Showcase Laundromat

Great facility. Horrible staff. They have a policy of dry free if you wash here. I went to use the dryers and the attendant was convinced I hadn’t washed my clothes there. She wasn’t reasonable when I explained exactly what washer, etc. etc. and told me there were security cameras to catch terrible people like me. They sent her a text to say I was breaking the rules, and apparently my basket full of wet clothes didn’t speak for itself. Not taking my business back here ever – if only so I don’t have to leave with a car full of wet clothes again. Just offensive and unreasonable.

As great as a laundromat can be. See other reviews for information on how the pricing works out.
Pros of Note:
–Always at least one person running around and cleaning. At a LAUNDROMAT!
–Starbucks attached, enough said.
— Sink! Don’t underestimate the value of a sink. Not always available. I’m messy with soap.
–Free Dryers, great for that stubborn item that never dries

This place is great! They just renovated a little and got new machines and now they have a credit card machine! I can finally pay with credit card! Machines are all different sizes and then the dryers are free! They have free wifi to make your wait better and there is a Starbucks next door! Plus the staff is very nice! They also offer laundry service. Drop it off and they will do it for you!

I really want to like this laundromat, but after another round of my laundry coming out smelling like burnt lint, I’m giving up. They need to clean their lint screens more often. I tend to do my laundry later in the day, and I’ve seen them clean the screens around 8 or 9 in the evening as I’m wrapping up, so I’m guessing my timing is contributing to the problem. My laundry also takes an absurdly long time to dry, which is another sign of lint buildup.
As I type this, I’m wearing a pajama top that I just washed, and I’m overwhelmed by the awful smell. I would insist that they let me re-​wash my laundry, but there’s no sense going through the extra time and effort to risk the same result.
I’ve had better luck doing laundry here earlier in the day, which is why I gave them a few chances, but my schedule doesn’t allow for that too often.
This place has a lot going for it — a large parking lot, plenty of machines, reasonable prices (if you use their dryers), a Starbucks next door, and friendly staff. It gets pretty hectic on the weekends, but I’ve never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a dryer.

Great location, clean facility, dedicated parking & Starbucks next door !
Doing laundry does not feel like labour punishment anymore.

I’ve read a lot of reviews saying this place is way overpriced, and that the free dryers just don’t make up for it. I don’t like losing money, so I finally decided to just do the math.
A regular-​capacity in-​home washing machine is typically around 16 lbs. Showcase charges $ 6 for a 20 lb. load of laundry. Which means that they would be charging you $ 4.80 to wash a standard regular-​capacity laundry load, dividing out to $ 2.40 when you consider that you’re getting them dry for free, which usually would cost you the same amount again (or more in some cases).
Okay, so that’s about average. I’ve seen as high as $ 3.50 per wash, WITHOUT free dryers. And I’ve only ever seen lower than $ 2 on college campuses. So there’s that.
Now. If you’re smart, and you use the big 80 lb. washers to wash more clothes at once, it’s $ 12 per wash, which works out to $ 2.40 per an average 16 lb. load. Which, factoring in the free drying, is actually $ 1.20 per an average home-​washed load… which is actually pretty damn cost efficient.
Then, of course, you get an extra dollar on your card for every $ 20 you add to it. One dollar isn’t a ton, but it does build up to some nice savings over time. Add that to the convenient location, the cleanliness of the place, the BRAND NEW jumbo washers (so excited), and the friendly staff… I really don’t understand why anyone laundromatting it in the area would choose to go anywhere else.

Washers are nearly always available here, no matter how busy it gets (which is very busy). So I cram as many clothes as I can into the littlest washer (30 lbs– HA! try me!) go home for a few minutes (I live very close by) and then return to make the switch to the dryer.
Getting a dryer at this laundromat on the weekend is akin to hailing a taxi cab in Times Square: it’s possible, but it requires determination, patience, and skill. You keep your eye on which dryers look almost done, and position yourself accordingly. When the owner comes retrieve his/​her laundered articles out of the dryer, you must POUNCE immediately and claim the dryer as your own.
I’ve actually seen very few people make the legendary faux-​pas of removing laundry that isn’t theirs when the dryer is done– in fact, I’ve noticed others pressing the «go» button for me when I’ve come back a few minutes after a 20-​minute dry cycle is complete. Somer-​villains, this is why I love you. It sure beats college, when people would unceremoniously dump my clean batch of socks and undies on the gnarly laundry room table when I was but a minute late to get my clean clothes.
It’s worth noting that there are a few dryers that are 25c/​7 minutes if a) you didn’t wash your clothes at this laundromat but wish to dry them here (real talk, you can totally get away with doing that, especially when it’s busy) or b) the adrenaline rush of the above scenario frightens you.
And yes, they use a card system rather than quarters, which I LOVE. Yes, I enjoy collecting things, but quarters are not one of those things. Although it hurts my soul a little bit to sacrifice a crisp $ 20 to the laundry gods, it’s so easy to retrieve one from the CSB ATM next door.
Overpriced? Totally. The baby-​sized washers are $ 5.50 (!!!) but with dryers included, it’s not as awful a deal as you would think. This is one of the least sketchy laundromats I’ve ever used, even if your clothes do smell a little like coffee if you forget to use a dryer sheet (hi Starbucks next door!), It’s hella conveniently located, and its hours are great. I look forward to sacrificing my hard-​earned money here for years to come.

A lot of people complain about the card-​op aspect, but I really like not having to worry about quarters. With that said, Showcase just raised their prices again and it’s a bit out of hand now, particularly for their facility. A medium load is now $ 7.50 and, while dryers are «free,» they’re essentially lumped into the cost of washing. Definitely better options in the area.

They have MICE!
The good… For every $ 20 you load onto the $ 3.00 reusable laundry card you receive a bonus dollar loaded onto the card. The dryers are free but considering he cost per load, they really aren’t.
The cost per load is: washer capacity by the pound
20lbs. = $ 5.25
30lbs. = $ 7.00
40lbs. = $ 7.75
50lbs. = $ 8.50
80lbs. = $
The place is clean enough and sometimes very clean, this depends on the attendant on duty.
When I told the attendant that I saw a mouse he was unconcerned and indicated that they do have mice.

I come here when I need to wash bedding and small rugs.
They charge $ 3 to buy a laundry card — which you then need to put money on that card. Average price for a smaller washing machine is $ 7and if you wash there, drying is free.
All the machines work properly.
Hablan espanol.

Large, clean, brightly-​lit; the washers are expensive but they have several sizes. Dryers are free. The place is always super busy, but most people seem to stick around to monitor their laundry so the dryers cycle in and out of use very efficiently, and if you really can’t wait there’s a wall of pay dryers which are almost always empty. As others have mentioned, there’s a Starbucks next door which is great, and the general vibe is busy but friendly and efficient, meaning that no one’s going to throw your wet clothes on the floor or take out your underpants and wear them as a hat (as witnessed at a laundromat in Allston…) if you leave your laundry going for a few minutes while you go get some coffee. There are chairs and places to fold and you can generally claim one.

Brought in 3 big bundles of laundry, and washed them. They let you dry for free if you wash there which is cool (they overprice the washing machines so its not a huge favor). RACIST clerk approaches me (the only white person in a black t shirt) as Im drying my clothes and accuses me of smuggling in about 70 lbs of laundry and drying them without paying. Funny how he was nowhere to be found when I had a problem with the card machine and almost lost $ 20, but made time to show up and accuse me of stealing.
I’ve had to throw away a couple shirts because of sketchy stains after washing them, but that’s laundromat life. I only come here when my washer in my building is broken so I haven’t made a big deal out of it. But this kind of sucked.

I’m updating to 5 stars because I went on a day that was slower and quiet. The staff rushed to tell me that I was damaging my comforter and changed the dryer to a lower heat setting for me. I think that is real customer service!

Really mediocre. We come here because there’s parking and the hours are good. But it’s really expensive and really crowded on the weekends. Come on a weekday or late at night, it’s actually a pleasurable experience then.
The staff here is nice and the bathroom situation has improved dramatically – it’s clean and has a key now.

Come for the free dryers.
Stay for the interesting clientele.

Our condo complex dryer is subpar to the point of being useless. Rather than deal with damp wares, or worse yet, the two hour drying cycle– I opt to wash out.
So– should I share my high opinion of this place and potentially lead to more crowds? Fuck it, Im a philanthropist with my opinions.
The best. So big, so fresh, so clean. I like my clothes washed in machines built after the Vietnam war, that’s just me. This place is exclusively nice, new machines. The cheapest machine is expensive and small ($ 5.50 i believe) and not a good value. But the big machine ($ 10.25) can handle four/​five loads of laundry, wash the hell out of them and spin them to a dryer ready dampness in about 30 mins.
THEN THE DRYERS ARE FREE.
In your laundromat du jour, a normal load of wash is like $ 2, and then at least another $ 2 to dry. $ 4 a load minimum. Here, you have to suck up the initial investment of $ 3 for their card (all the machines use them, it is like a reloadable debit card) — but then it is easy street. Especially if you have lots of laundry to do — you are saving serious coin and you dont have to worry about running out of quarters before your laundry is totally dry.
You can pick up Starbucks wifi and grab a latte, Antons dry cleaners is directly adjacent for your delicate goods and they have a decent parking lot.
Another thing I like, the staff is friendly and literally always cleaning — lint screens, mopping, vaccuming, wiping shit down, washing windows, whatever. It is just a refreshing feeling to see people actually working.
The only reason this isnt 5 star is that I had an issue with their machine erasing all the value on my card (like $ 9 plus $ 3 for the new card) and it took me like 4 trips to get refunded (the owner always said «Sure, I’ll put an envelope at the front» but then never did)
It gets it done.

I’ve been using their wash-​dry-​fold service for almost 2 years now. About every other week, I drop off, pre-​pay (as per the policy started in March 2010) and pick up a few days later.
NOT ANYMORE.
Last week I dropped off as usual, but the attendant taking my laundry was on the phone and she couldn’t charge my credit card (I guess they run on the same line). There was confusion when my wife tried to pick up our laundry as to whether or not we had paid (since we ALWAYS pre-​pay and the receipt wasn’t clearly marked for pay at pickup). The attendant that night was kind about it. He tried to reach me, but I was work and he left half of a message I didn’t understand so I didn’t return the call (thinking it wasn’t for me or about laundry). He ended up letting my wife bring home our laundry and said we’d just settle up later if need be. Great right?
Fast forward to this morning. We’re dropping off laundry and I notice that our receipt for last week’s laundry — which clearly displays my FULL NAME AND PHONE NUMBER — has been posted for anyone who enters the laundromat to see. When I told the attendant — who was too busy talking on the phone to stop and take my payment in the first place — I was very uncomfortable with the practice, she turned completely rude and acted like it was my fault for not paying and not returning the call (what call!!!). Then she proceeded to tell me that «it’s a nice place. nothing’s going to happen with your number» as if I’m overreacting and she’s not CLEARLY breaking the standard for privacy practices.
Needless to say, I’m over the Showcase Laundromat. I will be taking my business elsewhere and reporting their mishandling of private customer information to the BBB.

Good Christ, is this a Laundromat or rehab center for feral toddlers? It was like Lord of the Flies set to the sound track of Dora the Explorer (which was playing for the entire 2.5 hours I was there). As if doing laundry isn’t enjoyable enough on its own, at Showcase Laundry, you can fold your skivvies to the ear splitting and continuous shrieks of children while they run playfully under your folding table and teeth first into your knee caps. No amount of free dryers are worth that kind of aggravation on a Sunday morning.

Ok, so at first I was totally confused by this place — $ 5 for a relatively small washer? You’ve GOT to be kidding me?!
Only after I had sucked it up and paid $ 6.50 for a washer that would actually fit all my clothes (and spent $ 3 on the card, and then put $ 20 on it…) Only after all of this did I realize that the dryers are free.
Says it all over the damn place, so maybe I just can’t read, I don’t know.
But yeah, with free dryers, the cost all comes out in the wash (HA, see what I did there?) and I’d say it probably ends up being a bit less expensive than the place I used to go.
Obvious pro’s: Right next to Starbucks & Anton’s, so you can actually follow the «DRY CLEAN ONLY» instructions on your clothes, without too much extra hassle. And be well caffeinated while you do so.
My pro-​tip, however, that I’m super reluctant to share because I like my peace and quiet, is to suck it up and do your laundry here before work. They open at 6 and there are few people insane enough to take advantage of that fact. Be one of them, and you won’t have to put up with the crowds and the screaming children who are an unfortunate fixture during the after-​work crowd.

So one annoying thing that Showcase does is force you to buy a sort of money card thing. You buy the card ($ 3) and then put money on it. Any money you put on the card is non-​refundable, but the card is refundable… supposedly.
Since I just moved far from Porter (Allston!) recently — I decided that last night would be my last time going here. After doing my laundry I had $ 0.25 left on my card. I then asked for them to refund my card. They wouldn’t. Or couldn’t. The employee definitely understood what I was asking, but the best I could get from his response (he definitely didn’t speak much English) was that maybe somebody tomorrow could do it.
So though they advertise that these cards are refundable — they seem to only be refundable when they feel like it. Sleazy.