As I open the double glass doors at the wash pub I am overwhelmed with all ofthe noise.
This place sounds more like a bar than a laundry mat. There is music playing,beeping from the arcade games, a metal fan going, tumbling noises from the dryers, andwet clothes being thrown around in the washers. I can barely keep my train of thought. The humidity in the room made it very uncomfortable. The smell on the other hand is great it smells so clean and warm.
The room was filled with many different people. There were college students, families, people that were by themselves, screaming babies and a few senior citizens. The room is fairly large with dinghy white walls that have a moldy green border running along the bottom. The floor is covered with white vinyl tiles that have hints of blue in it and about twenty empty laundry baskets.
You probably would never notice the blue though due to hundreds of black scuffs and old dirty gum that covered most of the floor. The ceiling looks very industrial much like one that would be in a warehouse or factory. It is made up of tons of black metal pipes. To the left of the front doors is a huge bulletin bored displaying a variety of signs advertising everything from used cars to Avon products.
There is also a gigantic world atlas on the wall that is only partly visible because of the three arcade games standing in its way. Hanging from the ceiling there is a t. v monitor playing the news. In front of the arcade games is a round wooden table accompanied by two dark green plastic chairs and a coke machine with a faint buzz.
To the right of the doors there is a large window that can barely be seen out of. In front of the window is a green newspaper stand and ten red twenty-five cent machines that contain an assortment of different candies and fake jewelry. In the clutter of twenty five-cent machines stands a tall beige scale that claims to be able to tell your fortune by your weight. Behind that mess is another round wooden table surrounded by three more dark green lawn chairs.
Sitting beside the table is a large roaring metal fan. Hanging above the table is a surveillance camera an another t. v monitor that displays what the camera picks up. In the center of the room there is a muddle of noisy washing machines. In both the first and last rows are ten white washing machines similar to household ones.
Between the white washers are fourteen stainless steel washing machines and a small lounge area. These washers are not similar to household ones. They look like huge metal boxes and have a round clear window that reveals the inside of the washer. The lounge is in the middle of the steel washing machines and enclosed by wood railing that has two openings to get in it.
A blue tweed carpet that looks worn covers the floor. The lounge also contains two round wooden tables and four blue chairs where college kids can do their homework or just stare at the wet laundry swirling around through the clear windows in the steel washers. On the back wall there is a detergent vending machine called The Soap Stop that dispenses many different kinds of detergent and fabric softeners. Beside The Soap Stop is change machine that is black with a big green money symbol on it. There are two wooden doors in the back of the room.
One is labeled with the word women in black lettering and the other labeled men. On the wall to the right are fourteen dryers that are built into the wall and warm to touch when in use. Above the dryers are a few signs with warnings and disclaimers on them. On the other wall are eleven more built in dryers.
A few of these dryers are labeled with signs that say out of order. Finally above these dryers there is a plain round clock similar to the ones you would see in a classroom. As I walked out the double glass doors I was filled with relief. The clutter of the room was distracting and difficult to write about. The noises in the room were becoming unbearable so it felt good to now hear nothing but a few crickets chirping and some leaves blowing in the wind.
