By Thomas Clapper
FPS Staff Writer
Washee Washee Laundry has opened its doors to all, with an official grand opening set for April 5, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. The laundromat is open 24 hours and is a self-service facility.
Owners John and Jennifer Campbell’s dream of opening a laundromat has come true after nearly three years of owning, working on the building and going through state inspections.
“There were a lot of challenges,” said John. “We did some changes to the piping and electrical which brought in the state of Ohio inspections and it there is a lot for inspectors to go over. I don’t think there is anything in the building I haven’t replaced aside from the change maker on the wall.”
According to the Campbells, the building has been a laundromat since at least 1959, and it is important to them to help keep businesses downtown for the village of Carrollton.
“We had an opportunity to fix up one of the older buildings in town and provide a service for the community,” said John. “I noticed over the last couple of years there has been a movement to fix up older buildings and that is important to us.”
The Campbells own a trucking company, and the idea is the laundromat will be a source of income when John stops driving.
Initially, Washee Washee Laundry will have 16 washers and 18 dryers, with plans to add more in the future. Machines have fast card readers and accept coin, credit, debit or payment by phone through an app. The app is called Fascard.
“The feature I like is if you have the app and our store as a location, before you leave the house you can tell how many machines are in use and if your favorite machine is available,” said John. The app is free and can have money loaded onto it and run promotions. It can monitor how busy the laundromat is at any given time.
John explained the idea is to provide easy access for everyone. There will be music playing, free Wi-Fi and air conditioning. The laundromat is handicap accessible.
The name Washee Washee Laundry comes from a cruise ship term “washy washy happy happy.” Crew members on Royal Caribbean cruises make sure you wash your hands and make sure customers are ready.
“We thought it was a good name, and it fits the washing machine going back and forth,” said John. “We try to make it as much of a happy atmosphere as possible because people are doing chores here and nobody likes to do chores.”
John hopes to have vending machines as well as an arcade game. He added that for convenience, charge ports are built into the outlets so customers can charge devices while washing — just bring a charger cord.
Washee Washee Laundry is located at 230 W. Main St., Carrollton. Emergency contact number is 330-495-5201. See the Washee Washee Laundry Facebook page for updates.