5th Street Laundromat

My first time there is the last one, too! As soon as I walked in the store, I saw a policeman emptying the money from the machines and counting it! He presented himself as the owner (It cannot be true, but I don’t mind); he was friendly and helpful! I asked him if I had time to do my laundry and he reassured me that I had plenty of time since they were closing at 10:00 pm and I only had three small loads. Then he left the store!
The first disappointment came when I opened the doors and saw how filthy all of the washer machines were. Who knows when was the last time someone «tried…tried» to clean them as there was so much detergent residue, dust, and hair, and it was obvious that any cleaning was done was not proper. Unfortunately, I had to proceed with doing my laundry; it was around 9:00 pm and that was the only convenient place. The washing cycle was pretty quick, which was good, but, with a? though. I had no idea what was expecting me with the dryers!!! Besides that they were dirty, too, an hour later I still had to feed the machines because my light fabric clothes were still wet, although I set the cycle to high heat!
In the meantime, I realized that I was all alone in the store with absolutely no one else around except my young son who fell asleep on the chairs. All of a sudden, the lights went off! I got surprised and kind of scared, I asked if anyone was there but no response. I started looking for the switches; I found one close to the front door, and I turned on the lights in that room. A few minutes later the old man, who was hanging out there earlier, came to the store and started yelling that it was past 10 pm, the closing time. I said: «I am sorry, but my clothes are still very wet»! He pretended like he didn’t hear what I said, he went outside and sat down on the bench.
The dryers stop after a while, and I thought that my clothes were dry… hmmm, that was a summer night dream… all of my clothes were still wet! I grabbed one piece and went straight to the old man and very politely I asked him to touch it. He looked at me like I came from Mars and I was asking him to come with me. He tried to avoid to touch the wet piece of cloth, but I insisted and as soon as he felt the wetness, he turned his face away and denied to talk. At that moment, I figured out what was really happening at this place. The washers were programmed to wash fast and with very little water, and the dryers to take long long time to dry in order the customers to keep feeding them with quarters/​tokens every 6 minutes.
I was tired, I was sweating like I was in hell — NO A/​C in a hot July night — and now I got pissed off because of their sneaky ways to take advantage of their customers. I put my wet clothes in my bag and on the way out, we said goodnight, he looked at us, but he didn’t say back goodnight. My young son and I said goodnight again and this time he gave us a mean look. I said: «We said goodnight to you twice, and you ignored us, not even a thank you to your customers»? He grumbled that he was supposed to close the store half an hour ago, and I made him wait. I told the old man that if their machines were not set to steal the customers, I would have finished before their closing time. He totally ignored me, and I added, «everyone should be alerted for your fraudulent services!»

I went early, 7am on a Monday morning after staying the weekend at a nearby hotel in Cambridge, the location was easy to get to by car and had a parking lot. The facility was clean and inexpensive a box of powder detergent was only .75, dispensed from a cool vintage machine. It was nice to do laundry before going home after a weekend away.

Whenever I have need of a laundromat, I choose to come here. As with some of my favorite bars, it’s not fancy, but it serves it’s purpose beautifully. The environment is not extravagant, it is not large, and it doesn’t offer lots of extra conveniences (no sinks, bathroom, multiple tvs, etc). But it does offer a nice neighborhood feel, the machines work well, I have never had to wait to use a machine, there is reading material, and a pizza place next door. I also like that the management emphasizes that clothes left in washers/​dryers should not be taken out except by management. I don’t like to come back to my clothes 5 mins late only to find them moved by some weirdo and missing a sock or two. As previous reviewers have said, the older gentleman owner is very friendly and remembers clients after a visit or two… good neighborhood vibe. $ 2.25 per washer load, 0.25 per 6 mins (I think).

The large dryers, at least, are very weak (and not all that large) – took much longer to dry clothes than at any other laundromat I’ve used. Only 2 large washers (although they are quite large). Only 1 rolling cart! Grouchy signs on the walls, though the manager (owner?) himself was pleasant enough.

Pros:
Located in a quiet, friendly street. The key holder, an elderly gentleman who lives next door is always available to those who need assistance with the machines. There two parking spots available to customers who drove.
Cons:
You will be using double-​stacked residential washer and dryer units that can only fit small loads and are extremely weak. Cost is $ 2.25 per wash, and you’ll need an additional $ 3.00 for the weak dryers.
There are only two large-​load washers, which you would be waiting and/​or fighting for to use. The water levels in these units are very low, resulting in a half-​ass wash. This implies the owners are cheap.
Some of the units were filthy with week-​old residue, and there are no sinks or running water to use. Space is cramped, especially when large baskets and carts are brought in.
Bottom line is this laundromat is fine for those who bring in small, quick loads, not for the experienced laundry-​doer.

Nice clean place, helpful staff, free wifi.
It’s open until 10:15 PM, by the way.

Great place to get your clothes done. Very clean and well maintained. There is a guy (owner/​manager?) who provides you with assistance. It’s a small be very adequate place. Detergent is available or you can go next door to the neighborhood store. Note that the change machine does not read new currency bills (new $ 5 bills). Luckily there’s that person who can provide you change. Oh yea, they have WiFi and patio tables with chairs (weather permits).

I’ve decided to update this review now that I’ve been using this laundromat on and off for the past 2 years…
First of all, there has been maybe ONE time when the air conditioning has been on here. It gets very hot in laundromats. I’ve been the only one who seems to like to breathe apparently, because EVERY time I go there the windows are all closed as well. Since I enjoy breathing I’ve had to open all of the windows every weekend when I go here.

Did your washing machine or dryer quit unexpectedly? Well, consider it a blessing if you live near this friendly place. You can haul it all over here to 5^th Street Laundromat where you will meet the sweetest owner who sees that you are a newcomer and a laundromat klutz. He will show you around with pride, pointing out features of the newest, shiniest machines, and will tell you he lives in the building so you can call him any time with a problem. But you won’t have any. You can use the free wi-​fi, lounge outside on his patio furniture when the sun is out and appreciate the cleanliness of a small, cozy laundromat. Get some pizza from Scampa next door. Relax.
It’s nice to see a business owner take such pride in his laundromat. Now I don’t dread laundry break downs at my house any more. Well, maybe not as much.

Four months ago, after a Halloween party, an out-​of-​town house guest puked all over my apartment. After a thorough clean up, with help from his girlfriend, the subject apologized and admitted «I don’t know what happened.» I suggested that the previous night’s 14 Jack and Coke’s may have had something to do with his accident.
Several days later I realized that the corner of my rug was crusty and smelled like Febreze and hot garbage. I decided to immediately tackle the problem by balling the rug up and bringing it to my girlfriend’s house.
For a third of a year my rug sat, untouched, at the bottom of the stairs at my girlfriend’s place.
Today I took matters into my own hands. With a quick Unilocal search for «Laundromat» in East Cambridge I was introduced to 5^th Street Laundromat. The industrial sized washer and dryers were able to take the my tainted carpet and bring it back from the dead.
The only reason that this is ⁴⁄₅ and not ⁵⁄₅ is because of the lack of beer.

I despise doing laundry, and I especially loathe doing laundry at a laundromat. Yet, the 5^th Street Laundromat has a charm that microscopically changes that. I still do not enjoy the chore, and I don’t enjoy being at the 5^th Street Laundromat, I just hate it less than others.
The pros are… giant 4 load washers for $ 4.00, free wifi, convenient location, friendly staff, and clean floors, walls, and machines.
The cons are… the space is super small and it’s a freaking laundromat.

I mean, it’s kinda weird to give a laundromat 5 stars, but this place is pretty quality. It’s very clean and there is good ventilation. Good service, too. Once, when my washer didn’t spin, I called the number on the wall and the guy came right over and reimbursed me.
I frequently forget about my laundry and leave my stuff in the washer or dryer for lengthy periods of time, and sometimes overnight. It’s always right where I left it when I come back. People don’t chuck your stuff on the floor, and the laundromat doesn’t remove it. I like that feature.
I hear the busiest time to go is actually not on the weekend, but between 5−7pm.
Ok, that’s definitely a long enough review for a laundromat. Goodbye.

Thanks to Lisa’sa review (and the fact that my washer suddenly kicked the bucket…),
I gave this place a try. Machines worked well and were reasonable… cheap soap too…
They have 2 change machines which is convenient and they now have wi-​fi.
They have good hours (most/​all days, 6am-10pm…call to double-​check that).
From inman Sq. take a right onto 5^th st and it is pretty much on the left corner (love the big sign so I can notice easily it and not crash while driving)

I have a washer and a dryer in my apartment. Once in a while, however, I need an over-​sized washer and dryer for my comforter, blankets, sheets, etc. As I live in East Cambridge, this is the place.
First of all, it has Wi-​Fi. Secondly, there are benches out front, patio furniture on the side of the place and a great sandwich place across the street.
Then, there’s Pat — the owner. There for large parts of the day, this senior cares about the place. He opens the door for you if you have laundry in both hands. If you have lived in East Cambridge for any length of time, he can answer all questions about the area’s history as well as much of Boston’s — he has been a restaurant owner, bar owner, convenience store owner for decades on both sides of the river.
My only sour point — they need a sink in case you pour detergent on your hands instead of you laundry!

If I wrote a review for this three months ago… it would have been three stars.
and at that it would be 1.5 for convenience and 1.5 for the owner
They recently have done this place over and added on a whole new room with about 10 new machines… Plus they have nice big folding tables, seats, a separate entrance and a tv to watch…
They also have those HUGE machines that cost $ 4.00 a load…
Yes, they are now like every other laundromat around.
When I do my own laundry, I will come here. Before it was difficult when it was just the smaller room. I had my dog, my cart and my bag full of detergent. I would bang into people, knock little kids over and wack people’s newspapers. Yeah, people saw me coming and ran for dear life. I gave up and started dropping my laundry off at another place.
Now I just use the new door to the back entrance… it is nice and open and never busy (I go during weekday)…I leave my clothes during the cycle since the door is locked, come back and its all good!
The treat is the little old man who is the owner. He sits with a group of guys in front of the store ALL DAY… they love when young girls come to the store… He will come in if your quarter gets stuck… move people’s laundry that are taking too long to come get it… he loves this place… and it shows… it is also cute to see him get in his brand new Mercedes and drive away. You know he is loving life right now…
So I am happy to come here to use the machines and support all the retired old men in America that own laundromats, so they too, can drive a Mercedes…