MADISON, Wis. – A Madison community center’s free laundry program is so popular, the team behind it has had to add extra dates.

What You Need To Know

  • Laundry Love is a national program that gives people free access to washers and dryers

  • Neighborhood House in Madison started its chapter in March

  • It's become so popular that they've had to add more days to the schedule

Laundry Love is a national program that provides free laundry services for people who need them. Neighborhood House started its local Laundry Love program last spring.

“It’s designed to support people with their needs for laundry, so providing detergent, and then the quarters for the machines,” said Neighborhood House executive director Laura Gundlach.

Neighborhood House takes over Mound Street Laundromat twice a month. Lawrence Ward said he always keeps an eye out for those dates.

“I’ve been here ever since they started,” he said.

When Neighborhood House began the program in March 2023, the service was offered once a month. It was so popular that it expanded to twice a month. When it’s busy, all the machines in the laundromat can be full.

“If you don’t have a lot of disposable income, or extra funds to pay for laundry, it’s hard to find other programs that will cover that,” Gundlach said. “We’re meeting that need.”

There’s one other big difference between going to a laundromat solo and going to an event like this: There’s a chance to socialize. Gundlach said that’s on purpose.

“We usually have snacks, and coffee, and talk to people while they wait,” she said.

“I chat with ‘em, and eat their food, and drink their coffee,” Ward said. 

Laundry Love is hosted the first Thursday of the month and third Tuesday of the month.

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