Favoriate Launderomat Stories

[spiceman1957]

I just read Laundress intake on launderomats and was wondering if any of you have any good launderomat stories. I had to use a laundermat for 13 years before I purchased my first condo with a new washer and dryer. The launderomat I used was located in a nice shopping center near a well known university. On one of these visits, I had about 5 machines going, you know whites, colors, etc. I decided to go the food market about 3 stores down and when I got back 10 minutes later, some jerk had taken all of my wet clothes out of the machines, thrown them on the floor and was washing their own rags in my purchased machines which now packed full with about a gallon of water (those machines never gave a lot of water to wash with) . Of course I was pissed off and about 20 years ago at that time. So I just happen to have my favoriate brand of bleach (and not the cheap stuff) and politely poured bleach into all 5 machines. Didn't wait around to see who the sucker was. On a lighter note, I did meet and yes picked up a handsome guy several months later for which we dated for about 6 months. I loved to hear other stories

 

[norgeway]

Fantastic

Sounds like a man after my own heart,just what that sucker deserved...all I remember about a laundromat is when my mom wanted to wash something big we went to the local laundry,which in the 70s still had both Philco-Bendix washers and Speed Queen, we also went to another one that had Norge,both top and front load..last time I was there they still had 4 old Norges...still running,I knew someone who moved south in 1961,from Canada,and asked the attendant why he couldnt wash colored clothes...there was a sign saying White Only...He didnt know it was segregated then..True story

 

[spiceman1957]

Only in the South! How sad for this guy

 

[norgeway]

Same Laundromat

The old laundromat that this happened at is still open, it is the one with Norges,same owner for over 50 years, also they have several old Cissell dryers that are ORIGINAL!!! to the laundry,As for the incident, I can not imagine things like that happening, but they did,im 43 so I dont remember those things, its good those jim crow days are gone,If I were African American, and had lived then I would still be mad.

 

[mixfinder]

Mina Caldwell

We lived 11 miles from town in a shack with no running water. Mom wasn't allowed to drive or leave home unescorted. Grandma would pick up mom and the 5 kids, our laundry and the empty 10 milk cans for water in her green 1953 Ford Ranchwagon. Mina Caldwell had a big old block building with 18 Maytag grey ghost washers. You paid for the water for the washer and rinse tub and use of the machine. It would take all day. For 10 cents Mina would put the clothes in an extractor and for 25 cents she would dry a big load of your clothes. The dryer was huge and had a big lever like a gear shift she used to turn the dryer on and off. No timer, just feel. Their house was attached and she had a GE 40 inch double oven range with pushbuttons that lighted up and a Sunbeam Model 11. I drooled the entire time I was there. When we left, Mina would fill the milk cans and home we'd go. One time Mom dried some clothes and one of my dad's shirt shrunk so we weren't allowed to use the dryer again, ever. We moved to a place with running water in 1963 and we didn't go back to Mina's. She put in home style slant front Westinghouse washers and just watched and charged for each load. She kept some of the Maytags for the big families and the migrant farm workers.
My grandparents 50th in 1976. Mom is in the flowered dress. In the 70's my dad began to change and now he cares for mom with Alzheimers. Fate has a way of giving us our penance.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Other than Raid (brand inseciticide) in a washer, and a comforter (think heavy duvet for our international friends) in the centrifugal extractor where a corner of it was spinning against the lid and was heating up and burning, I have little to report.

 

[peterh770]

I got a phone call yesterday from a customer. She put $4 or $5 dollars in quarters INTO A DRYER "and it only counted up to 28 minutes". I told her that I was glad it only went up to 28 minutes because SHE WOULD HAVE BURNED DOWN MY STORE. She hung up on me.

 

[kenmoreforever]

I remember as 25 years ago as a young 20's guy that went out alot, I used the laundrymat to wash and dry some clothes that I was going to wear out on my date. when they were finished, the place was empty of people so I saved a trip home and changed right there in the place. Half way through a female friend of mine walked in caught me in my underwear. It was funny yet embarrassing.

 

[douglasdc6]

Back in 1991 we had a washateria just around the corner - They had a large front loader I had ben using over the years .

One day I not only noticed the price had gon up on the machine I was using but noticed the water level had ben set for lower - I was not happy with the lower water level so went home & came back with a large bucket , I then went back & forth from the bathroom sink to the machine & started filling the machine up with the approperiate level of water to satisfy my needs - Well the owner caught me & kicked me out. - The store closed shortly after.

A week later I found A used baby general electric washer that hooks up to the kitchen sink - This little fella got me through some tuff times to I could finnally aford my 1st new may tag pair 9 years later.

The baby G-E finally died - But yes I still have & love that machine.

 

[spiceman1957]

I have to add this,

My coworkers and I were discussing launderomats the other day and I had told them about this wonderful site. One of these ladies told me a TRUE story when she used a Launderomat in Balitmore MD. This was on a Saturday afternoon and the launderomat was packed with people. There was no attendant on duty (self service) . A bad lighting storm with heavy rain began to take place. All of a sudden, the power goes off, machines stop running. Many of these people used these large front loading machines which are locked until the wash/rinse/spin cycle is completed. Well guess what, they could not find the owners of this place. Police came in and locked up the launderomat. These people had to wait until Monday to get any answers. As I was told no one got any refunds, clothes seem to disappear without any trace. Can you think of a worse nightmare than this!

 

[toggleswitch2]

My understaing is that today's Wascomat front-loaders, as found in laundromats, will:

1- Dump the water (by gravity, into the drain) as the dump-value uses electricty to CLOSE it.

2- It is also my belief that the door will unlatch in 2 to 3 mninutes.

I was using the laundormat when the water company came to excavate some lines and do some work. They took the laundormat's buildng's main grounding/earthing wire off the pipe.

Well the fluorescent ligts in the store started shimmering and dimming and "dancing" in light output.

My washer continued unintrrupted. There was one other dryer working. As my washer finished and I put my clothes in the dyrer, it took a few attempts to get it started, and somehow my starting my dryer stopped the dryer that was already running. I went over and hit "start" and got them both to work simultaneously.

I then understood the necessity for good grounding, above and beyond safety issues. Luckily the place was not busy at that time.

 

[peterh770]

Wascomat:

1- The dump valve (drain) uses water pressure to open and close. The only electric used is for the control solenoid.

2- Wascomats unlock as soon as the cycle is complete. They used to have a 1.5 minute "shakeout" at the end of the spin (Generation 5 models and earlier). The newer Gen 6 ones do not, but do have a sensor that unlocks the door when no tub motion is detected. In the middle of the cycle, if the power is turned off, the dump valve opens and the door lock unlocks after about 2 minutes when it cools down.

 

[spiceman1957]

You are correct

with today's new commerical front-loaders. I asked my friend about this and she said it was many, many years ago. Honestly, no one could not get their clothes out of these locked machines.

 

[filter-flo_rob]

A trip to the laundromat.

When I was a kid, our GE Filter Flo broke and we had to wait for a repairman. Mum took my sister and I to the laundromat. We got a call from the neighbour and asked if she could come with us; she would go the laundromat for washing comforters and the like. So, we all went.

While there, all of a sudden I heard an older lady say loudly, "Oh, Oh': followed by a yell "OH!" I turned around in time just to see our neighbour get pushed by a couple of kids playing around. Our laundromat had baskets on wheels that one could use to put your wet clothing in to take it to the dryer area. Well, she fell into the basket, butt first, her hands and legs were sticking out and moving around. Since this was the 60s there was no air conditioning and as this was in the summer ... OUT THE DOOR SHE WENT! Fortunately, she crashed into a large stationary flowerpot. We all had to help her out. I don't know who laughed more: her or the others in the Laundromat.

Her name was Gertrude. We used to call her Aunt Gertie (lol, sounds like something that would happen to a Gertie!) She looked like Aunt Clara from Bewitched.

Rob.