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Imagine, you’re in a store, and you’ve taken your purchases through the checkout. As the clerk holds out a hand to receive your hard earned cash, you see that the hand appears to have been greasing old machinery, and hasn’t seen a bar of soap in a long time.  Grime has encrusted the surface so you are unsure to what species this claw belongs.  How will you feel about the transaction?
 

When a customer places coins into the coin mechanisms in your washers and dryers, that is your hand reaching out to receive their hard earned cash.  Has it been washed lately?  Or do you leave them wondering just how clean their laundry will get in a facility that can’t keep itself clean?
 

Aside from abuse, or lack of care, most coin chutes will actually out last the machine onto which they are mounted.   Some of the design variations on this device have been around even longer than the coin laundry concept itself, appearing on mechanical vending machines as far back as the teen’s & 20’s.   The basic concept of the devices is to take simple mechanical measurements of the coins or tokens offered, and if they fall within defined parameters, unlock the chute, and allows it to start the machine. 
 

With the terrible inflation of the 70’s there arose a need to accept more than 1 or 2 coins, so were born the vertical coin mechanisms.  These offer the ability to change prices, and to accept many more coins, but the concept remains the same, only the plane of operation has been rotated 90 degrees, and the complexity has increased along with the greater capacity. Keep in mind that the mechanisms are measuring the coins and therefore any buildup will affect the sensitivity of the mechanism causing it to accept slugs easier and perhaps rejecting acceptable coins.
 

I won’t address the drop mechanisms.  With their vertical face, they are not as likely to build up the “scrock” that the basic push/pull style coin mechanism tends to attract. And they will have various electrical connections that do not respond well to water!  Those that have the photoelectric sensors do require an occasional cleaning of the lenses on the emitter and the sensor.
 

 The push/pull mechanisms as produced by Greenwald, ESD, and Monarch are time proven devices that still hold a relevant place in many of today’s laundries.  They are simple to maintain, relatively inexpensive when compared to other types of acceptors, and are “user” friendly.  It would be the very unusual person who has never encountered such devices and did not understand how to work them. One thing to check when doing collections, is to push the mechanism in and make sure it doesn’t free play.  Or when collecting, if you see bits and pieces of things other than coins, check the chute!  Some may have “Slam Jammed” the chute to make it freeplay.
 

The chutes are tough, but they do provide a surface into which lint, soap powder, fabric softener, and all the other various substances in the laundromat will settle.  Combined with the humidity, this mix can build up and make a horrendous gooey mess, hardening into an ugly substance, that not only affects the appearance of your equipment, but can interfere with the operation and proper gauging of the coins passing through the chute.  As noted above, the devices take very simple physical measurements.  A build up of material in the mechanism can interfere with the accuracy of these measurements.  A poorly functioning coin mechanism can cost you revenue even more certainly than the adverse appearance.
 

Along with cleaning your facility regularly, it will pay to address the problem of the coin mechanisms as well. Coin Mechanisms should be scheduled for a thorough cleaning at least once a year.  The procedure is simple.  Remove the coin chute from the machine, by loosening the mounting bolt that holds it in from the rear.  Lift the chute up and out, removing or at least being careful not injure, the extensions bolted to the ends. (Some make require you remove the extension before you can remove the chute.  Be careful not to drop the screws!) Slosh the coin mechanism around in a bucket of warm soapy water and with some old toothbrushes, and some toothpicks, remove the buildup from the mechanism.  Provided the mechanism is not too heavily encrusted, it should not be necessary to disassemble the coin mechanism.  Once the worst of the soil is loosened, rinse by submersion and agitation in a bucket of cool clear water, then shake off any excess moisture before lubrication. 
 

Now for the “secret” step to keeping your mechanisms in order.  Lubrication.  NEVER EVER USE WD40 or other oil based products on coin mechanisms!!!!  There are products marketed for this purpose under such names a Motion or CRC, but the simplest product to use for this purpose is the same silicon spray used to protect your spark plug wires, available at any auto supply store.  Generously applied, the silicon spray is a hydrophylitic substance that displaces any water left in the coin mechanism, and leaves a lubricated, but grease free, protected surface that will not hold the very scrock you are trying to get off.  A short blast between cleanings will help keep them working smoothly with leaving grease that will rub off on the customer’s hands. It is good for lubing the locks too!
 

 I know the WD40 is a popular quick fix, the universal lube for all handymen, but it is a blend of oils, and the lighter elements will evaporate over time, leaving a thicker, stickier film that will hold onto the crud. For the reasons cited, it does not have a good place in the coin mechanisms or locks.  Like the old commercials for hair dressings, AVOID THE GREASY KID STUFF.
 

Return the coin mechanism to its place in the housing.  When securing the mounting bolt, take care not to over tighten it.  Too tight can strip the threads in the housing, or cause the coin mechanism to distort and bind up, preventing easy operation.  Be sure to run coins through to make certain everything is working well.
 

Value is relative.  The price of an average coin chute is from about $30 to $35.  Perhaps you see that as a disposable cost.  Maybe you can replace them when they get too far gone to clean or work properly. But if you take a little care of them, the useful life can be extended for years.  And if cleaned properly, and lubricated properly, it will work smoother for your customers. This may seem a subtle thing, but many of the reasons a customer returns are due to subconscious factors such as cleaner, smoothly operating, trouble free equipment.  Just remember that it is YOUR hand that the coin mechanism represents.  Have you washed your “hands” lately?