Laundries or washers?

The first public laundry appeared in America in the 30’s, when washers were unavailable to ordinary
Americans. In the first commercial laundry initially there were only four electric washers, it quickly became
popular and fully compensated for the owner’s expenses.

Although as the standard of living began to improve, many Americans began to purchase their own
washers. But, the practice of using public laundries is still widespread in the US today, so what is the
reason?

Americans want to conserve water, electricity and space in their apartments. Many services in laundries
are rather cheap and easy to pay. Many landlords forbid installing a washer to people in their apartments.
Apartment owners worry about risk of leakages and short circuits. That is why, the majority of laundromat
customers are people who do not have the accommodations at home. Occasionally, quite wealthy individuals
periodically use laundry services too, they wash large items twice per year such as: eiderdowns, quilts,
counterpanes pillows etc. Advanced public laundry facilities have become more comfortable for clients.
They are equipped with drying machines, ironing machines and other devices that greatly aid in the washing
process. Some even include TVs, free Wi-Fi and coffee machines, allowing customers to have a more
pleasant time. Typically, American public laundries work 24 hours, they are located in the cellars of multi-
story buildings or close to supermarkets, which is convenient for busy people. Laundromats can be
considered as a place for meditation and relax where Americans can forget about vital problems for some
time.

With all that being said, the laundromat also has some issues. In fact, the laundry service leaves much to
be desired. Most of the machines are old (defective, leaking), almost all information is in Spanish,
communication is also an issue because it is usually filled with people of different ethnicities. Using a
laundromat is rather inexpensive, it costs $5 for washing (laundry, dryer and soap powder), dry-cleaning
service costs about $10 for everything: you came, gave grimy clothes and took away clean ones, it is much
better than spending hours sitting in the laundry. Good laundries are available in large residential complexes,
but dry cleaning is better!

Why do Americans not use at home washers? Such laundries are widely distributed where there is a lot
of old or lower quality rented housing. For example, in New York, most of available housing is buildings that
are 100 – 150 years old. It is very difficult to set up separate washers because of old plumbing. In addition to
supplying water and electricity, in the US, most people also use dryers, and these require ventilation ducts.
Although it is possible, but because of great demand on housing in New York, the owners do not care enough
to add these amenities.

The fact is that the standard American washers and drying machines are about twice the size of
European ones. You would need a rather large space or a separate storage room to install the large
appliances. It uses more electricity than a dishwasher. People do not put washers in the kitchen, because they
have integrated kitchens, and the dryer is loud in comparison with a noiseless dishwasher. So, the future of
laundries is guaranteed in USA for many more decades.