Laundromat Near Me

A laundromat is a laundry that is available for the public to use to wash and dry their clothes, at a small cost. Laundromats are also known as coin laundries, launderettes or washaterias. The term laundromat is actually a trademark owned by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, and refers to a public laundry that opened in Philadelphia in 1947, and was believed to be the first in the United States.

The term now refers to all coin-operated laundries. Some laundromats employ staff to wash customers’ clothes for them, others feature coin-operated machines that the customers themselves use. These latter types are usually supervised by a member of staff, however, in order to discourage vandalism, or theft from unattended machines. To find a coin laundry near you, you can search for “Laundromat near me”.

Laundromat Near Me – Find it on the Map

Laundromat Near Me – Laundromat Trivia

How do washing machines work?

There are two types of machines, front-loaders and top-loaders. Most front-loader machines contain a large drum inside another drum. The inner drum, in which the articles to be cleaned are placed, is made of a mesh that allows water from the outer drum, which is watertight, to enter. Paddles inside the inner drum serve to agitate the clothes. In top-loaders, which are more common in America, there are once again two drums. There is a large paddle in the middle that turns, the drums themselves are stationary.

Water enters the machine from the faucets, and is combined to the correct temperature by the computer and thermostat. The water drains through the detergent tray, becoming soapy. The clothes are agitated through the soapy water to clean them, then the drum is drained and filled with fresh water, usually a few times, in order to rinse the clothes.

How do clothes dryers work?

A clothes dryer also has a drum for the clothes to be placed into. Most dryers are front-loader machines. A fan draws cold air from the room, through the front of the machine (where it is less likely to be dusty), and passes over a heating element to be heated up. This warm air travels up from the bottom of the clothes drum to the top. The drum rotates around, usually periodically changing directions to stop the clothes from bunching up.

The clothes are rotated to the top of the drum, and then fall back down due to gravity, through the hot air. This is known as ‘tumble drying’. The air leaves the dryer, passing through a lint filter to collect dust and lint from the air. The lint filter is a major cause of dryer fires, and should be changed frequently to prevent dust build-up. The hot air causes the water in the clothes to evaporate as steam., thus drying the clothes.

How much do washing machines cost to use?

Laundromat costs vary depending on the business. Some hotels or apartment buildings may have a free laundry service. Other commercial cleaning businesses may charge premiums for quality cleaning. Self serve machines will typically cost a few dollars, however. The machines are charged per use, and so if a customer has more laundry than will fit in a single load, they must pay more. A home washing machine will typically only cost about 20-40 cents per load in terms of electricity costs, however, depending on the exact machine and the electricity supplier.

In a self-serve laundromat, the customer brings their clothes into the building, and selects a machine to use. A laundromat may have a few machines, up to a dozen or two. The customer inserts the coins into the machine, loads their clothes and activates the machine. They then must wait with the machine until it has finished its cycle. Some laundromats have magazines or a tv for the customers to keep themselves entertained; while some contain their own cafe for the customers to use while they wait.

If you want to find your nearest laundromat, simply search for “Laundromats near me”.

Laundromat Near Me – Laundromat Facts

The first automatic washing machine was invented by Bendix Corporation in 1937.

Early laundromats always had attendants, since they would usually not be coin-operated. Some laundromats went so far as to require customers to have an appointment. The first unattended, 24 hour, self service laundromat in America was opened in 1949, in North Loop, Austin, Texas. By 1950, there were an estimated four thousand laundromats and self-serve washeries in America.

There is a washing machine museum in Wisconsin! Located in La Crosse, the Soap Opera Coin Laundry and Museum shows antique washing machines, equipment and old advertisements.

The word laundry, referring to a place where linen and clothing are washed, is believed to have been first used in the mid 15th century. Used as a noun referring to the clothing and linen itself, it was first used in 1916. The word comes from the Latin ‘lavare’, meaning ‘to wash’. It came to current English through Old French and then Middle English.

Ancient laundry was done by pounding clothes with rocks, or rubbing them with abrasive sands, and washing the clothing in streams. The first soap was ashes and fat from sacrificial animals, used by the Romans. The earliest tool for washing was the scrub board, or wash board, invented in 1797.

The first domestic washing machine wasn’t invented until 1874, when William Blackstone, an Indiana resident, invented it for his wife as a birthday present. The first electric washing machine was invented by the Hurley Machine Company, in Illinois, called the Thor, in 1908. The first microchip-controlled machines were produced in the 1970s, with computerized timers first replacing electromechanical ones in the 1990s.

Early clothes dryers were hand cranked machines, invented by M Pochon in 1800 in France. The first electric dryer was created by J Ross Moore of North Dakota, in 1938. The first machine to feature a glass window was created by Brooks Stevens in the 1940s.

Clothes dryers are the third top electrical energy consuming devices in America, beaten only by refrigerators and freezers. The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that America could save $1.5 billion, and more than 22 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, if all residential clothes dryers were made to be more energy efficient.

The US Fire Administration reported that fires started by dryers accounted for over fifteen thousand fires, fifteen deaths and four hundred injuries annually, with 80% of those fires taking place in residential buildings.

To find a Laundromat near you, you can simply search for “Laundromat near me”!