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The Decline of the American Laundromat

theatlantic.com

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Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#51

Post by zxcmx »

Veratyr wrote: post #26
justinjlynn wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds quite nice. I wonder why public baths never really took off in the States. In the records I can find, they seem to have a less than savoury perception.

I don't mean to offend but I suspect it's because people in the USA, at least in cities, just can't take care of public places. There's urine in the train stations (either visible or smellable), elevators shut down by faeces, people shouting, yelling and preaching in the streets, also, toilets, often even in private restaurants, are disgusting. I don't mean to say that things are always like this, all the time or in…

It is also partly because we are less inclined to lock up, beat or detain people who violate social norms in western countries anymore.

Neither do we socially support those properly, turns out running mental health and substance abuse support is difficult, politically charged, full of potential for liability, thankless and expensive.

I have older relatives who were involved in the mental health system in the 50's and 60's, it was, to put it mildly, not a particularly humane time but "it sure got crazies off the streets".

On a related note, in .jp the police can detain you for about a month without charging you.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#54

Post by sidlls »

Veratyr wrote: post #37
greggman wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed but this isn't just a USA thing. Many countries have a culture not taking care of public places. All of Europe comes to mind. As does China.

There are other places yes but out of the countries I've visited, the US is definitely one of the worst. All the Europe I've visited (Paris, Berlin, Zurich, Istanbul, south-eastern region of Russia) has been about as well kept as Australia, my home country. Aside from Malaysia, I can't think of a country that's worse than the US. Even the (disclaimer: nicer, less impoverished) parts of Mexico I've visited were arguab…

The Bay Area is bad even by American standards. But the places I've been in America do tend to be rather shabby in comparison to places I've visited abroad, in general.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#55

Post by csydas »

martinald wrote: post #50
freetime2 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I find it really odd the US doesn't have washing machines in apartments. Even the tiniest studio apartment in the UK would come with one. You very rarely see laundromats in the UK (usually in areas with a very high concentration of students, as halls of residence provision can be poor for them). Why don't they have them in the US? You have water and electricity, so I can't understand why this is a big deal.

Many of the apartments aren't designed well for such a set up, or have other strict noise rules, concerns over water problems and maintenance costs, or just simply the landlord doesn't like the idea of the units having the machines as even with more modern washers with good locks/seals, people still manage to misuse them and cause water damage. Or they just don't want to manage the maintenance for such units.

It's also possible that there's an expectation that you always have a washer/dryer combo, whereas having just the washing unit isn't uncommon from what I've seen in the EU/other parts of the world and then just having an air drying rack for drying. I was a little surprised when I first moved abroad at not having a dryer (and annoyed admittedly), but I got used to it pretty easily and just adjusted my laundry schedule. Likewise, the size may be a difference in expectation, as many people expect full sized units installed, not compact units.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#56

Post by Broken_Hippo »

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.

Most I've went to only have an attendent during part of the week, and some have no staff on hand at all. After attendant hours, you gotta call if you have problems. Vandalism was a problem, as is theft, but paying staff - especially in 24hour places - is more expensive.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#57

Post by Sleeep »

martinald wrote: post #50
freetime2 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I find it really odd the US doesn't have washing machines in apartments. Even the tiniest studio apartment in the UK would come with one. You very rarely see laundromats in the UK (usually in areas with a very high concentration of students, as halls of residence provision can be poor for them). Why don't they have them in the US? You have water and electricity, so I can't understand why this is a big deal.

Plenty of apartments in the US have washing machines, I've lived in several apartments and all had a washing machine[1].

As for the reason why many don't - historical (they weren't designed when household washing machines didn't exist and were never retrofitted), and slumlords not wanting to manage another appliance.

Add to that nowadays Americans don't do much air drying of their clothes so a washer without a dryer is much less appealing. As long as you had physical space adding a washer to an apartment that wasn't designed for one is cheap. Adding a dryer is very costly - dedicated plug or gas line plus ventilation to the outside. So if it's not economically worth the dryer upgrade than most landlords just won't bother with a washer upgrade either.

If your landlord doesn't provide a washer and your apartment doesn't have washer hookups you could always get a portable washing machine (or jury rig a regular washer to be 'portable') for any apartment as long as you had somewhere to store it. I've even hear of someone splitting the water line under the sink to install a washer in a rental.

Same thing with dishwashers, some apartments have them, some don't.

[1]One apartment I lived in though had all the washing machines and dryers in the shared basement and they were coin operated and we weren't supposed to use them after 9.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#58

Post by roel_v »

It's weird you'd get planning permission for building residential buildings with units that don't have washer/dryer hookups in (some places in) the US. (At least my take away from TFA was that there are still new buildings being build like that)

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#59

Post by pbarnes_1 »

skrebbel wrote: post #44
DrScump wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SF is a pile of poo compared to an average Dutch city. SF is a pile of poo compared to an average American city, too.

Ah right, thanks. I didn't know that :)

It's not true, though. SF is pretty much average in this regard.

Americans in general just don't seem to care about public spaces, pretty much anywhere in the country. I've travelled to many US cities and the only reason other cities some how feel "cleaner" is because there's literally nobody walking in them.

The cities made for walking (like NYC and maybe Boston) are on par with SF. Maybe less dog poo everywhere though.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#60

Post by mschuster91 »

Veratyr wrote: post #37
greggman wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed but this isn't just a USA thing. Many countries have a culture not taking care of public places. All of Europe comes to mind. As does China.

There are other places yes but out of the countries I've visited, the US is definitely one of the worst. All the Europe I've visited (Paris, Berlin, Zurich, Istanbul, south-eastern region of Russia) has been about as well kept as Australia, my home country. Aside from Malaysia, I can't think of a country that's worse than the US. Even the (disclaimer: nicer, less impoverished) parts of Mexico I've visited were arguab…

> Berlin

Lol what? In Berlin you see heaps of trash, broken furniture and fridges on the sidewalks once you leave the main roads. The city stinks in the summer (guess this is due to not enough water in the sewage). In Neukölln (and other parts of the city) you gotta take care of druggies everywhere. Parts of the city have a severe neonazi problem (left-wing and "foreign looking" people are getting beaten up, and their cars torched). Rents are skyrocketing and the government doesn't care much except to fight those who protest against gentrification.

I don't get the Berlin hype. Really not.

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