Mexican laundry is very different than what we were used to in America…very different!
The cement washboard and sink is in almost every home and apartment along with a clothesline.
There are also many affordable laundry services, some even come and pick your laundry up on a motorcycle or scooter!
Our first 85 days in Mexico Phil carried our laundry about two blocks once a week to the local laundry lady. It was reasonable and our clothes looked like the came out of a store, nicely folded and almost looked pressed.
After a few weeks though we started noticing that the clothes were stiffer and actually had a texture, we were itchy and couldn’t sleep in our sheets!
So we decided to give in and do our own laundry the Mexican way. Phil washes and wrings and I hang them up. We decided to do this every evening because we only have one change of clothes and dish towels for the day. Then once a week we wash our giant king size sheets by hand and wring them out and hang them up on the clothesline on the rooftop terrace. It is very common to see clothes hanging outside or on a terrace or in the laundry area. Most people don’t have a dryer here…it’s too hot and not necessary. Not sure how all that works in the rainy season but I guess we will find out! One thing I miss is a clothes pin bag! I made a make-shift one with a plastic bag and a hangar.
I love freshly hung sheets but it is quite interesting trying to rinse and wring king sheets by hand!
Now there is a place for a washing machine on the roof top. There are some interesting washing machines here…this is a common and inexpensive washer and spinner. The clothes agitate on one side, then you take them out and put them in the spinner. I think they just fill with a hose. We thought about getting something like that; we could keep it in our shower, lol…and even have hot water to wash! However we decided for the trouble we would probably rather just wash them out in the cement sink. We enjoy it so far!
Phil bringing laundry home from the Lavanderia
This type of washing machine seems to be common here in condos and homes. They are super light weight!
We really could keep one in our shower and just move it out when we take a shower and then move it back in.
This type ranges from $180 to $500 US or approximately $4,000 to $12,000 pesos.
Our water pressure here is low because it is gravity fed (I guess that’s why) and I’ve heard it takes some time to fill these machines with a hose and then drain and refill to rinse and the take the clothes out and spin. I think Phil can do it much quicker! Of course there are the typical machines you see in America, front loaders, stackable, etc. however they are quite spendy here, $1000 US is roughly $20,000 pesos a lot for most common folk here.
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