Everyday laundry, in a single load:
Clothes, bed linen, towels, tea towels, sportswear, children's clothes: all everyday water-washable laundry belongs in a laundrette. The difference with home is capacity: one large drum swallows in a single cycle what would take you three or four domestic loads.
It is the perfect answer to the pile of laundry after a holiday, to the volumes of a large family or a flat-share, or simply to washing your laundry when you have no machine at home. You leave with everything, clean and dry, in one visit.
Duvets, blankets and XXL items: the real strength of a laundrette:
It is with bulky laundry that a laundrette becomes irreplaceable: duvets, blankets, pillows, thick throws, sleeping bags, sofa covers, curtains, small washable rugs. All of these suffocate in a family washing machine: they need a large drum to be properly soaked, moved around and rinsed right through.
Well washed and then well dried in a large-capacity dryer, a duvet comes out plumped up, freshened and perfectly dry — without the residual damp that leaves the filling musty when you attempt the job at home.
What should never go into a self-service machine:
Some fabrics belong at the dry cleaner rather than the laundrette: anything marked « dry clean only » (suits, structured coats, certain dresses), leather, suede, fragile silk, embellished or precious items. When in doubt, the care label sewn into the garment always has the last word.
Also think of protecting the machines and your laundry: empty your pockets, close zips, and never wash fabric soaked in flammable products (petrol, white spirit) or paint — it is dangerous and it spoils things for the next user.