There when you need them: the laundromats of Manchester, NH
Friday, November 27, 2009 at 8:18AM Winter is nigh, and with it, snow and ice. And more than anything, the ice storm of 2008 has been on my mind as of late.
On my block, the power was out for nearly a week. In addition to no heat, the missus and I also had no way to wash our clothes.
It was with this in mind that I began scoping out the city's laundromats earlier this week, so that I know where I can get the best value for my money should we find ourselves in a similar situation at any point this winter.
In all, I surveyed 11 Manchester, NH, laundromats. What I found was that there is a relatively wide variety in not just prices for washing and drying, but also washing machine size, which makes an apples-to-apples comparison a bit more difficult.
(A Word document featuring a Manchester, NH, laundromat comparison chart showing prices at all 11 surveyed laundromats can be downloaded here.)
The cheapest prices for wash cycles, for instance, can be found at Shop, Drop and Dry Landromat on the West Side, as well as East Side Drycleaning and Laundromat out near the airport. Both charge $1.50 per load, using machines that have 15-pound loads. (Conventional residential washing machines generally have a load capacity of eight to 10 pounds.)
The standard laundromat washer, however, seems to have a 20-pound capacity, including this one at Granite State Laundry on Union Street:
As noted above, several Manchester, NH, laundromats have washers in various sizes, the biggest, also at Granite State Laundry, capable of washing 75 pounds of clothes at a time:
The cost for one cold-water load in this monster washer is $9.89, while a hot-water load will set you back $10.19. Keep in mind that Granite State Laundry's washer prices are all you pay - free drying is included (one 30-minute dry cycle for 20-pound washers; three 30-minute dry cycles for the 75 pounders):
At other Manchester, NH, laundromats one will typically pay 25 cents for every eight minutes of drying time.
In addition to costs for do-it-yourself washing machines and dryers, I also surveyed the costs of each laundromat's wash-dry-fold service, wherein laundromat staff do all the work:
To use this service, customers are generally required to drop off a minimum of 10 pounds of laundry. While average Manchester, NH, wash-dry-fold prices are in the $1 per pound range, Granite State Laundry (an employee of which is seen above) somehow manages to offer this service for 59 cents per pound.
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Reader Comments (2)
The Laundromat across from Gosselin's on Somerville Street is in the 1.50-1.75 range for washes and .25 for 6 or 8 minutes of drying. Something I noticed when I was waiting for a load one night was kids going through the lint baskets in the dryers looking for change. Something I had only seen done in large city laundromats.
Although this is a wonderful article about what laundromats are available in Manchester and their pricing, there are more valid reasons why someone chooses a particular laundromat. Besides price, other factors like: cleanliness, parking, safetyness and having friendly attendants are many times more of a priority. I do realize, particularly in this economy that price can become more of a priority but it would have been nice to see this article well rounded by comparing some of those other important factors.
I always thought a great study would be to drop off laundry at each place, leaving a five dollar bill in a pair of pants and see how many keep it or give it back. The one I use, gives back anything I've left in my pockets and so trust/credibility is important to me when I choose a laundromat.