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THE HERALD REVEALS

Turn back the clock and take a spin to the laundrette
Published on 8 Sep 2010


Carolyn Churchill

They took over from the Glasgow steamie to become a staple of every high street, a place where the day’s gossip would be heard amid the low rumble of washing machines.

But as household appliances became more affordable, the laundrette fell out of fashion. Now they are being reinvented, with owners using them as art galleries, coffee shops and music venues to entice customers and claw back their role as the social hub of the community.

The Majestic Laundrette in Glasgow’s Argyle Street has already seen a revival in business since it was relaunched four years ago with state-of-the-art machines and driers.

It also provides the laundry facility for the SECC and Margaret Henderson, who has worked in the shop for 29 years, has washed the dirty laundry of stars such as Boyzone and Lady Gaga. She also has the claim to fame of ruining a T-shirt belonging to Lionel Richie after the colour ran.

Mrs Henderson, 56, said: “When I started here it was busier. Now students renting flats are demanding washing machines. But it is building back up again. We have a lot of regular customers and tourists who come and sit around, talking to each other.

“Laundrettes have an important place in our history, culture and society and we need to make sure they have a future. Every day you see familiar faces and new faces, people come in to do their washing, to have a gossip and we’re generally fairly busy, but we need to introduce younger people so the tradition carries on.”

In the early 1980s there were as many as 12,500 laundrettes in the UK, but only around 3000 are in business now. Bruce Herring, chairman of the National Association of the Laundrette Industry, said the set-up costs of about £80,000 meant that it was more expensive than many other ventures.

However, in recent years laundrettes have been transformed and some now double up as arts spaces or internet cafes. Majestic Laundrette is hosting a laundry party on September 16 with www.itison.com, at which customers will be able to sip martinis while their washing is done to a soundtrack provided by a DJ.

Mr Herring said laundrettes still offered a much-needed facility for local communities. He added: “Very few people cannot afford a washing machine. But they don’t take a double duvet, which everybody has. If you come back from holiday with six suitcases, you can get the whole load done in one.

“If your own washing machine breaks down and while it is being fixed or thinking about it, you can get to the laundrette.”

While most of the laundrettes in the past were situated on a high street, many are now moving into industrial estates, and Mr Herring said this suited the more modern lifestyle.

He said: “Once people are in their car they don’t think about how many miles they drive or the half a gallon of petrol they use. What they won’t do is walk half a mile to the launderette. We are in that sort of society. It is convenience above all else.

“You can go past many laundrettes during the day and there is nobody there but in others people do come in to chat with each other and have a cup of coffee. That’s still the case in many places.

“I always say to anybody starting a laundrette, if you get the right site it is better than a pension.”

This article was posted on 8-Sep-2010, 07:11 by Hugh Barrow.