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.
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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 unhoused 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.
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.
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.
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!
Some local organizations help with free laundry, too.
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.
Arizona
Coinless Laundry has a monthly free laundry day for seniors. It is not clear if this offer is valid at all locations, so you will need to contact them for details. They have 30 locations in Arizona, in the following cities:
- Chandler (1 location)
- Glendale (3 locations)
- Mesa (6 locations)
- Peoria (1 location)
- Phoenix (13 locations)
- Tempe (2 locations)
- Tucson (3 locations)
California
Coinless Laundry has a monthly free laundry day for seniors. It is not clear if this offer is valid at all locations, so you will need to contact them for details. They have 17 locations in California, in the following cities:
- Coachella (1 location)
- El Monte (1 location)
- Indio (1 location)
- Long Beach (1 location)
- Los Angeles (1 location)
- Norco (1 location)
- Palmdale (1 location)
- Riverside (1 location)
- Santa Ana (7 locations)
- Wilmington (2 locations)
Hope’s Corner by Trinity United Methodist Church offers free laundry services to low income or homeless people in the Santa Clara County community. There are no citizenship requirements, and the service is available to anyone who meets the income guidelines. The laundry services are provided on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
WeHOPE operates several Mobile Homeless Services trailers that offer free showers, free laundry services, medical assessments and more.
Colorado
The Showers for All mobile trailer serves those who are homeless in Denver. The trailer has free showers and free laundry facilities.
Florida
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Countryside hosts a free laundry event every month at Happy Bubbles Laundromat. This event usually takes place on the first Wednesday of each month.
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.
New York
Woodfield Laundromat offers a $10 free 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 in Arlington and on Wednesdays in Marysville.
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 Free Laundry Resources
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.
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.
How do homeless people wash clothes?
Many community organizations offer free laundry services that homeless people can use to wash their clothes. When these services are not available, homeless people usually obtain new free clothing and discard their used clothing.
How do you do laundry on a budget?
To do laundry on a budget, many low income people choose to wash their clothes in a bathtub and hang them to dry. Alternatively, you can use a free dry laundromat or one of the free laundry services in this list.
Where can I do my laundry for free?
There are many organizations that offer free laundry days or services where you can do laundry for free. There’s a full list at LowIncomeRelief.com.
Nicole Thelin
Nicole is the founder and lead researcher of Low Income Relief. After a personal experience with poverty and homelessness following her husband's sudden medical discharge from the U.S. Army, Nicole discovered the life-changing impact of community resources. This experience ignited her passion for empowering others to navigate similar crises.Nicole launched her writing career at age 16, working for various newspapers and publications. Her commitment to in-depth research and accessible content has been recognized by Google for Publishers and other industry leaders. For over 20 years, she has applied her investigative skills to uncover the most helpful, up-to-date information on benefits programs and community resources, ensuring Low Income Relief maintains the most extensive resource databases available.
