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Ah, the urban laundromat. An unpredictable battlefield of soiled raiments. Not exactly somewhere one heads for a fun time, but somewhere that we've all had to visit from time to time. Some of you may be lucky enough to have individual washing machines in your own homes and apartments, but some of you out there have to venture bravely into these dens of iniquity.
Laundromats are a lot like public city buses. They are sometimes a necessity, getting you from point A to point B. However, the "fun unknown" factor is not in what the laundromat does, but in the types of people you encounter there. Like the city bus, there is always a "crazy" factor. There is always a stereotypical group you find in these places. The person talking way too loudly on their cell phone, thinking the whole world wants to be privy to their conversation, the obsessive compulsive person who sepearates everything (even the whites) by shades, and folds the washed items like they are an origami artist, the "hermit" who lives in their car and treats the place like their office, the packloader who bring every single piece of laundry they own, the girls we'll call the "jammies" who wash clothes while wearing their flannel, cutesy, bunny-esque pajamas so they can get everything else clean, the angry man who seems intent on beating his clothes clean, and well, this list just goes on and on.
Why can't there be a "cool" laundromat experience? Or a "groovy" laundromat destination? Dallas, Texas has The Soap Bar, a laundromat that incorporates a bar and live music, Austin has Clean and Lean, and Cap D'Agde, France, France takes the concept a bit further, incorporating a clothing-optional laundry facility, which would seem to sort of cancel itself out.
Our beef is, why not Los Angeles? What about a laundromat where you watch funky movies, Fluff and Film (although that name might appeal to the wrong clientele)? Or a Zen Laundry where you can meditate in silence while your clothes spin in the infinite? Of course, since we are the city of appearances, what about somewhere that you can drop in, clean your whites, and had some touch-up liposuction done?
Come in LA, let's all figure out a way to get April fresh together.
