Self-service, step by step:
In a self-service laundrette you do everything yourself: no appointment to make, no laundry to drop off and collect another day. You arrive with your basket, choose a washer suited to the load, start the programme and leave — usually in under an hour — with clean, dry laundry.
The beauty of self-service is freedom: you come at the time that suits you, any day of the week, and you keep control of the programme, the temperature and the drying time. At Laverie du Burck the room is bright and spacious, and the free car park in front of the door makes laundry day far less of a chore.
A visit, step by step:
Start by sorting your laundry: whites on one side, colours on the other, delicates apart, pockets emptied. Then spread the laundry in the drum without packing it down — it needs to move freely to be properly washed and rinsed. Add the detergent, your own or one from the dispensers on site, close the door and choose your programme.
Next, head for the payment terminal: enter your machine number, pay, and the cycle starts by itself. Once the wash is over, transfer the laundry to a dryer, set the time you want, pay the same way, and collect laundry that is dry, warm and ready to put away.
The payment terminal, the brain of the laundrette:
Unlike old laundrettes where each machine had its own coin slot, everything is now paid at a single terminal: the « centrale de paiement ». It controls every washer and dryer in the room. You enter the number of the appliance, you pay, and that machine starts.
Payment is made in coins or notes, with change given. Clear instructions are displayed in the laundrette and, if you hesitate, a regular will generally be delighted to show you how it works — mutual help is part of life in a neighbourhood laundrette.