I will be in London for 2 weeks in November for my honeymoon. This is the first trip we've taken to the UK and also the first trip where I am considering packing very light and doing laundry one morning while we're there. (most of my previous overseas travel has been either business travel where I was reimbursed for sending my laundry out, or short-term where washing clothes wasn't necessary).

Are there any important differences between UK & US self-service laundromats?

Is laundrette the term I should use when asking the hotel clerk where to find one? Not that they wouldn't understand laundromat, but laundrette seems like a charming word and I like saying it.

Do laundromats typically have vending machines where we can buy single doses of detergent at inflated prices? ;-) Or will I need to find a store and buy a big container? Someone told me there's a Sainsbury's near our hotel, so I could look there.

Are laundromats/laundrettes numerous in London, particularly near the Marble Arch where we'll be staying?

Is it wrong of me to find the prospect of doing my laundry in London attractive, fun & exciting? (In case you're wondering, I do not particularly enjoy laundry at home)

I'll ask more if I come up with more questions.

Hi moto,
We found the laundromats in London to be almost the same as in the US. Some of them have a "Hot Soak" ccle which is meant to sterilize diapers and such. Don't use it. It shrinks your clothes.

Yes, you can buy detergent at inflated prices. Someone suggested bringing your own detergent tablets in a Ziplock bag.

>Is it wrong of me to find the prospect of doing my laundry in London attractive, fun & exciting? <

Not wrong. Odd, strange, weird, abnormal, but not wrong.

> Not wrong. Odd, strange, weird, abnormal, but not wrong.

I was afraid of that. Guess I'd better not mention it to my fiance 'til after the wedding. ;-)

Hey motorgir! If you find the prospect of doing your laundry exciting whilst you are 'over here' can I suggest you come to my house and relieve me of my heaving laundry basket

Laundromat and Launderette would be understood by everyone I would think. Launderette is the more common term.

If I have needed to wash some clothes, I have taken travelwash and used the line some hotels provide inside the bathroom, although drying is a problem if theres a/c! Or popping it out on the balcony if you have one. Cheap alternative.

You will find launderettes all over. Many do a wash and fold service for a very small fee. So unless you have a washer/dryer fetish, just leave your stuff with the attendant and use the the for sightseeing or something else more fun than watching the spin cycle.

To motorgirl: one more option:

http://www.postergallery.com/posters/SW_1133.html

Well done, Eli

If you're going to do it yourself, be sure to hoard 1 pound and 20p coins. Getting change in the UK can be a hassle, and sometimes the attendant isn't around. Also, I always take my own detergent in a small bottle, since sometimes the laundrette machines are empty.

Thanks to everyone for the advice & wit.

EnglishOne: Perhaps we should set up a laundry exchange program. I'll come do your laundry in London, you'll do mine here in Boston?

janis: since I'm too timid to ride the London Eye, watching the dryers may be the next best thing for me.

Eli: not sure I'm feeling THAT ambitious!

drsawyers: thanks for the tips on what coins I'll need. Analogous advice for anyone planning to laundry in the US - hoard quarters.

Motorgirl, that's a great idea to pep up laundry day! Although, alas, I have already been to Boston (loved Quincy Market).

Hm, perhaps I can tempt you by saying I actually live in Cambridge? Probably not.

Ooo, I have a friend with a house on the Cape...

Oh well, I'm sure I will enjoy London even in the absence of an exchange program.

I don't think you're strange for enjoying the idea of doing laundry in london, I rather enjoyed doing my own laundry in London. The morning I was to check out of the hotel to switch to another location, I took my baggallini stuffed with dirty clothes a few blocks away to a laundrette, bought some Persil detergent at the newsagent next door and some trashy mags and enjoyed a moment (or rather an hour and a half) of peace with the locals as my wash spun around. I left the Persil for another customer to enjoy and probably paid the same for the bottle as the individual size would have been. Often no attendants on duty so bring change.
For the record, I've also enjoyed doing my laundry in Bath, Dorchester and Stratford Upon Avon. ; )

Just got back from London and we did our laundry at a laundrette. Just so happens I was looking in a phone book and saw that there is one right by the Marble Arch! We didn't go to that one because we found one closer to our hotel in Bloomsbury, but just wanted to let you know there is one.

Have a great time in London!

From your talk of the proximity of a Sainsbury's, it looks as if you might be staying at one of the hotels near the Gloucester Road tube station in Kensington. If so, you should know that Bobo's Bubbles, on Cromwell Road just a few steps from the Sainsbury's, will do your laundry for a couple of pounds extra. Bring it in in the morning, sightsee all day, pick it up around 5 p.m. Just don't put any really delicate garments in -- everything goes into a hot dryer -- and if you separate lights and darks, bring them in two separate bags and tell her to wash them separtely, otherwise she'll dump everything into the giant washer.
It's never cost me more than about 18GBP for two big bags of laundry.
Have a great trip.

V.

VCL, was that 18 GBP, 18 GB pounds? that is about $25. With my wardrobe I could probably replace it all at the GB Goodwill equivalent<G>.
Motorgirl - It sure does not sound abnormal to me. When the alternate is lugging a large suitcase vice a onboard roll on it sounds like good sense. Even when I am on business I hate to expense the Company with hotel laundry charges that exceed per item the cost of new underwear!
Motorgirl: Thanks for the thread, I was going to post a similar question and you aske them better than I could have. The rest of you thanks for brightening up what had been a dreary day!

Yes, I drop about $25 in Bobo's several times during a months stay in London. The surprising thing is that it is not all that much more expensive than doing it muself. Each machine costs a couple of pounds, plus soap, plus dryer time. It would run a minimum of $12 to do it myself and take me a couple of hours. I figure my time is worth at least $6 an hour.

I use the sink or shower and those wonderful heated towel rods!

Oh I want one of those heated things for my humid house in FL