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.

[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.)

[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.

[yamamanama]

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

[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.

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!

[cmcmck]

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

[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.

[gingicat]

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

[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!

[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...

[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!")

[osprey_archer]

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

[sartorias]

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

[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.