from your actual account; lower discharge volume does not guarantee the same percentage reduction in separate effluent fees.
Heat Lost with Wastewater
Warm wash water contains heat that can be reused. Reusing its heat can cut gas use by around 15%.
Include changed gas use and the recycling system’s operating costs in your savings estimate.
Exposure to Utility Price Changes
PUB prices can change. Use the current schedule for your account and assess any future price assumptions separately.
For laundries processing 100 tonnes/week, payback can be as fast as 6 months. Your installed costs and net savings determine the actual return.
PUB water prices · Trade Effluent Fee Scheme · Wientjens Blue Ocean information
Business Impact
What High Water Costs Really Mean
Beyond the numbers: how water costs impact your Singapore business.
Protecting Profit Margins
High water and gas bills reduce your margin. Lower net running costs can free up budget for staff, equipment and growth.
Competitive Pricing
Lower operating costs can give you more flexibility when pricing contracts. Show water-efficiency results using measured figures from your plant.
Budget Pressure
For hotels, hospitals and healthcare facilities, utility spending competes with staffing and equipment budgets. Assess the savings available from your own laundry workload.
Water and Discharge Planning
Review public-sewer discharge requirements with PUB and agree suitable reuse stages with your laundry team. Equipment selection alone does not establish approval or wash-process suitability.
Sustainability Reporting
Measured water and gas savings can support customer procurement and sustainability reporting. Use your actual results and the relevant programme criteria.
Earlier Assessment, Earlier Savings
An assessment can identify where ongoing water and gas costs can be reduced. For laundries processing 100 tonnes/week, payback can be as fast as 6 months.
Planning Examples
Illustrative Savings Scenarios
Hypothetical examples of water-use reduction and annual net savings.
Planning examples only. Water reductions and annual net savings are assumptions, not measured customer results. Annual net savings are assumed after additional system operating costs. All amounts are SGD excluding GST, with no grant included.
Request a free audit for a savings and payback assessment using your laundry’s bills and workload.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What are typical water costs for commercial laundries in Singapore?
PUB’s non-domestic potable-water total is S$3.24 per m³ from 1 April 2025, before GST: S$1.43 Water Tariff, S$0.72 Water Conservation Tax and S$1.09 Waterborne Tax. One m³ is 1,000 litres. Rates differ for NEWater and other supplies, so use your own account. A separate Trade Effluent Fee Scheme applies only to approved eligible discharges and depends on volume and quality. A free water audit can assess potential savings using your actual bills and laundry workload.
Why are my laundry water bills so high in Singapore?
Fresh-water demand and hot-water heating can be substantial laundry costs. Your PUB account includes the applicable tariff and taxes; any separate approved trade-effluent fees depend on discharge volume and quality. Check litres used per kilogram of linen, leaks, wash programmes and gas use. Recycling can reduce laundry water use by 45–65%, using suitable recovered water in stages agreed for your wash process.
How much can I realistically save on water costs with water recycling in Singapore?
Water recycling can reduce laundry water use by 45–65% and gas use by around 15%. For laundries processing 100 tonnes/week, payback can be as fast as 6 months. The dollar saving depends on your laundry workload, actual account charges and gas costs. Assess discharge-fee changes separately and deduct added electricity, servicing and other running costs to estimate annual net savings. An installed quotation and those net savings determine the payback for your site.
What's the fastest way to reduce my laundry water costs in Singapore?
Start by checking leaks, wash programmes and water use against linen volume, then assess recycling alongside those improvements. Water recycling can cut laundry water use by 45–65% and gas use by around 15%. Payback can be as fast as 6 months at 100 tonnes/week. LaundryWaterSolutions connects you with our partner, a company that works with Wientjens, for a free water audit and ROI assessment. Check PUB’s current Water Efficiency Fund criteria and obtain PUB approval before starting a funded project; leave unapproved funding out of the base payback calculation.
Are water costs going to keep rising in Singapore?
Future PUB price changes should be treated as assumptions, not a guaranteed forecast. Use the current charges for your account to calculate the base return, then assess higher-price scenarios separately if useful. Reducing laundry water use by 45–65% lowers the volume exposed to applicable water charges, but the change in your total bill depends on its components and any separate discharge fees.
Is water recycling legal and NEA compliant in Singapore?
Water recycling does not by itself establish regulatory approval or wash-process suitability. PUB Written Approval is required for trade-effluent discharge to the public sewer; NEA has separate requirements for discharge to watercourses or controlled watercourses. Confirm the discharge route and conditions for your site, and agree suitable reuse stages and linen quality with the responsible laundry team. For healthcare linen, involve the infection-control team. Filtration targets suspended solids; it is not a guarantee of disinfection or removal of dissolved contaminants.
PUB Written Approval for sewer discharge NEA watercourse discharge limits Singapore laundry regulations guide Wientjens Blue Ocean Filter brochure
Explore Savings for Your Singapore Laundry
See how water recycling could lower your laundry’s water and gas costs.
We’ll connect you with our partner for a free water audit using your bills and laundry workload. No obligation, no cost.
Explore commercial laundry water recycling in Singapore
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DUTCH ENGINEERING
Explore Wientjens Blue Ocean technology. Review the manufacturer's model specifications when assessing your laundry's water and energy recycling options.