The washing machine in my house has broken down again…so while I’m waiting for the landlord to fix it, I’m visiting that unique institution, the launderette (to North-Americans, the laundromat).
Students, tourists, bedsit-dwellers, the homeless or victims of mechanical breakdown like me can all rely on these places with their quaint retro fittings, wooden benches and formica surfaces, worn down in patches from a million wipings.
Introduced in the 50’s before most people had domestic appliances, launderettes are a link to past times when many aspects of life were more communal.
Open from 7am – 8pm (longer in some places) they are a self-service community resource that provide a rare point of connection amidst our individualised urban lives. There’s a quiet unity between strangers carrying out this usually domestic task in public. Everyone’s airing their dirty laundry, literally, so everyone’s the same.
Sometimes a woman aged 50 or so will be there keeping an eye on things, but mostly she’s not there. If you don’t know how to work the machine someone will help you.
If you can spare the time, make the most of this time-out period and wait while your clothes wash.
The rhythmic hum, splosh and whizz of the machines is hypnotic. The smell of detergents and softeners interacting with cotton and wool combined with gusts of warm air from the dryers adds up to a uniquely comforting experience.
Here in the launderette we reconnect with a collective cleansing ritual that has almost vanished…Sink into your book or just wait and meditate. Everything’s being taken care of.
Launderettes in film:
Launderettes on TV:
Launderettes in pop music:
Tom George 
Yeah it’s great that they haven’t been updated that much…Me and some musician friends are thinking of doing a tour of Laundrettes in Liverpool area.(thanks for spotting that typo – fixed!) x
Wow, those things are still around?! heheh.. I love laundromats. There’s something about the waiting process- it forces you to join the process- and be still for a minute, you know? I adore the whole retro environment. SO old fashioned, and, I’ve had to use them for like, two decades. (I have my own washer and dryer now, but I’m no stranger to the laundromat!)
[p.s. Typo in the 5th paragraph- omission of a word. Thought I’d tell you!] x