In Australia they're called laundries – a place to do the washing and ironing that often becomes a dumping ground for all the family's stuff. But in many countries, this room is called a “mud room”.
Laundry facilities range from coin-operated self-serve laundromats where people wash their own clothes to large commercial facilities that clean sheets and towels for businesses like hospitals.
This blog posts comes to you all the way from Australia's cutest Laundromat - Koala Park Laundromat Burleigh Heads - on the sunny Gold Coast in Queensland. Before you leave home: Check every basket, under every teenager's bed and in every room for any and all possible signs of laundry.
European laundry with stacked washer and dryer inside of a large ensuite bathroom. By definition, a European laundry is a laundry “room” that's tucked away inside a cupboard or closet, usually hidden behind bifold or pocket doors.
The word laundry comes from Middle English lavendrye, laundry, from Old French lavanderie, from lavandier.
Laundromat
A public place to wash laundry. UK equivalent: laundrette or launderette.
Also known as a New York-style laundry, a European laundry is one that is designed for a small space and on a single wall.
A utility room is generally the area where laundry is done, and is the descendant of the scullery. Utility room is more commonly used in British English, while North American English generally refer to this room as a laundry room, except in the American Southeast.
More than half (52%) of Aussie households own a top-loading washing machine, a decrease from 2010 when it was 60%.
Most Aussies rightly pointed out that the three main reasons for not using a dryer was: the cost factor, it's safer for the environment, and of course - they can shrink your clothes.
So “Laundromat” is often inappropriately used generically to describe a place where customers use coins or tokens to activate clothes washing and drying machines, but launderette (or launderette) is the correct generic term.
The French word came from Latin lavandarius, also “to wash,” but that in turn came from another Latin word lavanda which were “the things to be washed,” so we've come full circle.
However, the correct term for a facility that houses washers and dryers for use by the public is “laundromat.” The widespread use of the term laundry mat arises from the fact that “laundromat” often gets misspelled.
Sorting laundry loads
It's very important to wash your lights and darks laundry separately, as darker dyes can ruin lighter fabrics. Sort your greys, blacks, navies, reds, dark purples and similar colours into one load, and your pinks, lavenders, light blues, light greens and yellows into another laundry.
A laundry list is "a usually long list of items," and it's used to refer to lists of varying kinds: Indeed, ask any bartender about the most memorable first dates they've witnessed, and you'll get a laundry list of cringe-worthy encounters.
[ lawn-dree-man, lahn- ] SHOW IPA.
A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry.
wash·ing ˈwȯ-shiŋ ˈwä- : the act or action of one that cleanses with water.