Purity Laundry

While recently visiting friends and relatives when on vacation in Bristol (I’m originally from Bristol but call San Francisco home now), the mundane task of washing what few clothes I had brought out with me Rhode Island way had to be done. There are generally limits on how many times one can wear a pair of socks or a t-​shirt before it absolutely has to be washed, for the sake of humanity. Even I have my limits. I was well overdue for total washing of all my clothes.
There is really little to distinguish one laundromat from another; they all offer pretty much the same concept: Coin operated clothing washers and dryers. In this respect, Purity is like most others; it offers washing machines in 6 weight capacities, ranging from 20 to 55 pounders, and the standard coin-​op dryers that are seen in practically every laundromat in the world. It also has one 40 pound extractor for those who like to spin out their just-​washed wet clothes prior to drying. What’s nice about Purity is that it does have 16 dryers available for public use; as such there is seldom (unlike laundromats in San Francisco) ever a wait for one after your washing is complete. (Four are actually reserved for shop use only, but I believe if you ask nice, you can use one of them if the need arises.)
What I particularly liked about Purity (enough so to warrant me to Unilocal about it) were the amenities it offers to its customers: free coffee, free high-​speed Wi-​Fi (ask the attendant for the password), ample parking at the front and rear entrances of the shop, and a large 32 inch flat-​screen TV, all of this in a clean and safe, well-​kept environment. The attendant on duty the day I visited (her name was Rose) was quite friendly and congenial. A far cry from most of the grumpy attendants I have to deal with at my coin-​op laundry back in San Francisco. There is also a Cumberland Farms convenience store and a CVS/​pharmacy, both in the same shopping plaza, which is nice. You can get your sugar, nicotine, and caffeine fixes at Cumby’s when your clothes are being washed, and browse the aisle of CVS when they’re being dried. There’s also a tanning salon in the shop directly north of Purity. I suppose one could wash and get some tanning in at the same time. There is also a nice collection of nautical-​themed items in the laundry, all of it out of reach and only viewable from a distance, such as scale models of old three mast sailing vessels (tall ships), boats in bottles, statuettes of sailing captains and old salts, and a large nautical-​themed mural painted on the south wall. This must be in testament to Bristol’s past maritime history. Just conjecture on my part, but Purity might be the only laundromat in the USA to have such an extensive collection of maritime goodies on public display.
At the time of this review, the 25 pound washer I used (available in 4 temperature settings) cost $ 2.50 per complete cycle, and dryers were 25 cents for every 6 minutes. There is also a vending machine that sells popular laundry detergents, bleaches, and fabric softeners; all items 75 cents per item. There is also a vending machine that sells plastic laundry bags in two sizes as well. Drop-​off laundry service is also available.
All told, it took me one stress-​free hour to wash and dry my clothes. Oh yes: Get a punch card while you’re in Purity. Buy nine washes and your tenth is free!