Lava Laundry

Went here to wash my large queen size comforters. Clean plenty of machines and they have the really big commercial size ones which is what I needed. Clean and plenty of seats to wait for your laundry to finish.

This is my regular laundromat. I go here usually in the evenings after work and I like that it’s pretty quiet. I am often the only person there. Even when there are other people, pretty much everyone puts their stuff in and leaves. The place is clean and stocked well with magazines. There is also a TV (and importantly, the remote!) if that’s your cup of tea.
I do have to say that I was once locked out of the laundromat when I brought one load of laundry to my car while the second finished drying. They had programmed their automatic locks incorrectly and the doors locked an hour early. It was very frustrating that there is no correct phone number for this business and I (and several other customers) had to leave without my laundry and come back first thing in the morning when the doors unlocked again. I left a complaint card next time I went in and someone called me back and apologized a few days later.
The prices are a little high ($ 3.25 for a regular washer), but I like that I can usually do all of my laundry in under an hour in the huge washers ($ 5.75) and commercial dryers (25 cents/​2 minutes).
Moral of the story, the machines work and I don’t have to spend all night here. That’s what keeps me coming back for more… well, that and the allure of fresh sheets.

I am giving this laundromat ZERO stars!!! (Unfortunately Unilocal wont let you do that) I have had something STOLEN while I was IN THE LAUNDROMAT!!! Myself and the two cleaning people were the ONLY people in the laundromat for an hour and the cleaning people walked out with my phone!!! I have emailed, called, left messages and borderline HUNTED own ANYONE affiliated or who owns this laundromat and have received NO phone calls back. If you google the president of the company and call her she will say she has no affiliation with the laundromat! (Even though its publicly online!) scams and no responsibility or ownership for this business don’t give them your money!!!

I’ll review it after I go, however, (781) 942‑0900 is the right phone number, if you call the phone number above, it is not the right person or a business at all. They are nice though!
Okay — I went and this is actually a really nice place. Expensive though, biggest washer to use is $ 6.50 and the biggest dryer is $ 1.00 for 8 minutes and $.25 for additional 2 minutes. Also, one note, no rubber backed rugs allowed, someone came in looking to wash that and was disappointed because it’s not allowed here, the machines can’t handle it.

I had a few large things to wash that would not fit into our washing machine at home, and looked for a local laundromat. I chose Lava Laundry because it is not too far from home and I know it’s in a relatively safe area (right next to the Reading commuter rail station). They don’t have a web site, so I called their number to check their hours and heard a recorded message that provided this information.
I went there in the early evening on a Saturday (around 5:00 pm), expecting it to be a fairly crowded. It was not, however — I guess prime laundry time must be earlier in the day. I don’t go to laundromats often, so maybe I’m out of touch with the prices, but this was more expensive than I expected. The last time I used a large capacity front-​loading washer (large enough to take a queen-​sized comforter), it was $ 3.00. At Lava Laundry, this washer cost $ 5.00! There was an even larger front-​loading washer that cost $ 6.00. I did not use the normal top-​loading washers and did not check the price on those. The normal capacity dryers (still quite large — I think you could fit two normal-​sized loads into just one) cost $.25 for every 5 minutes.
Overall, Lava Laundry was pretty clean, much more so than I expected. In fact, while I was there for about an hour, someone (an employee or owner, I guess) to straighten up. They have a TV mounted to a rack in the room that holds the normal top-​loading washers. They have folding chairs placed throughout, which is nicer than the fixed chairs since you can move them to be able to sit by the washer or dryer you’re using. It is well-​lit, and has all of the usual accoutrements — change machines, vending machine for detergent and other laundry necessities, and even an ATM. The front-​loading washers and the dryers seem to be fairly new and in very good condition.
I would go here again to wash my comforters and other extra-​large items. My only wish is that they had a wifi network so I could bring my laptop, but a book works just fine to pass the time there…
My rating would be 4 stars if the washers weren’t so expensive (and I’m happy to change it officially if their costs are in line with other laundromats in the area), and 5 stars if they had free wifi too!