By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Sep 07, 2007 at 11:51 AM
About 10 years ago, I saw the film "Pecker" and, oddly enough, was inspired by Christina Ricci's character, Shelley, who is obsessed with her laundromat. At the time, I didn't have a washer and dryer of my own, so I made frequent trips to the East Side laundromats, all of which are drab at best and downright disgusting at worst.

So for years, I deeply considered opening my own laundromat. Weird but true. 

I even went so far as to name my laundromat. I originally thought of "Brainwashed," but then saw a laundry place with that name in San Francisco. So, I switched to "Ancient Chinese Secret" which is a nod to the old Calgon water softener commercial from the '70s with the famous last line of dialogue, "Ancient Chinese secret, huh?" (I recognize "Ancient Chinese Secret" is a little long, but maybe folks could just call it the ACS, kind of like CVS.)

At this point, the competition in the Milwaukee laundromat arena is so slim that a clean, nicely painted laundry facility that was staffed at all times --  and played good music -- would take East Side laundro-goers by storm. Especially since a fair share of the public laundry doers are students.

In fact, I cannot think of a single Milwaukee laundromat that impresses me. The Washing Well on Locust Street, My Laundromat in Shorewood and Soapies in Riverwest are OK, but have room for aesthetic improvements. The one next to the Y-NOT II was a total dive a few years ago (at one point it was missing a door on the stall in the women's bathroom!), although I haven't been there in a while so I don't know its current condition.

I know that lots of laundromats around the country serve alcohol or double as internet cafes (there was -- or is -- one in West Allis called Bubbles & Bleach), but at this point, I think a safe and cool-looking laundromat - and one with a working change machine and a person on site -- would be a great start in Brew City.

These days, being a very satisfied OnMilwaukee.com employee, it doesn't look like I'm going to give it all up for soiled undies and spin cycles anytime soon, so if anyone wants to take this idea and run with it -- go for it.

Keep it clean, Milwaukee. (Whatever that means.)

Molly Snyder Senior Writer


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.