Soap N Suds

The owner should fire the lady who runs this place as she’s terribly mean and disrespectful of the customers.
However, the actual equipment and washing machines are in great shape so, your call.

This is the only laundry I’ve been to where sometimes my clothes come out dirtier than when I put them in the machine. Many machines don’t work, or only half work. The management will NOT give you refunds for machines that don’t work. He tells you to find a machine that does work. Really? Their customer service is appalling, and the older woman who works there is not only rude, but hostile. She saw me put my clothes and soap in a machine that was broken but couldn’t be bothered to tell me because she was busy gabbing with a friend. AFTER I tried to start the machine only to find it didn’t work, another customer saw and tried to stop me – he had tried to use it right before I did with the same result. The woman KNEW it was broken. I had brought exact change and a single dose of soap, so I had to go home again and come back. When I told the woman this, she laughed. I used to go here out of convenience because I live in the building next door, but no more. I will now walk several blocks to Ansonia. They’re great – really hot water, working machines and helpful staff. STAY AWAY FROM SOAPNSUDS!

Amazingly rude. Apparently, asking for change in a laundromat is akin to asking for bacon in a kosher deli. I’m not sure what brought on the wrath, but this lady was not at all pleased with my question.
Also: it’s dirty, and there are more broken machines than working ones. I believe every one else here has covered it. Walk the extra 3 blocks to that spot on 71^st. This place is a drag.

As far as self-​serve laundromats go, I prefer this place over the others in the neighborhood. Yes, some machines have been out of order, but I’ve never had to wait too long, if at all. They also have some triple load washers for $ 6, while their standard washers are $ 3 (though I don’t know if they actually hold 3x the volume).
It’s nice that the machines take pre-​loaded laundry cards, so you don’t have to worry about quarters, but it is cash only to add value to the cards. There’s a decent amount of folding space and some seating for those who prefer to wait, and it’s not as cramped as other places (i.e., the laundromat on 74 next to Levain).
There’s usually one woman working at the place to help with newbies who don’t know how to reload their cards and operate the dryers and she’s fairly friendly, which is really all I ask! If you are nice and friendly to her, she’ll be polite and friendly back.
All in all, as far as self serve laundromats go, I’ll keep coming back here.

I go because it’s close but its always a painful experience. Machines almost all out of order.

Please someone help me find a better laundromat, this one needs some serious help, or needs to just shut down. I wonder if someone will just buy the space and revamp it! it’s crazy — there are more washers that do not work than the ones that do. One of the two women that works there is very rude, snide and mean.
Today i was folding my clothes close to the time of their closing (not my fault that half the dryer dont work either, so i had to wait for a good 15 minutes to get the two dryers that i needed) and i’m folding clothes, half my clothes are too hot to take out of the dryer. The mean woman comes to me to say ‘i’m closing the door in 2 minutes’ and she can clearly see that i am doing my work and not just lingering around. I mean who would want to linger around there anyway, it’s a tiny hole in the wall basement! That just crossed the line.
Anyone know of a better laundromat in the same area? i am really looking to switch. Hope someone with a business mind is reading this and seeing it as an opportunity. If anything, they just need to get rid of that woman who’s making it worse!

Besides all of the other reviews that speak of broken machines, machines that snag your clothes and overall depressing state of this laundry mat, please try to avoid Monday nights with the Asian lady — she’s awful.

There are no other laundromats in the immediate area, which is the only reason this place stays in business. Remarkably few of the machines are in working order, and many that are working are old and only work with certain settings (e.g. hot water only, not cold or warm). It is strange that they have done so little to make improvements, given how pricey the real estate in the area is.

I go to this place out of convenience but they seriously need to do something about the amount of washers and dryers that are constantly out of order.
They have lots of washers and dryers and that’s a good thing but there will always be at least 5 or 6 washer or dryers that are out of operation and not functioning at any given time. Other times either a washer can only do cold water for some reason or only do hot water for another reason. Sometimes you might even get that mystery dryer or washer that decides to break down on you as you are trying to do laundry. Like winning the lottery that you don’t want to win.
It’s around the corner from me so that’s the only reason I go. They use a card system here where you keep having to refill your card through the machine. The weekends are terrible for washing but if you have to wash on a weekend get there when they open, otherwise be prepared to fight for machines. Three large folding tables. Never too much of an issue getting space to fold unless place is packed. $ 2.50 for regular double loader washer. $ 5.00 for triple loader, although they only have about 5 of these, and that’s if they are all working. Dryer prices are cheap.
There is usually one lady that works here as monitor to either sell you detergent, replenish your money on a non-​functioning machine, read fashion and wedding magazines from several years ago, and to make sure the 1980s-​era radio is tuned in to the proper music station. They have a changing of the guard at some point in the day where another lady of equal caliber replaces the other one.

Soap N Suds’ location is its only redeeming quality. The closest laundromats are on 71^st and Columbus, or 74^th and Amsterdam. Neither of those places are good enough to warrant the extra distance. So Soap N Suds it is.
This place is almost comically bad. At any given time, half of the machines don’t work. They all have post-​it notes scribbled in Spanish with an explanation of the machine’s specific malfunction. The place is impossible on weekends. It’s usually pretty dead on weeknights, which is the best time to go if you work conventional 9 – 5 type hours.
I also recently witnessed a verbal gay-​bashing at Soap N Suds, which is why I chose to review after years of coming here. There’s this tatted-​up guy with a pitbull who does his laundry there sometimes. He was annoyed that someone was using multiple dryers for a small amount of laundry, and when he realized the people were gay, he started cursing them out, throwing derogatory epithets and making limp-​wrist motions. Then after trying to pick a fight, he bragged about his 12 years of martial arts training. He had total country boy accent. I was wondering what he was doing on the UWS.
So you might want to avoid that guy if you come here to do laundry.

It is more like a 3.75 star here. The best thing about this place is that it is open until 10pm a few nights during the week. The card system isn’t so bad either, so you don’t have to dig for quarters every time you do laundry. You do have to put down a $ 3 card deposit, which you will get back when you return the card.
Even though there are a bunch of washers and dryers, up to 30% of the washers will be out of order. That’s ok, because there are STILL alot of washers to go around.
There is a lady with dark hair and glasses during the week who is extremely nice. She will tell you about the hottest dryers. Also, she keeps the place tidy.
The detergent machine is out of order all of the time, so don’t forget to bring some.