The Laundry Saga (continued)

laundry man weighing laundry by kilo before figuring our bill

I'm still seriously thinking of changing our laundry service and I would do it in a nanosecond if I knew someone who could do better. This is the guy our landlady recommended. He is nice, ridiculously cheap and does home pick up and delivery. What's the problem, you say? Well, our laundry stinks. Really bad. And I'm about at my wits end. At first he was spraying a sickening perfume on everything. I suspected it was to cover up bacteria laden clothes from the unclean water everyone has to use here. After several attempts and with help from the landlady, I finally got him to understand my request for NO MORE perfume! So far so good. However, my suspicions were soon confirmed when the laundry came back still stinky minus the masking perfumes (floral and lemon lime). But the odor reeely gets to me, so much so that I simply can't wear certain articles of clothing.

Taking Heloise's advice, I decided to purchase some white vinegar and ask him to use that. That took some doing, but finally with the help of Google translate and the cleaning lady (I think) he understood. No discernible improvement, however. Then I hit upon some Downy that claimed to be antibacterial. Perhaps that would do the trick! However, it didn't smell like any Downy I've ever smelled and sadly brought no improvement to the smell of our clothes. That's when I started asking him to put bleach in the water with all towels and rags (Indonesian's have never heard of color safe bleach). Besides, in my research I discovered that color safe bleach is not bleach at all (did you know that?) Anyway, bleach and the Downy (?) brought a slight amount of improvement to the towels and rags. But they still have to be hung outside immediately after use or else the funk returns almost instantly. Never mind that trash fires are burning outside and they will smell smokey. I choose smokey.

After that, I was fortunate enough to discover "real" Downy at Ace Hardware. I gave it to the laundry man and asked him to use 1) no perfume, 2) bleach on all towels and rags and 3) Downy with everything. Some definite progress, but certain items are still smelling so bad that I simply cannot wear them. I'm desperate now and have even resorted to asking him to put bleach in some of my colored items. I figure it's that or throw them away.

So yesterday, just when I thought we might be making a bit of headway, the laundry came back and it clearly had not been dried in a dryer. Nothing was pressed and to be honest, Ronnie didn't even think it had been washed! I do think it was washed but now we're back to Square One with clothes as rough as a cob! Who knows why he voted in favor of a clothes line vs a dryer? I have decided to give him one final chance (the clothes he has now) and if there's no discernible improvement, we'll be moving on.

Oh, I almost forgot to add that the other day I spotted a van with Hade Laundry & Dry Cleaning written on the back. I actually got excited about the prospect of our clothes hanging on hangers and being delivered in a van vs being folded into tiny, compact bundles and delivered on the back of a motorcycle. My hopes soared because I though I had found a solve to our problems - until the new guy showed up. He counted (yes, counted) our laundry, piece by piece - not once but twice - right there on the porch - panties, bras and all in front of the landlady. Then he quoted me a price of (the equivalent of) $55 US! Keep in mind this was for 2-3 days laundry. I heaved a heavy sign as I checked Hade Laundry off my list.

The moral to this story? Here it is. I will never again take my washer and dryer for granted. Neither will I take clean water, fresh smelling detergent and fabric softener or the ability to do my own laundry for granted. Ever. Again. And while I'm at it, I'll add to that living in the United States of America!!!