Perth laundromats heating up with higher density living

By Madison Kroon Perth laundromats are on the rise with new, stylish and hip layouts cashing in on the small apartment and unit style living that is increasing in popularity. The owner of the Lava Laundry Lounge, Michelle Pateman puts the success of laundromats down to these changes in the way we live. “Laundromats are becoming more popular as a result of a trend of a transition to apartment-style living,” said Pateman. “Typically, higher density apartments have a second bathroom and laundry combined, no clothesline and strata rules and bylaws that prevent you from drying on balconies,” she said. Laundromats offer users higher quality machines and plenty of them. “People are much busier in modern times and washing your laundry at a laundromat allows you to do your whole weeks washing, using multiple machines, in only an hour,” said Pateman. “A modern laundromat like Lava has large capacity machines that can take up to 18kg loads and can wash them far more effectively than a domestic machine. “Our machines even inject their own ideal dose of soap and optional softener, so you do not even have to bring and handle messy powder or liquid products,” she said. “Lava has sought to disrupt the preconceived idea of laundromats past and create a space that is as comfortable or more comfortable than our customers own homes,” said Pateman. Lava Laundry Lounge user Emily Holden said she enjoys the laundromat and that it’s close to where she is staying. “It’s really good… the washing machine took about an hour and then 20 minutes for drying, only about an hour altogether,” said Holden. Holden prefers the use of laundromats as she doesn’t have to wait as long as she does for dry cleaning. Although laundromats have been around for decades, newer designs are often very different from what we have seen before. “The big detractor from laundromats of old is that they are typically dirty, poorly maintained places that are uninviting,” said Pateman. Lava Laundry Lounge is battling this preconceived idea, creating a new environment that is comfortable and inviting.