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The Decline of the American Laundromat

theatlantic.com

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Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#71

Post by bitwize »

justinjlynn wrote: post #24
minikomi wrote: post #5

I live in Japan where Laundromats are often attached to Public Baths. I love going to my local, taking a soak while the load runs, and then coming out and having a coffee while my clothes go through the drier. Not much to add.. just felt like professing my love for that Sunday arvo ritual.

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 suspect it's a cultural thing. Japanese people are totally okay with group bathing while to Americans bathing is a more private matter. Leaving aside public baths for a moment, Japanese people often bathe together as a family -- something you rarely see here.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#72

Post by nfriedly »

There's a laundromat in my town, and once a month a local church (the First Brotheren Church, I think) provides free laundry service for anyone who wants it. They provide the soap and the quarters and then while your laundry is getting washed they provide food to eat. It's a really great community outreach service.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#73

Post by yequalsx »

mschuster91 wrote: post #60
Veratyr wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 thei…

I lived in Kruezburg and agree with you. As the Peter Fox song says, Kotze am Kotti.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#74

Post by freetime2 »

Sleeep wrote: post #57
martinald wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I would also add rent control laws as a possible reason for not renovating more apartments with washing machines. Many of the older buildings in San Francisco have tenants who have been living there for decades and pay rents that are well below market rates. Landlords have little incentive to make improvements since they can't easily raise rents. And tenants have little incentive to shop for a nicer apartment if it means losing their below-market rates.

When the tenant does finally move out, it's not uncommon for the landlord to renovate, add modern amenities, and raise prices significantly. Hence in-unit washing machines are on the rise and laundromats are on the decline. But it takes a long time for the process to play out.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#75

Post by Texasian »

justinjlynn wrote: post #24
minikomi wrote: post #5

I live in Japan where Laundromats are often attached to Public Baths. I love going to my local, taking a soak while the load runs, and then coming out and having a coffee while my clothes go through the drier. Not much to add.. just felt like professing my love for that Sunday arvo ritual.

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.

Probably Puritanism, a lack of scarcity, a relatively short time between large settlements and indoor plumbing (for most of the country).

I wish there were more public baths. There's one around the block from me in Cambridge. It's a wonderful place in the middle of winter.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#76

Post by empressplay »

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…

Melbourne has laundromats _everywhere_

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#77

Post by al2o3cr »

One thing I didn't see mentioned in the article or here: a good laundromat typically has machines you wouldn't want to squeeze into your house. For instance, the one close to me has washers that accept 70+ pounds of laundry at once - great for washing blankets & other large items. Having that machine at home wouldn't make any sense, given that it's really only needed a couple times a year for an individual person.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#78

Post by subpixel »

justinjlynn wrote: post #24
minikomi wrote: post #5

I live in Japan where Laundromats are often attached to Public Baths. I love going to my local, taking a soak while the load runs, and then coming out and having a coffee while my clothes go through the drier. Not much to add.. just felt like professing my love for that Sunday arvo ritual.

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.

It's not that they never took off (there used to be many, esp in urban places with lots of European immigrants), its that they run counter to the hyper-individualistic American mindset. And over time, communal features of American civic life have become objects of neglect if not derision (public education, public transport, etc)

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#79

Post by lr4444lr »

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…

This U.S. resident agrees with you. It's a definite downside to our individualist priorities and inability of law enforcement to do much about public nuisances.

Re: The Decline of the American Laundromat

#80

Post by Severian »

gpvos wrote: post #64

I really don't see why more laundromats haven't added cafés and internet/wifi, or even small eateries. Or conversely, some cafés haven't added small laundromats.

I work a single day at a laundromat/bar combination to supplement my income and actually be on my feet for a day. Most people are amazed it isn't more popular when they discover it. Having a cold draft while waiting for your wash or folding your clothes can be quite nice. We even have regulars who just drink.

We are near a university, so I think this works out better than say a rural or low-income area. We have a large homeless population around here who use the establishment, and can be a bit bothersome in some of their behavior when visiting (such as whore bath in the bathroom).

We have free WiFi as well.

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