The first public laundry appeared in America at the height of the Great Depression, when the washing machines were not available to ordinary Americans. In 1934, the first commercial laundry was opened in the city of Fort Worth in Texas, based on the principle of self-service. Although in initially in the laundry room there were only four electric washing machines, she quickly became popular and spilled off the cost of the owner.
"Laundra Palace" 1924
The high need of society in public laundry and relatively low costs for their discovery predetermined the mass occurrence of self-service laundries in the 30-40s. Although, as many Americans rise, many Americans begin to acquire their own washing machines, but the practice of using public laundries is widely distributed in the US so far. What is the reason?
In such boxes, people got underwear from laundry, in New York. 1929 year
First, the Americans are close to the idea of economy: saving water, electricity and space in homes. Laundry services are cheap, you can wash with coins or special payment cards.
Secondly, many landlords forbid to install the washing machine to people who remove housing. The real estate lovers fear leaks and short circuits. Therefore, the main clients of public laundries are those who cannot wash in removable accommodation. However, quite wealthy Americans periodically use the services of laundries, coming here several times a year to wash large things: blankets, pillows, bedspreads, etc.
Laundry in New York, 1948
Thirdly, modern public laundries create a fairly high level of comfort for customers. In addition to washing machines, drying machines are provided, the devices for ironing and other devices that are significantly facilitating the process. Recently, you can find televisions, free Wi-Fi and coffee machines, allowing customers a pleasant time. As a rule, the overwhelming majority of American public laundries work around the clock, located in the basements of apartment buildings or in the immediate vicinity of supermarkets, that is, even very busy people can use them.
Fourth, according to sociologists, the laundry room is also a kind of relaxation and meditation, allowing the Americans for some time to disconnect from the urgent problems.
Finally, do not forget that the laundry business is the industry in which serious money is rotated. So, according to official data for 2011, in the United States about 35,000 public laundry, the total income of which reaches $ 5 billion per year.
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