Doing laundry in Paris?
 

Can anyone tell me what to expect at a laundromat in Paris? I will be there for 2 weeks and would like to "pack light"!

I am not sure exactly what you are asking, but I did laundry when we were in Paris. The Let's Go series of books lists locations. The price was around 6 or 7 Euro's per load (I think). I believe the machines take the money in a similar way to how machines here usually do, but in some places in Europe, there is a control panel on the wall with numbers corresponding to the numbers on machines. I think there have always been directions printed in English in any I have used. There are also places to leave your laundry to have it done. Haven't personally used those. My young adult son met a nice girl when he did laundry for us---if you are single, maybe you can include meeting people in your list of expectations. In fact, there was once a funny thread about people's experiences in laudromats in Europe. I could find it when I tried to search.

Ah, yes, doing laundry in Paris....It was one of our memorable experiences on a two-week trip there.
We walked into a laundromat, tried to read/follow the instructions that PJK wrote about,but couldn't. The only other patrons were two Sorbonne students who couldn't speak any English. Ah, but the international language of gestures and a willingness of everyone to help or be helped got us through! It really was one of those special moments for us.
Of course, we spent our time at a nearby outdoor cafe while waiting for the laundry to be done.

My husband did our laundry in Paris and I think it's still one of his favorite memories...the laundromat off of Rue Cler in the 7th that he found was more technically advanced than he thought any laundromat would be...he finally learned how to run the machines by watching other people in the place start theirs. It also gave him a chance to talk with a few people who he wouldn't have met otherwise. Ah, the great melting pot -- the laundry. ;)

We plan on doing it when we go back in September, as we're going for 10 days and want to pack light as well.

I'm sure if you ask your hotel desk where a laundromat is, they'll know too, in case you don't find one listed in your guidebook(s).

Happy travels,

Jules

Jules!

I've done my laundry in the same place. Rue Grenelle if I remember right. It was fast and inexpensive. If you've got the time, there is a drop off laundry on rue Cler, but it takes a couple of days, and it is very busy.

Katiekat222, I didn't notice any differences in the laundromats; put your clothes in, put your soap in, put your money in, come back in 20 minutes and load the dryer.

You can locate the "laverie" closest to your hotel and get walking/driving directions by using www.pagesjaunes.fr (French Yellow Pages).

The laundry that we used didn't have any one to change bills nor did they have machines that accepted paper. Be sure to load up on coins before going!

Also, you might consider a lightweight laundry line and some woolite packets. I've bought them from The Container Store and www.magellans.com for little money.

We did laundry at 75 rue l'Ouest, in the 14th, if I recall correctly. This is run by a very proper, but friendly Frenchwoman who doesn't speak English (or at least didn't). The main thing to keep in mind is the control panel, and ensure that you choose the right button. I think washing and drying two loads cost us about 9 Euros.

This might sound dumb but make sure to note what time the place closes. My wash load wasn't quite finished when they came to shut down the shop, and of course they were front-loading washers so I couldn't open them. Thank goodness by the time they were done cleaning up the cycle was over.

Hi K,

The "Hot wash" cycle is really, really hot. It will shrink everything.

((I))

Yes, and the dryer is very hot as well although shorter times than most American dryers. The "laundromats" I went to all had a control panel on the wall and you put your coins in, press the number of the machine you have your clothes in. Be careful because I put coins and pressed the wrong number once and re-dried some woman's clothes to a crisp.

A couple tips, based only on the laundro in our neighborhood:

1. A main control/payment panel controls all the machines. So, you pay this one box and then pick the number of the machine you want.

2. Bring a French/Eglish dictionary, if in doubt. There were way more settings than just hot/cold, and I couldn't translate all the cycles!

3. Where to put the soap? In ours, there are three slots to put the tablet of soap (which you can usually buy at the laundro). Normally two of them will be for soap (large/small loads). I just use one tablet, unles you are using one of the major huge washers (which some do have) and then I'd put in two if the load was really full. They may each have a symbol on the top to give you a clue.

4. The tumble-dry dryers were highly efficient! I dried a fairly large cotton rug and I think it took less than the 20-minute cycle.

I am making this sound WAY harder than it is. I had no instructions the first time and figured it out, so I'm sure you will too. I hope these posts ease your mind and let you know that you can do it, since we all did! Packing light is the way to go! Have a great trip! :-)

A bit off topic, but if you want to wash out a few small items in your hotel room, simply use hotel-provided shampoo in the bathroom sink (I always do a bit of hand wash and never pack a sink stopper, clothes line, woolite, clothespins, as often suggested).

I do pack 1-2 molded plastic hangers in the pocket of my suitcase to hang shirts to drip dry, because often there were wooden hangers attached to the rod in the closet that obviously wouldn't work for drying laundry.

We pack light and rent an apartment that has a washer/dryer. We can run the cycle during the day, when we are out, or at night, while we are sleeping. I chose this because I did not want to take the time to find a laundromat and do the laundry; there are plenty of better uses for your time.

Seeing the costs involved in using a laundromat, I well have to add economy as a reason to stay in an apartment.

As mentioned, most Paris laundromats have a "central" machine that takes payment for either washers or dryers, by the number of the machine used. Bill changers have started to appear but they are rare, so be sure to have a batch of change with you. The central units will make change for coins.

A word of caution: Laundromats here will offer you a choice of VERY hot water, almost surely not what you want. If in doubt about a setting ask, or wash your clothes in cold water.

Also, the cycles are very long compared to what you may be used to. Take a book with you.

I had a washer/dryer combo in the apartment I stayed at in Paris. It was absolutley maddening, I NEVER got it to work correctly and ended up ruining some clothes in it! On the last night we could not get the dry cycle to work and had to pack damp jeans! There were 2 really nice looking laundromats nearby, one just across from me on rue Mouffetard and one next to the Place Monge Metro stop. I should have used them, LOL.

One word of caution, we used a laundromat with a central coltrol panel and had not brought our own detergent.

I was so proud to figure out how to make the ****thing work, only to discover I should have ordered the soap FIRST...too late, machine was already into the wash cycle by the time I figured out where the detergent button was. Clothes got washed sans detergent...we dried them and wore them anyway. It worked out.

I had a hard time finding an apartment in Paris that had a washer/dryer. Laundromats (laveries) seemed plentiful. I seem to remember 1 Euro for 10 minutes of dryer time; we needed about 40 minutes or so.

Marking for future reference

I use so-called travel clothes from Tilley's and TravelSmith. They're easily washed in the hotel sink at night and dry (usually) by breakfast time. With these kinds of clothes, I only need two sets (one to wear and one to wash). It only takes about ten minutes every night to wash, soak and rinse. I use a small bottle of liquid detergent and a clothesline with suction cups.
One thing I never do is leave the clothes hanging during the day when I'm out.

Thanks to all for their replies! I am staying in an apartment and it does not have a washer so I will be spending some time at the laudromat...I am looking forward to it now! A new adventure!!

One thing to know is the poorer the neighborhood, the more laundromats there are. I live at metro Marx Dormoy, for example, and there are at least 15 laudromats within 200 meters of the metro station. This is generally not the case in the more affluent neighborhoods. Naturally, the price is also somewhat cheaper in the poor neighborhoods, with longer opening hours.

..just to echo Suzi and Platzman- I really dont understand the laundry issue unless one is dealing with children. I can be away for weeks on end and manage with woolite in the sink..I wash undies on a nightly basis, tops and even my light weight chinos will be dry with a 2 night stay.

It's a matter of preference. I prefer the feeling of clothes that have been machine-washed and dried, versus clothes that have been handwashed and hung in the shower overnight, and I think the machine gets them cleaner. (Of course some clothes have to be handwashed and/or hung to dry, but I don't take those on a trip.)

Hey, welcome back Elan!! Post your trip report!

I know people have different standards about this. I have yet to wash a pair of pants when I'm traveling. Sure, I do up inner items by hand wash. But outer wear I shake 'em out, hang 'em up to air & wear over and over again. I know that some people here think this is just gross (because they've told me so), but for 2-3 weeks traveling cities in Europe I don't get the big deal.

Now if I'm traveling in my beloved but dusty Mexico where clothes actually get dirty, then it is different... and I find a launderia!

Katie,
the laundromat should be fun, just don't let anyone else do your stuff. We did some years ago and she folded it and sent us on our way when we unfolded it and we found our white undies were pink. Take old stuff and toss it out as you go or wash in the sink and dry overnight.

All the apartments I have rented have had a washer/dryer. If I were staying for two weeks I would certainly opt for this type of accommodation.