Laundromat

[asakiyume]

I like laundromats; I always have. Even having my own washing machine, there are times when I've needed to use a laundromat. Last weekend my dad and I had to use the laundromat in his town because his ancient (dating to my childhood) washing machine had finally given up the ghost.

The laundromat in his town--well, one of them; a woman I talked to in it said there was at least one other--is very cute. Behold: device to help you get into bleach containers. (We didn't need this as we brought our own detergent and didn't use bleach, in any case, but it was good to know it existed)



Olde-style art:





Helpful cleaning tips:



Humor about cleaning symbols (above the driers):



And who knew that this particular method of inserting coins was called "Vendmaster" or that it was made by a company called "Vend-Rite"?



In the laundromat that day was a mother/grandmother/guardian and a little girl: the woman was crocheting a blanket as she waited. Also some older men (not as old as my dad, though), plus some twenty-somethings. No one was chatting with each other, but I had a companionable feeling, doing the same task side by side with other people. It was like being part of a flock, or at the very least like wandering through one.

How do you feel about laundromats? Are there any spaces like a laundromats that you enjoy?

Comments

[dark_phoenix54]

I loathe laundromats with the burning fury of a thousand suns. It drives me nuts that I have to sit there, confined to the room, while clothing does its thing. If I were home, I could be doing anything- no need to watch over to foil theft (a problem here) or to be there instantly when the washer or dryer stops, lest someone else toss the load wherever so they can use the machine. Gah.

[asakiyume]

Yeah, the trapped thing is a problem, especially if you have to do loads consecutively. I have portable work that can help with that, but yeah--definitely a problem.

I think too that if the circumstance of the laundromat isn't great--like if there *is* a risk of theft or whatever, or if it's just really grungy, that definitely detracts from the situation.

[ironymaiden]

I'm not sure where to find a laundromat these days. I used to buy extra clothes so that I had to go less often; I have fond memories of taking basically all the clothes we owned and running them all at once while we got Chinese takeout from the restaurant a couple doors down. with that and books it felt more like a treat than a chore to spend an afternoon hanging out. i still love the sound of the machines and the detergent & bleach smells. (I have a Pavlovian thing about bleach because chlorine=swimming and that was my favorite thing in the world as a child.)

[asakiyume]

I know what you mean about smells and associations, and yeah, I can see it--or should I say, smell it--when you mention chlorine. Now if they made bleach that had an added coconut sunscreen smell, it would be PERFECT.

[pameladean]

I too hate laundromats. It goes against every instinct to lug a lot of heavy laundry out of the house, especially over icy sidewalks and snowbanks, take it somewhere else, and use up a bunch of coins that had to be specially acquired because I don't ever go anywhere and spend cash anymore, when I could be home doing laundry at my own pace while writing or making dinner or shovelling snow. Laundromat time isn't exactly wasted, because the laundry has to be done, but it should be doubly-employed because so much of it, fortunately on the whole, is hands-off.

Also I hate the seating, it's never comfortable; and I hate vying for dryers and flat spaces and carts and everything else.

I was actually relieved when the pandemic and my vulnerabilities meant that I really should not even consider using a laundromat. Our washer broke two weeks ago, and the first repair appointment available was on the 23rd. For the first time in a while I was glad that one of my partners can't live with the rest of us, because I went over to his place -- still having to lug everything over ice and snow -- and did enough loads to tide us over. So to speak.

I used to like the steamy soapy clean smell of laundromats, but I never liked the seating or the crowds. Or getting the change.

P.

[asakiyume]

Yeah, negotiating the ice and cold would be a big detractor: I used to have that when we lived in an apartment complex... but not really--it was just a matter of going across a courtyard, not like having to walk a block or two in the cold.

How old is your washer? My dad's probably dates from the 80s. Well, the one that broke was. Now he has a new one.

P.S.

[asakiyume]

(I feel like I'm using this as a focus session for creating a pleasant laundromat)

Imagine if someone invested in comfortable chairs in the laundromat! But I guess there'd still be the matter of its being an establishment where everyone comes in and out, and it would be hard to keep things clean and so on ...

... But I mean, cafés can have comfortable chairs and that's not a problem, so why not laundromats? Hmmmm.

Re: P.S.

[ironymaiden]

There used to be a comfy hangout laundromat in Pittsburgh. There was one with a bar in Seattle when I first moved here

Re: P.S.

[asakiyume]

Excellent! One day I'll do a Good Laundromat tour.

[yamamanama]

Makes me think of Rocko's Modern Life. Laundry day is a very dangerous day.

[asakiyume]

I'm so out of touch: I had to look up Rocko's Modern Life. But so now I have a grasp of what it is, but the Wikipedia page didn't mention laundry. So is there an episode where they have to do laundry?

[yamamanama]

Yeah, the plot is Rocko notices that all his clothes smell bad and he has to go to the laundromat to get them washed. Hijinks ensue.

[minoanmiss]

You've made me nostalgic for my childhood. My mother used to drop me off at the laundromat and we'd sort the clothes into washing machines to her satisfaction. She'd leave (!) to do other tasks and I'd read and keep an eye on the laundry, move it to dryers when it was done, count my quarters and maybe get a candy bar, and just not be with my mother for a couple of hours. I always breathed more easily. Fortunately most of the adults there were more inclined to be kind to a kid doing laundry than to try to bully me out of machines or quarters; I did tell one or two people "You'll have to talk to my mother when she gets back" and they backed off as if they were as afraid of her as I was.

I used to love doing laundry in the laundromat, yeah. I would have adored that beautiful friendly laundromat you showed us.

Nowadays, fortunately, I'm not afraid of the people I live with, and unfortunately, my back hurts and I can't invoke my mother as backup against quarrelsome people, so I'd much rather do my laundry at home.

[asakiyume]

I love that memory, even though it sounds like now and then there were troublesome adults. I like the image you conjure of a safe space to do some simple work, read, and maybe get a candy bar.

But I hear you on the backache and quarrelsome people in the present day, too.

laundromats can cultivate a sense of gratitude

[wayfaringwordhack]

I have an appreciation for laundromats rather than, say, affection. :D

Having been in many and varied laundromats for many and varied reasons, I have run a pretty large gamut of experience, and I can relate to pretty much all the points made by others. :D

When traveling the world, laundromats were life-savers. Never was in one that had wi-fi, though. :P

ETA: I LOVE the laundry symbol humor!

Re: laundromats can cultivate a sense of gratitude

[asakiyume]

Never was in one that had wi-fi, though. Hahahaha, yeah, I think this one was a pretty twee one, LOL.

Speaking of gratitude, I remember the time our family was biking up Lake Champlain one summer. We got caught in a rainstorm in a small town: it was *so great* that there was a laundromat to dry our things. (I even worked that into a story.... that never ended up seeing the light of day.)

Re: laundromats can cultivate a sense of gratitude

[wayfaringwordhack]

Nice! Hopefully you weren't all standing around in your skivvies while your things dried. ;)

Re: laundromats can cultivate a sense of gratitude

[asakiyume]

Hahaha, you know, I can't recall how we managed that! We did have our minivan, which each of us took turns driving while the others biked, so probably we all got in that and changed, but I don't actually remember for a fact.

[cmcmck]

Haven't needed to use one since I was a student!

[asakiyume]

Interesting! So did you move right into a house/flat with its own washer/drier?

[cmcmck]

When I left uni I rented a place for a while which has its own and have always had my own since becoming a property owner.

[mallorys_camera]

If you ever decide to do a National Tour of Laundromats (so you can write a book and get your own show on the Travel Network), I want to come along as your official sidekick. 😀

In the SF Bay Area, there are quite a few laundromats outfitted with WiFi and other amenities.

I don't mind laundromats (since I always bring books everywhere I go, and I can just as easily read in a laundromat as any place else), but I don't like lugging the dirty clothes there.

sidekick

[asakiyume]

You bet! What a way to see the great US of A, right?

[gingicat]

As far as Other Spaces Like That, barbershops and hair salons.

[asakiyume]

Yes, I think those can have a similar vibe! For me, those spaces can be difficult because they involve people touching my hair (which I do like when it's someone I'm intimate with-a close friend or a family member, but not a stranger or someone for pay), and they involve conversation, and I feel stressed trying to come up with conversation that's relatable and fun. ... Weirdly, I don't have that problem if I'm making casual remarks in, say, a check-out line.

... That said, of the few times I've been to a hair salon, several of them have been okay--the conversations have gone well. Kind of like if you stress out before going to a party and then the party ends up being fun.

[amaebi]

Laundromats have always struck me as interesting in-between spaces, and they often have notice boards that are community snapshots. Myself, I've always preferred to read and not to talk at a laundromat, though I do definitely think of them as community space.

For me, one attraction of in-between spaces is not having to be Somebody's Something, in them.

How wonderful to have laundry symbol humor in that one! I've never seen that!

[asakiyume]

For me, one attraction of in-between spaces is not having to be Somebody's Something, in them. --I like this too! I suppose if I had ever run into, say, one of my kids' teachers or their friends' parents, I would have been somebody's something in one, but that never happened.

I really would like to visit laundromats across the country. Your mentioning about notice boards is adding to my feeling. And the things that people do. I read in laundromats too--and there was the woman crocheting, and I wonder what other things people do? Probably study for tests. Maybe listen to music with earbuds. What other things? I'd like to see.

[amaebi]

I used a laundromat in the small college town I taught in and went to church in, so when I went I knew I might well be Somebody's Something suddenly. Also, I had no car, and timed there with a big hiking backpack of laundry on my back. (Always thought that I should charge spectators for tickets as I packed up to bike home from the grocery store.)

I have also seen flirting and a little dancing-- and childcare with and without small children whining, and older children responsibly doing laundry on behalf of parents and family.

[asakiyume]

flirting and dancing, small children, responsible older children ... love it.

It would be very entertaining to watch a person pack up a backpack with either laundry or supermarket purchases! I would be interested in how everything fits in! I myself bring a backpack--just an ordinary one--to the supermarket sometimes. Sometimes I'll load it up as the cashier runs the things through the scanner; other times I bring bags, the cashier puts the stuff in bags, and then I organize them into the backpack afterward.

[shewhomust]

My favourite laundromat is Durham's Old Cenerma Launderette: a launderette which used to be a cinema and which serves coffee would be good even if it weren't a gigs venue (which is why we go there, now we have our own washing machine).

I have a happy memory from a long-ago camping holiday somewhere in France (it might have been Perpignan), lunching on the pavement terrace of a restaurant which was conveniently opposite the laundromat, keeping an eye on our laundry between courses...

[asakiyume]

OMG a laundromat that is also a performance venue! I love it! The person who had that idea truly knows how to create community.

That is tremendous good luck re: the restaurant-laundromat situation on your long-ago holiday. I was mentioning upstream about a time we got caught in the rain on a biking holiday and used a laundromat in a small town. That laundromat was, IIRC across the street from a little shop providing internet (the town was in the mountains and it was back in 2009, so there was probably not much internet otherwise) for kids to do internet games and things--but it was closed.

[mrissa]

I feel pretty neutral about laundromats myself, but when us kids were teenagers my aunt had a habit of leaving the laundry until it was at completely unmanageable levels and then taking her two daughters to the laundromat on a random Tuesday night and doing all the laundry at once and ordering a pizza delivered to the laundromat for their supper, so they grew up associating laundromats with fun pizza time. ("We could do that," I said to my mother when I was 14, and she said, "We could just do the laundry like we usually do and order a pizza," and I said, "deal!")

[asakiyume]

I'm laughing because I totally understand where your mom was coming from: How about we do this thing but *without* the hassle (and expense) of needing a thousand quarters, carting our laundry to a separate destination, and the dubious eating situation? But from a kid point of view part of the adventure could be the adventure of the fun meal in an unusual spot. I'm glad you were well contented with a home pizza party ;-)

I'm reminded that Little Springtime (one of my kids) had this idea of doing an anticapitalist protest by hosting a picnic inside an enclosed ATM hut. I've always thought that would be just an excellent, IDK, just piece of performance/weird-and-interesting place to do a picnic, but neither she nor I have ever acted on it.

[osprey_archer]

I'm impressed that your dad's washing machine survived so long. They don't make 'em like they used to!

[asakiyume]

They really don't! He would have fixed it if he could have, but it was beyond that, alas.

[sartorias]

I spent far too much time being bullied in overcrowded laundromats to ever enjoy them, but your pix are cute!

[asakiyume]

I wouldn't enjoy hanging out in a place where I'd been bullied either :( ... It all depends on what we experience in a place.

[sartorias]

Yupyupyup!

[littlerhymes]

These photos are great, I love the laundry art!

I haven't used laundromats much except when travelling. Sometimes they are havens, blessings. Sometimes you end up fighting the machine. Always an adventure in a laundromat.

[asakiyume]

"Always an adventure in a laundromat"--so true!

re the laundry art, I was fascinated by the pictures of the old washing machine. Always interesting to see previous incarnations of current technologies.