Two trades, two logics:
A self-service laundrette is about independence: you wash and dry your own laundry with water, in large machines, at the time that suits you and for a small price. A dry cleaner is about handing over: a professional cleans your garments — often dry, with a solvent rather than water — then presses them and restores their shape.
One excels at volume and everyday laundry, the other at delicate materials and finishing. They are not competitors: they complement each other, and many households use both.
What to take to the laundrette, what to take to the dry cleaner:
To the laundrette: all water-washable laundry, from the weekly basket to bulky items — sheets, towels, everyday clothes, duvets, blankets, washable curtains. You keep control of the programme and leave the same day, often in under an hour.
To the dry cleaner: items marked « dry clean only », suits and tailored outfits, wool coats, leather and suede, silk, formal dresses, as well as difficult stains and anything that needs professional pressing.
The care label always decides:
The rule is simple: look at the label sewn into the garment. A tub symbol allows machine washing, and therefore a laundrette. A circle — especially with a crossed-out tub — means the fabric is reserved for dry cleaning, and therefore for a dry cleaner.
If in doubt about a valuable item, play it safe and go to the dry cleaner. For everything else, that is to say the vast majority of a household's laundry, a laundrette remains the simplest and most economical answer.