The homeless can often find services that give them clothing, but what happens when that clothing gets dirty and needs to be washed? Using a laundromat is usually out of the question because the money they would pay to wash a load of laundry could go towards food or medicine. However, two sets of people in two areas of the world saw a need for free laundry services for the homeless and sought to help them. And they both decided to make it easy to do by creating a way to go to them using mobile laundry trucks. If you're searching for affordable Speed Queen dealers in North Carolina, make the call to T & L Laundry Equipment. Calling us today will save you time and money!
Mobile Laundromats Helping the Homeless
Two friends in Australia saw a need to help the homeless get their laundry clean, so they built a mobile laundromat. It is one of the first in the world. Orange Sky Laundry was established in 2014 to help the homeless get their clothing and blankets clean.
Lucas Patchett and Nicholas Marchesi took an old white van, added a generator for power, and then asked for donations of equipment. They were able to get two washing machines and dryers, which means they can launder about 44 pounds of laundry every hour. They plan to go to open spaces and public parks five days a week. They hope to partner with local food banks so that the homeless can have a bite to eat while they do their laundry.
Since its inception, it has grown to nine services across Australia. They do over 5.8 tons of laundry a week, and have over 450 volunteers.
More recently in Washington, two Americans, Eric Hogan and Pastor DJ Rabe, launched Washed Mobile because they wanted to offer the homeless the same service. There is a crew who does the laundry while the homeless wait, and the service is completely free.
The vehicle is a 16 foot truck that houses two washing machines and two dryers. The units are powered by large diesel generators. It uses two 275 gallon water tanks. One is used to send fresh water to the washer and one collects the used water. There is a propane heating system that creates the hot water for the hot cycle settings.
It cost about $30,000 to build the vehicle. The monthly operating expense is between $2,000 and $2,500. They accept donations as well as sponsors.
One load takes about an hour and a half. Pastor Rabe uses that time to talk with the homeless, but says he does not push religion on anyone. If the homeless person needs a change of clothes while he or she waits for their clothes to be cleaned, they have tops and bottoms they can change into in a tent they put up for privacy.
Mobile laundry facilities for the homeless cover the overlooked dilemma of having clean clothes. If someone who is homeless has a job interview and is not able to wash their clothes, it can give their potential employer a bad impression.
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