Whichever way you choose to get washing done, having a busy schedule is no longer an excuse to not to look your best at all times. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
How launderettes work
Clothes are either dropped off at the cleaners or picked up from a convenient location.
The clothes are weighed and sorted into the various colour groups and fabrics.
They are processed according to a client’s wishes either washing machines or hand washing.
Most have a turnaround time of between 2-3 days though others have express laundry services that allow you to get back your clean clothes the same day.
Despite the increasing number of women who do laundry within gated communities for an affordable fee, a large number of residents still do not feel comfortable letting the women into their homes. To get around this problem, some individuals are today opting to buy washing machines to take the burden of washing away from the househelp.
But for those who may not have this facility at their home, there is still the issue of taking care of this chore which many people would rather avoid.
This has seen a rise in the number of launderettes coming up within Nairobi. While some dry cleaners are opening units that incorporate laundry services, the two concepts are totally different. In the former, clothes are cleaned using a chemical solvent instead of water while launderettes incorporate the conventional way of washing with water and detergents but in a washing machine.
Within the central business district, there are several laundry shops with convenient timings for the busy working individual, where one can drop their clothes as they go to work and pick them up at the end of the day or have them delivered at their offices the following day.
Suburbs
The trend has also picked in the suburbs in both high-end and middle class residential estates.
Eazzy Wash Laundry Solutions which operates units in Highrise and Embakasi estates, for instance, started out as a dry cleaning outfit but soon realigned itself to meet the demands of the dynamic environment and become a laundry and dry cleaning business.
According to Eazzy Wash’s Ambrose Riany, as people’s lifestyles continue to change, they are becoming more conscious of ways to save time.
“The changing work ethics, culture, work hours - not to mention the fact that more women are now taking a pivotal role in building the economy - have all contributed to the need for these services,” he says.
The facility offers express laundry services where one can pick their clothes in one or two hours. They also have different bouquets depending on whether the customers want their clothes just washed and folded or ironed.
According to Riany, many potential clients perceive small businesses as lacking the ability to provide quality services but the fact that customers respond to a good service and professional staff has helped them build their business through word of mouth referrals.
Ready-to-wear
Kilimani-based Spin City Africa has been in the business for the last five years. Their model borrows heavily from the western world where a person walks in and does his or her own laundry with the available washing machines.
According to Emmanuel Muhire, one of the launderette’s supervisors, rather than have their clientele come and do the washing themselves, they pick up the clothes from their residences or offices and return them ready- to-wear.
“Like any new product in the market, we had hard time making ordinary Kenyans understand how the whole thing works, its advantages over hand washing or having a househelp do the hand wash and hang them in the sun for two or three days,” he explains.
Similar to Eazzy Wash, rather than charge for every article that is laundered, Spin City weighs all the clothes and charges a standard fee of Sh1,000 for washing and drying an 8-10 kilogramme load.
“The persistence for the first two years has paid off as customers are not worried about the cost but whether they will get a good service,” he says.
Outlet
Apart from offering services to individuals, some launderettes also have commercial accounts for businesses where they are contracted to wash anything from uniforms to drapes.
The expansion of Tintoria Dry Cleaners, in particular, attests to the growing demand for the service. To date, they have outlets at the ABC place in Westlands, on 14 Riverside Drive, at the Village Market, Spring Valley, Karen and at Arrow house within the city’s central business district.
While they offer dry cleaning services for which they charge for each article, their launderette services charge Sh1,200 for a 7-kilogramme load of clothes.
The demand forlaundry services has created a new dynamic within the industry with some launderettes going online in search of customers. Pink Elephant, for instance, allows customers to book laundry services online from the comfort of their homes or office computers.
From the website, an individual can identify each article that they need either dry cleaned or washed. After this, a pick up is booked from a location of the client’s convenience, the clothes are laundered and delivered at the agreed place and time.
Whichever way you choose to get washing done, having a busy schedule is no longer an excuse to not to look your best at all times.
