Constant Airflow

 

Over the last week, I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with three local laundrette workers in different areas of Brighton (well one is in Hove, actually). An owner a year into her business venture, a manager who’s worked there for 27 years, and one 18 year old who started helping his mum out five years ago and now basically runs the place!

I’ve heard sagas about odd socks, horror stories about false teeth found in the dryers and the mystery of dryer number 5… 

Although business dipped in all the laundrettes in March, I also met a customer who only discovered her local laundrette because of lockdown - when her washing machine broke down on the first day. Now she goes twice a week, with a book in her laundry bag that she only reads at the laundrette and discusses excitedly with her son in between visits.

One of the workers articulated a feeling that I think a lot of us can relate to, when I asked what their favourite part of the job was:

“It’s satisfying. If I’ve had an annoying or a stressful day, just going up there at the end of the day and just clearing everything up and leaving it in a good state is somewhat satisfying. So, I suppose just the satisfaction of knowing that I’ve done something that you can see.. Because with everything now being digital, you can do something and accomplish something but it’s hard to actually see the physical result. That’s one place where I’ve done the work and I can see the result, almost every single day.”

It was great to spend a bit of time in the Soapbox, Brighton - the only laundrette I’ve been in in the last few weeks where customers are actually hanging around. It’s spacious and airy, with a door at each end for a constant airflow, and the staff ooze warmth and local knowledge.

I’m beginning to figure out which stories need sharing in more detail, where there are gaps that need further investigation and how exactly I’m going to honour the people and laundrettes I’ve been engaging with. And it was wonderful to get some feedback from a worker about their involvement:

“It’s great to speak about a job that’s not very well known. It’s very rare that people take an interest in something as niche as what we’re doing”