Article: The Decline of the American Laundromat

[vacerator]

Is that where

cruise ships used to dock? "Gangway"

 

[pierreandreply4]

cruise ships with laudromat

speaking of cruise ships with selfserve laundromat i know that some cruise ships have self serve laundromat i was on a princess cruise last year departing from los angeles the ship i was on the ruby princes had self serve laundromat with maytag top load washer dryer depending on the ships the washers and dryers might be maytag or speed queen but on the ruby princess it was maytag topload washers and dryers sometime ships might have both top and front load but it depends on the ships and not every cruise line have self serve laundry i know princess cruise have some

 

[stricklybojack]

.
Just saw this on Facebook:

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Am I 'Rhymin' like Simon' here?

The Laundromat is Still Alive 'N' Well, just look in your Hotel/Motel, here are some shots of one in Is-Rael:

And "ain't that a--" shame that I never took some pics of those new Speed Queens that made their way in the apartment complex my late-brother-in-law put in his 1st & last month's rent at just before becoming late- (deceased)...

(& someone there in Eilat decided to have some wine, while "There'll be time of for DRINKIN',--'TIL THE WASHIN'S DONE...!!!!")

-- Dave

 

[iej]

They're almost entirely gone here in Ireland.

You get the odd one (like 3 in a city of 170,000 people) where you can do a "service wash" - just drop your laundry in and they do it and return it dried and folded. Mostly people seem to use them for things like large quantities or bed linen.

What is cropping up now though is outdoor laundromats dropped into places like gas stations and supermarket car parks.

 

[verizonbear]

Baltimore's Laundry City 5 start landromat

I have been there with a friend, the best way I can describe it is like the "Wegman's" of laundromats !!!

Huge!!! tons of machines, no one had to wait for a dryer ! Impeccably clean !! Staff very professional , very friendly !!! Free wifi !!

They have a shuttle service!!!

And best of all you can get married there !!! If I ever meet Mr Right ( unlikely at 58) I will have my wedding there lol .

They give cash rewards to kids with "A"s on their report card. And do a lot of community outreach.

http://laundrycity24.com/

 

[pumpkina]

What are (or were, as it were) "family wash" commercial laundries?

 

[DADoES]

 
There are two (maybe three) coinop outfits here.  Also the RV parks have machines for space-renters to use.  One of the coinops is a newly-built facility, opened sometime last year.  Have not been in but pass by on occasion.  All the washers may be frontloaders.  Air conditioned, and may have attendants and folding service.

 

[johnrk]

Good Laundromats

I went to college at age seventeen, and my first real purchase was at nineteen when I bought a GE FF pair in avocado, the smaller basket size and single speed, and a GE d/w to match. I always hated having to share a washer in dorms, unless one sat there with the clothes there was always some jerk tossing a Magic Marker in, etc. More than anything, it just felt rather like wearing someone else's clothes. Illogical, I know, but can't argue with a feeling. And how I wish I had that pair back!

In the small city in which I live just outside Houston, we are fortunate to have a laundromat still that I've had to use on occasion with breakdowns at home. They maintain the place, it's clean and there's always an attendant there when it's open. The machines certainly appear well-maintained. I actually used to use the place fairly often when I would travel a lot because I could take washable laundry there and they would charge by the pound, would fold for non-clothing type stuff, but the attendant also did fantastic ironing of jeans, casual shirts, stuff that didn't go to the dry cleaners.

Reading on here, I think it sounds like fun to have a laundromat where one could get light food and drink and have wi-fi. If I were eighteen again I'd sure head there!

 

[launderess]

"What are (or were, as it were) "family wash" commercial laundries? "

In the old days many laundries offered various levels of service. Prices increased as you went up the ladder.....

Lowest was "family" or "wet" wash (different places used various terms, where laundry was machine washed and extracted, then either returned wet/damp (for ironing at home), or dried, folded and returned.

Wet wash or family wash appealed to housewives because it took much of the labor (those three days of soaking, washing, beating, scrubbing, wringing, etc...) along with the related damp and smells away. Family wash was usually cheaper because it didn't involve any ironing..

Moving up the ladder you had machine washed and ironed laundry, machine washed, machine ironed and touched up by hand, machine washed and hand ironed, washed and ironed by hand totally.

Today and for the past fifty years or so family wash usually means simply "wash and fold".

 

[panthera]

On the few occasions when I must go to a laundramat,

I figure out another solution. A manual carwash which is unattended so I can stretch out the item too big for one of our machines and clean it.

I would have to be homeless and desperate to use any of the filthy pigsties around our town. Not to mention the insane, criminals, druggies and generally horrid people who hang out at them.

This is why they're declining, pure and simple. They're scary, filthy and risky.

 

On a cheerier note - please do check out my post on this in Dirty Laundry.