5th Street Laundromat

Fairly small laundry in Old Southwest Roanoke (for you non Nokers, the City is divided into quadrants and then into distinct neighbourhoods. OSW is adjacent to Downtown) I gave it 3 stars because the bar is pretty low for laundromats... Were it a restaurant I'd have given it 2.nnIt's got some adequate trash facilities and one good sized folding table near the dryers. It's about medium dirty; you def don't want to drop your cleaned laundry on the floor. It's largely unattended; they advertise an attendant Fridays from 10-2 but I've never seen anyone. They also warn about security cameras, but I've never seen those either. It has a gravel lot and it's pretty well lit at night.nnFeatures both normal size and commercial size washers and commercial size dryers. At any given time between 10% and 25% of the washers and a third of the dryers are out of commission. I've never seen it crowded so this isn't much of a problem. It has a machine for buying detergents and a machine that will turn $1 or $5 bills into quarters. The owners don't really mark machines as down or not but other customers leave (sometimes colourful) notes.nnIt has a handicapped parking spot and a sort of asphalt ramp leading up to a covered sidewalk, but if you're in a chair I'd bring a friend. The entrance door is stiff and not chair friendly.nnThe covered porch has a couple of benches, and the place has a bathroom but it's always locked.nnAll that said, I usually do my laundry there. The machines that work, work well. OSW is a pretty chill hippie sort of neighbourhood, and I've never felt uncomfortable tossing in a load of laundry and then running off to get groceries. A standard load of laundry costs me $2, $2.50 to dry it. I washed a comforter in the commercial unit once, cost me $7.50 to wash and $7 to dry.nnHours are 7am-8pm 7 days a week, and they're open holidays. No phone or website I could find.nnBottom line, if you live in OSW, Downtown, or Wasena, it's convenient and safe. Set your expectations realistically and realise it's Not Bad.

Put 5 in change machine, then noticed someone left note saying change machine took 5 dollars from them also on March 26th. It is now the 29rh and still taking peoples money. No phone number are attendant to talk to. Would like my 5 dollars back.

Very poor dryers and they damage/ruin your clothes. Would highly suggest going somewhere else.

Some machines are broken and may cause you to lose your money.

Only two machines worked. There was human excrement on the floor. That in itself reflects how going to this laundromat made me feel. The toilet seat in the bathroom was no longer attached and in bag on the floor in the corner. Midway through my experience here a couple came in and left their infant to both go to the bathroom together. Don’t let the fresh coat of paint fool you.