09/22/2022
As a kid, I remember several times when my folks loaded all of the dirty clothes in our house into our old station wagon, along with my 2 older brothers, my kid sister and myself, and drove us to town to use the public laundromat. We had a washer and dryer at home, but we were by no means wealthy, and on occasion our second or third hand washer or dryer would break down and it was during these periods of time that we got to experience the laundromat. Nowadays, coin laundromats receive a lot of negative press. They are usually considered smelly and dirty. The floors are gross and the washers are often worse. They are seen as unsafe, potential dens of thieves, that a person should only visit when in dire straights. As a child, I just remember it being a cool, rare experience to meet new people and see new things. The laundromat was up there with the County Fair on my list of cool things to go to. You are probably chuckling, at this point, but growing up in a small town of 600, “going to town” meant walking or driving the 2 miles to the gas station-grocery store, so a trip all the way in to “The Big Town” of Beebe to use the laundromat, was really something special in my younger years. I can vividly remember the two-tiered blue folding tables, the spinning dryers, and the Street Fighter arcade game. I thought the soap box dispenser was probably the coolest thing in the world and there must have been a hundred things to do and look at, all new to me.
Now as an adult, my wife and I own and operate Searcy Suds Laundromat, and I find that my 4 children hold the same wonder towards the laundromat that I had as a child. My kids cannot wait to go and pickup trash, fix something, clean up, or just visit and hang out at the Mat. While I do believe the majority of the stereotypes associated with laundromats could be true for almost any business, uncleanliness and broken equipment seem to be a staple in most laundromats the country over. For several years here in Searcy, there has been only one laundromat available in town, so, in October of 2017, my wife and I decided to open a facility that would attempt to break some of those stereotypes. We wanted to offer an affordable option to our community that was clean, that worked, and we wanted to be able to respond quickly if someone needs help and that’s why my personal cell number is posted on the wall inside the Mat. Now, im not saying that our laundromat is always spotless, because it isn’t. For those of you who have your own or have dealt with young children, cleaning a laundromat is a lot like running around cleaning up behind 4 toddlers; it is never ending! We do pride ourselves, though, on the level of cleanliness that we have been able to maintain. Of course, we have equipment that breaks down, everything breaks at some point, but we fix it as quickly as we can, and reimburse people if they do happen to have a machine malfunction.
For those interested in trying it out, I think there are many benefits to using a coin laundromat. There are new people that you can get to meet that you might not ever have a conversation with otherwise; not “bad” or “weird” people either, just people. Honest people who make the world move. Come up and sit some time and say hi to a few folks. There is a real community that happens inside a laundromat. There are also large washers that you can put bedding and other washables into that might not fit into your washing machine at home. A lot of people bring in large comforters, dog beds, crib bedding and other larger items. One of the best aspects for me personally, with 6 people living in our household, is that I can do a whole lot of laundry all at once. In about 2 hours, I can wash and fold an entire week’s worth of laundry, if it ever got backed up that far!
Our laundromat is by no means spotless, but we try to keep it clean. We don’t have the most technologically advanced equipment, but it works well. We also can’t guarantee that you will experience the wonders a child might see when you come into our store, but we sure hope that you do.
Searcy Suds Coin Laundromat is open daily, 5am-midnight, located at 802 E Moore Ave in Searcy, right beside the old graveyard on Moore.
