More laundry options in Mexico
This last weekend found me once more with a mountain of dirty clothes, sans garden hose, and with rain predicted for Sunday. What’s a shoestring to do? I filled the machine using a couple of buckets, from the shower. It worked fine. I think I might even like it better than that stupid hose business.
I must point out that my current laundry woes are not at all typical, fortunately. There are usually a number of options available for getting your clothes washed wherever you might find yourself in Mexico, if you prefer to forgo the delights and hassles of owning a washing machine. Most of these places are lumped under the term LavanderÃa.
Cities, larger towns, and anyplace with lots of tourist traffic will usually have some variation on the self-service laundromat familiar to gringos. The main difference you’ll find is the interpretation of the concept of “self service”: there will often be a number of ladies buzzing about the place, selling you soap in little plastic cups, taking the money and directing you to the washers, mopping the floors, etc. The laundromat we used awhile in Mérida featured a couple of loud TVs, tables and chairs, and even magazines. They weighed your laundry to determine how many machines you would need (no standing on top of the load and jumping up and down to stuff it all into one machine here!).
Most places of this type offer the option of leaving your clothes there for the attendants to do, and picking them up when they are done. Many places which look like self-serve in fact aren’t and offer only this option. They charge by the kilo, and the prices have always seemed extremely reasonable to me (having had my fill of hanging out in laundromats a long, long time ago).
Next there is the lavanderÃa which is a regular full-service laundry, with no washing machines in sight. You bring in the clothes, and they weigh them and tell you when you can pick them up. They will usually be beautifully folded and redolent of fabric softener. If you’re traveling on a tight schedule, it’s wise to clarify their business hours before leaving your clothes there. Many businesses close for two or more hours in the afternoon for lunch, reopening at 4 or 5 and then closing at 8 or so.
In really small villages where there are no official laundry services, have no fear, there is still a way. There will always be someone around who is willing to do your laundry for a modest fee. Nowadays it’s usually someone with a washing machine; in the old days it was a little old lady who did it by hand. Turnaround could be a bit slow, so don’t leave it to the last minute. In fact, never leave ANYTHING to the last minute; it’s bad practice anywhere but an invitation to disaster in Mexico.
Dry cleaners are called tintorerÃas and are found in cities and larger towns. I’ve yet to try one so can offer no personal experience except to say that one of my sisters-in-law has her work clothes dry cleaned and they always look great.