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Doing laundry is a boring chore, especially if you're stuck doing it at a laundromat. Thankfully, to help pass the time, some laundromats now offer unique features and attractions that keep customers entertained — and coming back — such as cool bars, live music and DJs, full-service restaurants, arcades, and even wellness classes. Check out these 26 awesome, feature-filled laundromats located around the world.
Cafe Laundromat has a full menu of everything from eggs benedict to burgers, but the real draw are the books. There's over 4,000 of them, making it one of the largest private libraries in Oslo. Take your pick and head to one of the worn armchairs in a cozy nook to read it. The colorful, shabby chic decor is quirky and inviting.
How about a little late night pinball action while waiting for your clothes to dry? At Sunshine Laundromat & Pinball, there are walls lined with pinball machines, plus a bar. If you get a new high score, Sunshine will update their website with your initials. They're open until at least 2 a.m. for all your late-night washing and arcade needs.
Spin offers two of the most sustainable and technologically advanced laundromats in the U.S. It's got super high efficiency washers and dryers that can handle up to eight regular loads at once. You can pay with your smartphone (or cards, or good old fashioned coins), and your machine can text you when your laundry is done. Grab a panini and a beer while you're waiting, and kill time watching local sports or playing pinball.
Though there's not a lot of evidence to back up its namesake claim, World's Largest Laundromat is quite huge and full of stuff to do. There are 300 machines over 13,500 square feet, plus a children's play area, a 90-inch TV, a wall of video games, a snack area with free coffee and donuts, and an indoor bird sanctuary full of finches and canaries. Kids actually want to come to this laundromat with Mom and Dad.
High-end design and laundromats don't usually go together, but Splash is trying to change that. Its minimalist, mood-lit interior looks more like a nightclub than a place to do your laundry, and in fact the owners have turned it into a trendy dance club after hours on occasion, with both DJs and laundry spinning.
A 180-gallon saltwater fish tank is the centerpiece of Laundry World. Watching the tropical fish swim around is a relaxing way to pass the time and kids love it. If that's not really your speed, there's also a living room-like lounge with TVs and a small arcade. They're also known for having a prize wheel, and customers have won 50-inch TVs.
At Wasbar, you can cross two things off your to-do list in one stop: laundry and a haircut. The vintage-inspired, pastel-filled laundromat is calming and full of fun touches, like a lampshade made out of clothes hangers. In the back is a little two-seat salon, so you can get a quick shampoo and cut while you wait.
Freddy Leck is a Tokyo outlet of a German laundromat. At this location, a welcoming cafe takes up almost as much square footage as the laundry facilities. It serves as a neighborhood gathering spot where people can get coffee and snacks or do some work while their laundry finishes. There are even laundry workshops where experts will teach customers how best to deal with stains, ironing, and other laundry-related topics.
Three Legged Dog is a small bar right in the French Quarter of New Orleans where you can do your wash and get a crawfish boil while you wait. The boiler is out back waiting to be filled with corn, sausage, spicy seasonings, and live crawfish. This is a dog-friendly bar, too.
From the outside, Harvey Washbangers looks more like a chain restaurant than a laundromat. Considering more people probably go there for the food than laundry, that makes total sense. The full service restaurant and bar is known for their burgers with toppings like jalapenos and cream cheese, bacon-wrapped hot dogs, and fried green tomatoes. They've even got a 4-star rating on Yelp.
If burgers aren't really your thing, there's always pizza. Cowgirl Pizza and Laundromat is a cute, hole-in-the-wall where you can eat, drink and do laundry all at the same time. With freshly made pizza dough and house-smoked meats, these pizzas are better than takeout. If you rack up enough loads of laundry, you even get a free beer at the bar.
It's easy to forget that you're even in a laundromat at Laundré. The sleek, modern space is a coffee shop and lounge first and a laundromat second. That's not to say they take shortcuts on the laundry, though: they have super efficient, large-load machines. But they're out of site from the natural-light flooded cafe, making it a peaceful resting spot for avocado toast and coffee.
When you've got your little ones in tow, laundry can be difficult. At Laundry City, they're working to alleviate that problem. A big, enclosed play area for the kids has murals on the walls, cartoons on a TV and colorful play mats. The laundromat is huge, too, so chances are your kids will probably make friends while they're there.
Billed as a "medi-spa for your laundry," Celsious is also a place where you can take care of yourself, too. The two-story space includes a full coffee bar on the second floor, offering everything from macchiato to kombucha, in a secluded space where you can get work done. They also host events regularly, like guided meditation nights and figure-drawing sessions.
A cafe and laundromat by day and a bar by night, Laundrette has two different personalities. The bar takes front and center, with the washers and dryers in the back of the space. At night, they host DJs and parties with dancing between the machines, complete with dance floor lights and lasers. You can also catch soccer matches and other sports on the TVs while you throw back a cocktail.
OLE Super Coin Laundry is a one-stop shop for a lot of needs. It's a U-Haul location, so you can rent moving trucks and purchase moving supplies like boxes and packing tape. It's also a Western Union location and small convenience store. Kids can play on a patio with playground equipment, and there's an adjoining restaurant. Oh yeah, and you can do your laundry.
With a long menu and delicious looking food, you don't even need the laundry excuse to eat at The Laundromat Cafe. Enjoy everything from brunch platters to a pulled-duck burger and fries in retro surroundings, plus about 40 different beers. If you've still got time to kill after you're done eating, choose one of the countless books, all arranged beautifully by color around the bar.
Opened in 2018, The Laundry Room is big, bright and airy. Besides some really huge dryers, there's a lounge with couches and big screen TV to pass the time and a kids' play area complete with activity tables and toys. They even have local food trucks pull up in the parking lot sometimes just in case you're hungry.
This location of the Blue Kangaroo chain is dedicated to improving literacy and education among young children. In partnership with the local school system and a non-profit, they've installed a bookcase with books and educational posters around the laundromat. The aim is to promote reading instead of time in front of electronics while families wait for their wash.
The Laundry Cafe is a small chain of four laundromats in the Philadelphia area that's a helpful stop for when you're stressed. The 24-hour 'mats have electronic massage chairs so you can work out those kinks while the machines work out your shirt stains. There are also arcade games and internet stations with parental controls to keep the kids out of your hair.
We've all tried to get work done on the go but then ran out of battery charge. At Speed Wash, customers can avoid that mistake with their free charging station. The USB ports and outlets are set up along a workstation, so you can use your laptop or tablet without worry. There's also a lounge with couches and TVs, a pinball machine, and even face painting for the kids.
You can bring your furry friend with you to Wash on Western. Leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome, and they'll even get a treat while you do your laundry. For us humans, there's free coffee and tea, USB charging stations on the folding tables, and an ice cream vending machine.
Believe it or not, self-service laundromats are a relatively new thing in Hong Kong, spurred by increasingly small apartments that have no room for laundry. Coffee & Laundry aims to be a neighborhood hangout in addition to a laundromat, where customers can socialize and put on events. The small shop has a coffee bar with a full menu of specialty drinks and pastries, along with some cute outdoor seating on the sidewalk.
You can catch live music at Dirty Dungarees, a combination bar and laundromat. They generally have a couple bands each month so you can dance while the wash is spinning. If you've got laundry to do when there's no band, don't worry — there are still pool tables and a full bar to keep you happy.
Igor's is a dive bar first and laundromat second, but that's just what makes for a good time. The washers and dryers are not state of the art, but they get the job done, as will the drinks. There's a stripper pole in the middle of the bar, but it's generally only used fully clothed during karaoke.
One of Las Vegas Coin Laundry's locations appeared on an episode of "Tanked," a show that follows a custom fish tank company. The "Tanked" crew created a one-of-a-kind saltwater aquarium inside a stacked washer-dryer unit. You can still check it out for yourself, including the washer on the bottom where you can see the inner workings of the filtration system.