Where Can I Do My Laundry for Free?

Where can I do my laundry for free?! This was one of my top concerns as a young adult, living on my own for the first time.

See, I’d made some major mistakes when I purchased my first car and the high payments left me with no money at all for essentials like laundry. So what could I do?

Fortunately, I was able to find a few resources that allowed me to do laundry for free or cheap. It was an absolute lifesaver!

Where can I do my laundry for free in the US?

There are a few nationwide organizations that allow people to do their laundry for free. If you need help, try these resources first!

LaundryCares Foundation

The LaundryCares Foundation hosts periodic Laundry and Literacy Days. These are huge events with raffles, free books and more for the community. During these events, the laundry machines are also free for low income guests to use.

According to the LaundryCares Foundation, these events often include raffles for household items including televisions, children’s bikes, and even a year of free laundry services! Food and music is also provided.

The LaundryCares Foundation was created by the Coin Laundry Association.

Laundry Love

If you’re wondering “Where can I do my laundry for free?” then Laundry Love is a great place to look! Laundry Love is a network of neighborhood laundromats that allow low income people to wash their laundry for free during certain times. The free laundry days at these laundromats are often sponsored by local churches, schools or other organizations. Overall, there are locations in almost every state including Hawaii!

These laundromats are not always free for low income people. Each Laundry Love location can set their own specific hours when people can do free laundry. It is very, very important that you pay attention to those hours or you may waste a trip.

For example, there are dozens of Laundry Love locations near Los Angeles. Six of them, including La Limpia Lavenderia Coin Laundry in Canoga Park, allows people to do free laundry between 2pm and 3pm on the last Sunday every month. If the machines are all busy or this time doesn’t work for you, you’ll need to travel to Simi Valley or Santa Clarita to find a laundromat that offers a different time.

Many of the Laundry Love locations that I looked at only offer one day per month (usually, one hour per month) for free laundry services. This means that if you need to wash multiple loads per month, you may need to travel to different laundromats to wash your clothes for free.

You can find a Laundry Love location near you using their website but pay close attention to those days and times!

Love INC

Love In the Name of Christ, or Love INC, is a nationwide organization that provides assistance for low income families. Some locations offer laundry facilities where homeless or low income people in their community can wash their laundry.

This service is not available at all Love Inc locations but it is available at some of them. For example, we’ve seen laundry facilities listed on the page for Love Inc of Yampa Valley, Colorado. The Love Inc office in Nacogdoches Texas has also announced that they will have a laundry facility for their clients. Other locations may also offer this service as well, but you’ll need to ask.

Ask Your School

You may be surprised to learn that your local school is a place you could do your laundry for free. If you have children in school, you may be able to wash some laundry at the school. Many schools across the United States have found that they can reduce student absenteeism by providing basic laundry facilities for their students.

The New York Times has reported that schools in Colorado, Kentucky, Missouri, and New Jersey have found that making a washing machine available to students has improved attendance.

Homeless Shelters

If you don’t have housing of your own, you may be able to use free laundry services for the homeless. You may be able to find help at homeless shelters and other organizations that serve people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

To get help from these organizations, you typically need to be an established client. This means that you will need to be truly homeless, and not just in need of their laundry facilities. You’ll have to call 211 to find the homeless services in your area and then reach out about the possibility of laundry facilities.

Tide Loads of Hope

After a natural disaster, it can be really hard to do your laundry. Famous detergent maker Tide brings laundry trucks to devastated areas to help people do their laundry for free after a disaster. This program is called Loads of Hope.

This service began in 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Since then, they’ve served almost 100,000 people after multiple different disasters.

211

The United Way’s 211 helpline is a great place to turn when you need help with low income resources. They can help you find organizations, such as nonprofits and churches, in your area that offer free laundry services. Just call them and ask where you can do your laundry for free in your area.

You can call the helpline at 211 or visit their website to conduct a discreet online search. Some areas even offer text support!

Local Organizations that Offer Free Laundry Services

Often, the best and most impactful resources we’ve found are the local ones. We’ve found a handful of local nonprofits, Churches and charities that can help you receive free laundry services as well.

California

Hope’s Corner by Trinity United Methodist Church offers free laundry services to homeless people in the Santa Clara County community.The laundry services are provided on Monday,Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

WeHOPE operates several Mobile Homeless Services trailers that offer free showers, free laundry services, medical assessments and more.

Colorado

Bayaud Enterprises has a community outreach program. This program provides help with food security, health and more. Their mobile laundry service offers free laundry and shower facilities for homeless people in the Denver area.

Florida

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Countryside hosts a free laundry event every month at a laundromat in Clearwater. This event usually takes place on the first Wednesday of each month.

Kansas

Project Laundry helps low income families in the greater Wichita area. This program provides eligible laundromat customers with one roll of quarters, three laundry pods, dryer sheets and more. You can only get these items if you have your laundry with you when you check-in. The program starts at 5pmand continues until laundry kits run out. You can find their locations and days on their website.

Minnesota

The People’s Laundry MPLS offers free laundry services to people who need help. They also provide free clothing when available. They offer a drop-off and pick-up service, and there’s a no-contact option if you prefer. You need to fill out the request form on their website to get started.

New York

Woodfield Laundromat offers a free $15 laundry card for first-time customers. You’ll have to claim it on their website before your first visit.

Ohio

Ohio Laundry Project helps low income people in Columbus obtain free laundry services.

Washington

North Snohomish County Outreach offers a free laundry service for low income people in the community. They host free laundry days on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Arlington, as well on Wednesdays in Marysville. This service is limited to one load per person, though.

Urban Rest Stops offer hygiene facilities for homeless people in Seattle, U-District and Ballard. These facilities include restrooms, showers and laundry facilities that can be used for free. You can receive free toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, shaving cream, shampoo, soap and other hygiene supplies. They also have clothes you can borrow while you wash your own clothes.

Other Options for Free Laundry

If you can’t find a completely free laundry service in your area, there are other options that may be able to help you.

Free Dry Laundromats

Some laundromats will allow you to use their dryers for free. Usually, you’re required to pay to wash the laundry at that location in order to get free access to the dryers but that is not always the case. We have a list of free dry laundromats throughout the United States! Although this isn’t completely free laundry, it does help reduce the cost.

Portable Washing Machines

If you purchase a portable washing machine, you can hook it up to your sink and do laundry at home! These machines have a steep up-front investment but can help you save a lot of money over time.

Amazon has a great selection of portable washing machines. The automatic kind that hooks up to your sink can cost around $200, but there are cheaper models that don’t hook up to your sink. They even have portable agitators for $10 or less that claim to be able to do your laundry in your tub or sink without a machine.

Washing by Hand

If all else fails, you can wash your laundry at home in your own bathtub! You simply need to plug the tub, submerge your laundry in water, add detergent, and mix it around. Some people use a stick, others use rubber gloves to do it by hand. You should let the laundry soak for a while before agitating it, and then allow it to soak again when you’re done. Then, unplug the tub and let the water drain.

Wring out each article of clothing as much as possible, and rinse out any remaining soap.

To eliminate the remaining soap, it is helpful to soak the laundry again in clean water. You’ll need to hang the laundry to dry.

FAQs

We receive many questions about free laundry services. Here are the most common questions we’ve received and their answers.

Relief Recap

Tired of laundry costs eating into your budget? Believe it or not, there are ways to do your laundry for free! This article explores creative and practical strategies to ditch those laundromat fees and keep your clothes clean without spending a dime. From utilizing community resources like Laundry Love to mastering the art of handwashing, we discussed various ways to make laundry day less of a financial burden.