Everyone has a little dirty laundry, but these Salt Lake spots will get you cleaned up
On the Street
By Bryant Heath
Since moving to a home with its own washer and dryer hookups, I haven't thought much about laundromats. Sure, I've visited occasionally to do my annual washing of oversize comforters, but the once regular ritual of lugging my dirty clothes around town has gone by the wayside.
Can't say that I miss it much, though. I have the smell of uncomfortable freshness from washrooms deeply ingrained in my memory, and I still cringe at all the casual small talk that inevitably takes a weird turn. That last point is probably why, when you read the Google reviews of any of the self-service laundry facilities around town, they always stress the "quietness" or how they are the "best place to do laundry in peace"—a third space, the laundromat is not.
But they are interesting places. I've always been charmed by the mural on the exterior of Liberty Coin on 1300 South and 300 East (above photo). Although located at the same intersection as the internet-famous Fun Time Kidz Kare, I feel like this surrealist image of angelic washers flying over the GSL is the true star of the area.
The same artist (who you can find on Instagram @riktor_100) also painted the interior of the 4th Street Laundry on 400 East off of 1700 South. The red rock landscape is quite impressive, especially considering it was painted with mini-rollers and standard house paint more than a decade ago.
The Rose Park Coin Laundry—ironically located in Fairpark at 1315 W. 500 North—is distinctly memorable due to their humorous marquee signs out front. "Laundry Today or Naked Tomorrow" is what was displayed when I swung by recently to take a photo.
But even the humble coin laundromat is not immune to today's financial realities—a quarter just isn't worth what it used to be. I've noticed a downswing in the facilities in SLC, most recently the closing and emptying out of Sunshine Laundromat on 1100 East and Harrison Ave (below photo).
It's hard to envision a time that a self-service laundry won't be around. A washer/dryer in every home would be utopian, and even the most advanced AI can't fold a shirt well. Yet.
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