Dirty Dungarees

I love coming here. Most of the staff are very friendly and helpful. The place is kept clean. The only down side is sometimes the dryers eat your money and put out no heat. The staff are always on top of it when you bring it to their attention though. The guy Mike, that works on the weekend days, maybe in his 40’s…super nice guy. Very attentive. I’m not very close to this location, I just love it so much that I try to frequent almost every week.

Nah

I used to love this place when I lived in Columbus. Sure, the machines were barely functional, but… booze! Also, the crackheads out back sold hangers and Clorox (and deodorant, oddly enough) if I forgot supplies. Additionally, it was really helpful the way the employees would save my laundry for me when I got drunk and forgot it. Truly. This happened more than once.
I wish we had a bar + laundromat in Denver. Anyone want to help me finance that?

Bahahaha, this place is hilarious. I’m not a student, nor do I have any need for a laundromat anymore (thank goodness), but if I WERE a student, and if I DID need a laundromat, I would probably give Dirty Dungarees a try. Location is good for the OSU kiddos. So why was I even here in the first place?
Because there’s a really funny bar in here.
I’ve been here for novelty purposes twice. Each time it has been memorable and noteworthy. The first time, the «attendant» (not really a bartender) was super into his homework and talking about all his homework. All out of mixers, straight liquor only. The second time was a little better stocked. We had a group of about 12 folks and we took this place over. I’ve never seen anyone else other than the people I’m with.
This might be the perfect location for a kitschy birthday party — decent space for a group and I guarantee you won’t have to rent it out. Drinks, though nothing fancy (you’d be lucky to get a squeeze of lemon), are very affordable.
1 — 2 stars for the quality of this place as a legit bar.
Imma bump it up to 3 stars for the memories and silly appeal.
Can’t rate the laundry services.

This place is decent. It’s not nearly as new and sanitary feeling as the Blue Bubble one block closer to campus, but it is *much* cheaper, they have a *very* affordable bar, and there’s much more space to find a spot to study while your clothes are being washed.
In the 4 times I’ve been there, I’ve never had a washer or dryer conk out me, and the change machine has actually given me a couple extra quarters.
Also, with a buckid, you get BOGO on washers. You just need to ask the bartender, and he’ll activate one of the same size as what you’re paying for.
Overall, yes it’s a bit grungy but definitely worth it, in my experience.
HOWEVER, because Blue Bubble does feel so much cleaner, and there feels like less of a risk to my clothes (due to old washers & dryers), and I’m not tempted to get a beer (no matter how inexpensive it is), it does feel like a bit of a toss-​up between the two.

A bar inside of a laundromat? Sign me up!
What I liked about this place is first the machines where cheaper than other laundromats in the area (although several busted ones). The bar offered a decent selection of beer and liquors on hand (BONUS). There are also a few pool tables so you can get your pool on while you wait.
This is now become my laundromat of choice because I don’t have to sit and wait bored to tears, I can have a beer or two to pass the time.

I came here on a Monday night around 8:30. The place was pretty much empty. A man with cowboy boots on came up to my friend and I soon after I chose a washer and welcomed us and offered drinks. Washer was only 3 bucks but the washer was tiny compared to what I was used to. He was very friendly and even when a drunk lady bum came in, he handled her very well, because she had brought her own beer into the place which is obviously against the law. The dryer was 75 cents for 20 some minutes which was not enough for my clothes so I ended up having to put another 50 cents in. Overall I had a good experience although I was weary due to reviews I have read all over the internet. Would have been 5 stars if they had more updated machines!

Dirty Dungarees… what can I say? Your store is a bit dirty & kinda run down, you have a bar (which I find trashy), some of your machines are loud and/​or broken, and $ 3 to wash my comforter is way too expensive. You, however, were the only laundramat still open at 10pm. My parents came to visit for the weekend so I needed to wash some sheets for them and since my tiny washer couldnt fit my comforter, I was forced to find a place downtown that was open. I past 3 laundramats on the way (all closed). $ 3 to wash and $ 2 to dry… you only got 2 stars because youre open until midnight and the guy working seemed nice enough; although he did refuse to let me use a normal size washer. I was merely looking at one of the washers and he yelled over to me «not gonna fit» …it would have but I wasnt about to try with him staring at me like that. I put my stuff in the overpriced $ 3 machine and got the hell out. Not going back unless I have to.

Extremely rude staff.
I just moved from NY. Back home using a laundromat at any hour of the day or night is not weird. Apparently in OH it is. Came in right around 10:00pm, set clothes down and wondered around the establishment to see if there was an ATM. A staff member informed me that since it was not busy his intention was to close the laundry side (nowhere on their website does it say the laundry may not operate as late as the bar). He then sarcastically stated that there was obviously no way I might have wanted to to do laundry this late and that there is no reason for me to be wondering around the laundry area. I informed him that I was looking to see if they had an ATM and he told me that I guess I have to leave until I find one (very rudely and with no suggestions as to where, even though I later saw one not more than 100 ft from there).
NEVER COMING BACK.

So my problem with this place was not that my clothes didn’t get clean, they did. However, my washing machine randomly stopped working and the one guy working gave me a hard time about it. Um how and why would I take time off my own machine? He knew I wasn’t lying because I used a free wash coupon and he started the machine for me. This worker was just crazy. I didn’t know what he was trying to say to me half the time and the other half of the time I just didn’t know how to respond, so uncomfortable.
The place is kind of a dump and kind of shady. I swear at least 3 people had to have the worker give them free time on a dryer because their original dryer stopped working.
So to sum up, I came here because I had coupons for a free wash and dry (as a broke college kid how could I pass that up?) and I will come back as long as those coupons continue to be printed in UWeekly. However, those coupons are the only reason I will go here.

I actually had a pretty decent time at Dirty Dungarees, but mainly because I was in such a good mood that the casual harassment from the deeply strange country dude and the incredibly, incredibly world-​weary bartender struck me as kind of hilarious instead of just irritating.
The laundromat side: only one coin machine works, and it is both slow and cranky. The actual machines seemed fine and are priced average, so no complaints there– apparently some of them don’t work, but as it wasn’t crowded when I went finding a working one was no problem. They sell detergent. What do you want from me, this is a laundromat, as long as it isn’t filthy it’s hard to mess it up too badly.
The bar side: pool tables and classic arcade games are a nice diversion while waiting for laundry. The alcohol is cheap-​ish. The bartender was a dread-​wearing dude who seemed unbelievably put upon by a request for a gin and tonic.
/​/​Long stare. «No tonic. We have Sprite.» «Er, Sprite then, please?» Long, long stare. Rolls eyes. Enormous sigh, slump over to refrigerator, mixes extremely simple drink as if I’ve asked for a frozen strawberry daiquiri at a dive bar, shoves it over with a shrug.//
If you’re in the right mood, this is really funny, fortunately. Ditto the sketchy dudes hanging about, mixed in with the college students playing pool waiting for their clothes to dry. Anyway, it’s maybe good to go here to check it out. But I wouldn’t make it a hang-​out.

Yeah, it’s a little dingy looking, the clientele isn’t always «family friendly,» and you almost always come home with someone else’s sock or pink lacy thong (I’ll share that story another day) mixed in with your laundry, but this place has real character. I love that it’s open late and that I can grab an alcoholic beverage while I wash my delicates. Makes the whole experience go by much faster and with much more enjoyment.

I can’t say I actually used the facilities– the service was so awful that I walked out and went down the street to Clintonville Coin-​Op laundry. I have never been to a laundromat before (I was lucky enough to have in-​house laundry throughout college), so I called ahead and asked if I could pay with a credit card. The dude on the phone said «No, but we do cash back». On top of the service, it was extremely grungy inside. I don’t think it makes sense to take your clothes to a filthy place to get them clean.
(Enter my rant about awful service, please skip if you don’t want to read my whining)
I walked in and stood there for a few minutes, watching the most stereotypical hipster walk around, ignoring everyone while talking on the phone behind the bar. Think ass-​length dreads, wayfarer glasses, tight jeans, plaid shirt, bandanna around dreads. He then walked up to me, phone still to his ear and just looked at me. I asked to do cash back. He said «We don’t do that» I asked «Are you serious?» He said yes. I said «I just called and…» which is when he interrupted me and said «Yeaaaaah, you talked to ME, I told you no» the way he spoke was eerily reminiscent of Keanu Reeves’ in «Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure».
No thanks… having beer while washing a comforter is not worth awful, pretentious, hipster service. You work at a laundromat, dude… get over yourself.

This review only applies to the bar. DD switches back and forth between a hipster bar (not surprising consider the location) and an older blue-​collar bar picked up and plopped down here straight out of Franklinton. It’s usually a mix of both and despite the lack of ambiance (it is first and foremost a laundromat, after all) and sometimes being too empty I can’t complain about their $ 3, 20 oz bock on draught. This is best visited as a starting point earlier in the evening than arriving an hour or so before closing time when the place has mostly emptied out (which is 12AM BTW).

When I lived in the Short North, I took my laundry to Suds’n’Java. The first few times I did laundry after moving up north, I went back there. But some months back I learned that Dirty Dungarees offers a drop off service as well. Go ahead and call me lazy, but I hate doing laundry. If I can pay someone else to do it, I’m gonna do it. Well, until I get my own W/​D anyhow.
Now, I’ve been to a few laundromats that weren’t all dingy, but Suds and Dirty Dungarees both are. Dirty Dungarees has a leg up by serving beer. Hah. It’s drop off service is far cheaper as well. Even cheaper with coupons available online at their website. If that weren’t enough, they also have a loyalty program type deal where every fifth drop off is friggin’ free. I don’t think too many people are aware of this because the last time I was in the clerk had never even heard of it.

This is the kind of place that a hipster or an alcoholic would love. Me, not so much.
The only reason I ever ventured over here (three times, the count is, I think – maybe four) was the relatively late hours that DD’s keeps. Until recently, my husband was working a crazy overnight weekend shift and our days didn’t start until later in the day. The bartenders have ranged from completely indifferent to completely rude. The machines are ancient and occasionally don’t work properly; when this is the case, expect to get attitude from the bartender, who is also in charge of helping you with your laundry issues. The people behind the bar seem to be mostly interested in not venturing out from behind the bar unless the situation is absolutely dire.
One bit of weirdness: I wanted to get a soda out of the machine that they have (to keep from having to interact with the bartender), but there was no indication on the machine how much the soda cost. Something, I forget what now, actually led me to wonder if the machine even worked – I assumed that it would just by virtue of the fact that it was there, but I wasn’t thirsty enough to ask and risk the bored, apathetic sneer that I would likely get.
Having a bar/​laundry facility is a cute little concept, but if you don’t focus on the laundry part of the deal – including customer service for laundry patrons – you may as well just convert the whole thing into a crappy bar rather than a crappy bar/​laundry combo.

I hate, hate, hate this place, and I used to live close enough to walk to it. with my laundry. Even though it was super convenient, I would load all my stuff into my car and cart it all to another laundromat by campus… this other laundromat was more expensive, but at least I didn’t feel like I had to step over drunks in the parking lot, endure a few hours of a sneering bartender, whose unpleasantness leaked over from the bar to the laundry side (see Melisa C.‘s review for a very good description of this woman), and worry about the evil change machine eating my hard earned cash.
The machines are often broken, they very frequently have gunk in them, the floor is the grossest thing ever… i always felt like I needed to clean the clothes I was wearing after I left this place.
Plus, the back alley behind it is dangerous… abductions have happened here.

There’ve been a couple of occasions when i came here simply to do laundry and ended up drinking two or three pitchers of beer with my laundry mate. It was cheap to do that, and as time went on the repartee between the bartenders, other patrons, and my friend and i became more enjoyable. Funny thing about alcohol.
The machines are good when they work (a couple of months ago i began to wonder if they didn’t have money to fix them, because the wounded soldiers kept multiplying). The dryers are effective and feel like the less financially demanding part of the laundry excursion, because you can (at least) double load them. The parking at the back of the building is handy. When it works, the jukebox makes laundry at DD more fun. Dirty Dungarees is a likable laundromat and not a bad place to spend a couple of hours.

The idea of idly sipping a beer and shooting some pool while you wait for your laundry to run its course in the next room is one that gets my full on endorsement, but Dirty Dungarees itself does not. The beer is cheap and the staff is relatively helpful, but those factors do little to overcome the laundry list (rimshot, please!) of idiosyncrasies that made me dread my weekly trips to this North Campus rathole.
Although there’s a respectable number of machines to choose from here to wash your clothes in, it’s incredibly rare that more than ²⁄₃ of them are working at any given time. Not a problem if you’re there in the early afternoon, but if you do laundry after dinner time like most of the people that come here often do, you’re likely to be waiting to use one of the dryers that line the north wall of the lobby area. There are literally twice as many washers as there are driers here, and although the driers are twice the seize and can purportedly handle a double load, don’t count on having your clothes be completely dry until they’ve been in there for at least half an hour.
I normally wouldn’t mind waiting around while surfing the net on my laptop or reading a book even, but the hitch is that the wifi here rarely ever works. Don’t bother asking whoever’s working behind the counter for help; they most likely will not have any idea what you’re talking about.
The location of Dirty Dungarees is truly the double-​edged sword that it frequently falls upon. It’s located far enough from campus that it doesn’t;t get overrun by a deluge of college students every evening, but what it does have a problem with is the rotating cast shady characters that the staff has to kick out every half hour. If you haven’t panhandled while sitting here minding your own business at least once, you certainly are a luckier man/​woman than I. It’s also common to see the same guy coming in every night grabbing stray socks and other clothing items that’ve been left behind and then making a dash for the door. What he does with them is anyone’s guess.
Maybe that’s why Dirty Dungarees has a bar: strong drink is probably the only way anyone can put up with the headache you’ll get from spending more than an hour here. After upgrading to an apartment on the other side of campus, I’m happy to say that I’m no longer one of them.

(Note: I moved away from the North Campus area in the fall of 2004, so this review is from memory)
I used to do all my laundry here, and while there were occasional problems with washers or dryers that didn’t work and some annoying patrons, it was generally a very pleasant place to do laundry.
I usually brought a book to read if I was by myself, or I’d call a friend who was bored and bribe them with cheap beer to come keep me company.
Free parking in the back, polite staff, accessible hours (I think they’re open until 10pm, or used to be), and beer!
Recommended laundromat for North Campus area!