Lachamma Laundry Shop

Lachamma Laundry Shop is run out of our home at H. No 3-127 in Madhanthurthy, which is part of the Nellykudur area in Warangal. We have a dedicated space at the side of the house where we do all the washing and pressing. It is mostly a family effort, with two of us handling the washing machines and another person doing the heavy ironing. We use those big, old-fashioned irons that stay hot for a long time. There is always a pile of clothes waiting to be sorted on the large wooden table. In the summer, the heat from the irons makes the room very warm, so we keep the door wide open. We hang the sheets on long lines in the yard when the sun is out, but if it rains, we have to scramble to bring everything inside. People from the village bring their heavy blankets and work clothes to us because we have the big tubs for soaking. We keep track of everything using little numbered tags pinned to the collars. It is a lot of repetitive work, scrubbing collars and folding shirts until they are perfectly flat. We do not have a delivery van, so people usually just drop off their bundles and pick them up a few days later. It is a simple life of soap and steam here in Madhanthurthy.