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The Decline of the American Laundromat

theatlantic.com

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Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#11

Post by Nition »

freetime2 wrote: post #7

From the article: Laundromats’ margins are further thinning as the price of water and sewage services have risen across the country. Utilities make up by far the heftiest of Lavanderia’s expenses, costing over $100,000 each year. Add to that the roughly $30,000 Tillman spends fixing his aging washers and dryers, and the laundromat is left with about $140,000 of profit each year, a number that continues to dwindle. Fo…

Especially if costs are like $150,000 ($100,000 + $30,000 + a bit extra). That's almost 50% profit.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#12

Post by chias »

Nition wrote: post #11
freetime2 wrote: post #7

From the article: Laundromats’ margins are further thinning as the price of water and sewage services have risen across the country. Utilities make up by far the heftiest of Lavanderia’s expenses, costing over $100,000 each year. Add to that the roughly $30,000 Tillman spends fixing his aging washers and dryers, and the laundromat is left with about $140,000 of profit each year, a number that continues to dwindle. Fo…

Especially if costs are like $150,000 ($100,000 + $30,000 + a bit extra). That's almost 50% profit.

Don't forget actually buying all the machines to begin with.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#13

Post by blahedo »

I did the laundromat thing for four years in grad school, then ten years in various units with in-house washer and dryer, and then back to a laundromat for the last six years. It was undeniably convenient to be able to wash something on a moment's notice or at night or whatever, but I have to say I really like the fact that for a 2-3 hour investment of time every 3-4 weeks, I can get my laundry all done, at once, because the laundromat lets me work massively in parallel. And because I'm running it all in parallel, I can sort the loads differently for wash and dry: for washing, sort by colour, and for drying, by fabric delicacy (jeans can take high heat, anything with elastic stays on medium or low, etc etc). My landlord has said it's fine for me to buy a washer/dryer (there is a hookup in the basement) but I've found I'm really not in any rush to do so.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#14

Post by icebraining »

mc32 wrote: post #8

You know, it's weird, but in other populous cities around the world, it's unusual to come across a laundromat (aside form hotels). I mean, if you look hard enough you can find some, but not easy. I don't recall seeing them in east Asia and in Western Europe you can find some here and there --but definitely not very prevalent. Plus, it's more convenient to have a facility in each unit, or failing that, in each apartme…

In Brussels they're absolutely everywhere. This page lists 42, and I'm not sure it's complete: https://www.hours.be/brussels/brussels/laundromats

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#15

Post by ams6110 »

freetime2 wrote: post #7

From the article: Laundromats’ margins are further thinning as the price of water and sewage services have risen across the country. Utilities make up by far the heftiest of Lavanderia’s expenses, costing over $100,000 each year. Add to that the roughly $30,000 Tillman spends fixing his aging washers and dryers, and the laundromat is left with about $140,000 of profit each year, a number that continues to dwindle. Fo…

Solar water heating seems like a no-brainer for a laundromat. Most are in strip malls or freestanding box-type buildings with a lot of flat open roof space.

Article also didn't seem to mention cost of emplying attendants. Never seen an unattended laundromat -- people need help with jammed coins, etc. and to prevent vandalism.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#16

Post by minikomi »

mc32 wrote: post #8

You know, it's weird, but in other populous cities around the world, it's unusual to come across a laundromat (aside form hotels). I mean, if you look hard enough you can find some, but not easy. I don't recall seeing them in east Asia and in Western Europe you can find some here and there --but definitely not very prevalent. Plus, it's more convenient to have a facility in each unit, or failing that, in each apartme…

Tokyo has a ton, often attached to public baths.

Here's a bunch (note the page numbers at the bottom):

https://loco.yahoo.co.jp/search/?ei=UTF-8&genrecd=0412010&ar...

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#17

Post by icebraining »

ams6110 wrote: post #15
freetime2 wrote: post #7

From the article: Laundromats’ margins are further thinning as the price of water and sewage services have risen across the country. Utilities make up by far the heftiest of Lavanderia’s expenses, costing over $100,000 each year. Add to that the roughly $30,000 Tillman spends fixing his aging washers and dryers, and the laundromat is left with about $140,000 of profit each year, a number that continues to dwindle. Fo…

Solar water heating seems like a no-brainer for a laundromat. Most are in strip malls or freestanding box-type buildings with a lot of flat open roof space. Article also didn't seem to mention cost of emplying attendants. Never seen an unattended laundromat -- people need help with jammed coins, etc. and to prevent vandalism.

In Europe, all laundromats I've seen were unattended :)

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#18

Post by flukus »

freetime2 wrote: post #7

From the article: Laundromats’ margins are further thinning as the price of water and sewage services have risen across the country. Utilities make up by far the heftiest of Lavanderia’s expenses, costing over $100,000 each year. Add to that the roughly $30,000 Tillman spends fixing his aging washers and dryers, and the laundromat is left with about $140,000 of profit each year, a number that continues to dwindle. Fo…

The problem is that things like a laundromat can contribute to the value of the land it's on. If it's gone then suddenly it becomes a less desirable area to rent in, the 7/11 next store doesn't have as many bored people etc.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#19

Post by freetime2 »

acabal wrote: post #6

I'm happy to say good riddance. When I was young I had to carry the family's laundry to the laundrymat, wash and fold it there, and carry it back, every other week at least. It takes hours, and at the time you couldn't do much while sitting there and waiting (nowadays I suppose you have smartphones and laptops). The whole thing was just an exhausting, dreaded hassle. Now I can put laundry in, it's OK if I don't atten…

I think this article is less about the benefits of laundromats vs. in-unit washing machines (most people would choose the latter), and more about the struggles of people who are unable to afford apartments with in-unit hookups and who now have to walk an extra couple of blocks to do their laundry.
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