Laundry service - how does it work?

There are 17 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 2,180 times. The latest Post (January 4, 2025 at 10:03 PM) was by Rice.

    I am a bit confused about laundry service in Argentina as I have never used one.
    We don’t have a washer in our STR and it seems a lot of long term guests are expecting either a washer in the unit or a laundry room in the building.

    Shared laundry room washers run on coins, for which you have to pay for (you need to go to a Kiosko and buy the coins). I don’t see the advantage vs. bringing your load to a serviced laundry.

    I don’t understand why it is so negative having to use a laundry service. Either people don’t know that they have to pay for a laundry room (and wait for your wash to be completed) or walking 1 block to drop off your laundry is too much to ask.
    Perhaps I am missing something.

    The only reason I might insist on a laundry as a guest would be if staying a few months. The first 5+ years I was living half time in Argentina, I really liked having drop off laundry service. Mostly used 5asec chain. I did at least twice a month or more. Before that as a traveler (2005) in and out of CABA it was a treat to drop off at any random place and have ready in the afternoon. The last thing I wanted as a tourist was to waste time cleaning clothes. I would go dirty before going to a coin service, unless it is a modern place that also serves beer and sandwiches.


    If it is clearly marked in Airbnb listing, and you have suggestions for the closet drop off service, I do not see any issue.

    5asec laundry

    I spent 5 years as a traveling salesman, living in hotels and moving every week. Laundry service was a godsend. I hate sitting and waiting for clothes to wash and dry in a laundromat. Since I was out driving around every day, I could always find one. 5 minutes to drop off and 5 minutes to pick up.
    Plus they usually fold way better than I do. lol

    Thank you aficionado and @daveholman I believe laundry service is also cheap in Argentina. Among hosts, it is not recommended as guests tend to misuse it or not understand how the models here work. For me, it is more as a marketing tool than anything else. We have a drying rack, an ironing board and a steam iron.

    @daveholman in Buenos Aires it is quite rare to find self-service laundromats. Likely because of the reasons mentioned by hosts and because of fear of vandalism.

    I went to the laundry service which is 1.5 block away but it was closed today because of the holidays. Perhaps the opening hours can be a factor, or the fear of losing items or having items ruined by the laundry service.

    That said, it makes sense to have one if seeking long term tenants. I will try to see if there are used ones for less. We went to Rodo today and the cheapest vertical washer was 550k pesos “oriental system” by Drean. According to the salesman, it is often overload because people think they can stuff it 100%, and the washing cycle is not as efficient as the actual vertical ones (where the bin spins vertically like in horizontal washers). This oriental system has the bin spinning horizontally, only.

    We did have a Candy vertical one in our first apartment and it was okay. A new one would cost 1 million pesos, which is not worth the money for a STR, imho.
    We had to sell it because we needed a horizontal one to put under the kitchen top in our current home.
    I found a used candy on ML and the seller is selling for the same reason. I will discuss this further with my husband. Perhaps it is worth a try if the price is right.

    UK Man i have used laundry services as your wife, and it was for the occasional dry cleaning of special items.

    When we lived in the capital and our washing machine was broken we used the valet laundry service a block away. You took your dirty laundry and they washed and folded it.

    Efficient and cheap

    No idea what prices would be like nod though.

    As serafina says I don't think there are self service laundries in Argentina.

    Quote from serafina

    Among hosts, it is not recommended as guests tend to misuse it or not understand how the models here work. For me, it is more as a marketing tool than anything else. We have a drying rack, an ironing board and a steam iron.

    Well apart from using the rinse and spin cycle I haven't a clue how ours works to be honest.

    In my bachelor days I used to just wash my clothes by hand. I had a spinner thing to get most of the water out. I actually quite enjoyed the process. When I was away on my monthly cycle/camping tours around the world I'd do all my washing by hand also.

    You’re right. Lots of “Auto Servicio” signs, but they seem to just mean that you bring your own laundry in and pick it up.

    Our first rental had machines in the basement, and we had to buy tokens at the desk. Our second and third apts had their own washers, no dryers.

    The place we have now rented for years, doesn’t have a washing machine. We offered to buy one, but our friend the owner preferred not to have one, even if free, because if other renters misused it, he would have to maintain it. Having now had more experience with appliances in Argentina, we see his point.

    We take our laundry around the corner and have it done. I believe we pay about UD$5 to wash and dry a load. Very convenient— there seem to be at least a couple of laundries per square block.

    I was lucky to be born in the big city (Los Angeles), but I remember when my uncles put a kitchen and bathroom with running water in the house I'm living in now in New Mexico.

    Quite fancy!

    Growing up in Alabama, I guess I never appreciated it (until now. We had all mod cons, including washer, dryer, .dishwasher.

    I’m not sure, but I believe when I was very young, we didn’t yet have dial phones, but instead had to tell the number to an operator, who connected the two parties.

    Quote from Rice

    Lots of “Auto Servicio” signs, but they seem to just mean that you bring your own laundry in and pick it up.

    Perhaps ‘auto’ means that you have to walk your dirty laundry to their door as opposed to valet service, where they pick it up and then deliver it clean to your doorstep. I don’t see myself waiting for a valet service, given the lack of punctuality in every respect here.
    Anyhow, today it was rented for a month with no laundry faff. The two young Spaniards were escaping an acomodación with cockroaches. Ewwww!