# Ever heard of a washateria? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 14, 2026, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058 "2026-05-14T02:35:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/1 "2026-05-14T02:35:52Z")
I have come across a couple of them while identifying aerial photos. I have only found this term in Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/2 "2026-05-14T02:36:41Z")
Just another name for a laundromat. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/3 "2026-05-14T02:39:21Z")
Sounds like a combination laundromat and cafeteria - not a bad idea, from a customer standpoint. (Whether it works as a business model, given the diverse stuff that would need to be managed, I can’t say.) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/4 "2026-05-14T02:42:05Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Sounds like a combination laundromat and cafeteria - not a bad idea For a few years the laundromat I used was attached to a… bar - probably a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/5 "2026-05-14T02:46:27Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > For a few years the laundromat I used was attached to a… bar - probably a bad idea. There was a franchise concept for a while in the '80s: Duds & Suds, which were a combo laundromat/bar/arcade. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/6 "2026-05-14T02:47:25Z")
That’s where I usually did my laundry, when I was in college in the early 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/7 "2026-05-14T02:57:02Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Just another name for a laundromat. This. No food or drink service implied. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/8 "2026-05-14T02:58:35Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Just another name for a laundromat. This article indicates that Washateria was an early self-service laundry chain, in Texas and parts of the South, but the name was supplanted in most of the US by “laundromat” (which was itself originally a brand name for a Westinghouse washing machine). > **[Washateria vs Laundromat: What are the Difference & History? | SpinZone Laundry](https://www.spinzonelaundry.com/blog/posts/washateria-vs-laundromat-what-are-the-difference-history-of-each/)** > > In Modern America, laundry facilities are commonly known as Laundromats but in Texas and parts of the South they can be referred to as Washaterias. Both terms are interchangeable today but the history and story of each are quite unique and different. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/9 "2026-05-14T04:23:15Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > There was a franchise concept for a while in the '80s: Duds & Suds, which were a combo laundromat/bar/arcade. I honed my Galaga skills at one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/10 "2026-05-14T14:43:17Z")
I grew up with washaterias in Texas (but then our local wrestling arena was called The Sportatorium, so we had all sorts of fancy names for places). ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/11 "2026-05-14T15:08:42Z")
I only heard the term “washateria” from a coworker that grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana and went to school at Texas A&M. I assumed it was a localism. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/12 "2026-05-14T15:15:36Z")
I’ve heard it used, but assumed it was a slang expression. I didn’t know there were people who used it unironically to mean “laundromat”. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/13 "2026-05-14T15:18:30Z")
The alternate (and non-Westinghouse) spelling ‘laundrymat’ was in occasional use at least as early as 1903. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/14 "2026-05-14T15:29:47Z")
Why yes. I’ve heard it. 😀 I may have invented it 😏 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/15 "2026-05-14T15:32:40Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > There was a franchise concept for a while in the '80s: Duds & Suds, which were a combo laundromat/bar/arcade. The place I used in the 80s in San Diego was open for 24 hours and was attached to a 7-11. It was a party. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/16 "2026-05-14T15:42:03Z")
I’ve encountered the term “Washateria”, but I couldn’t tell you where. Not in any of the places the OP points out. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/17 "2026-05-14T15:46:11Z")
This thread interested me because it never occurred to me that _washateria_ was a regional word, so I have started a [thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-regionalisms-for-institutions-and-places/1030068) looking for similar regionalism. It occurs to me as I type this this very second, that I could have just sent this thread off on that tangent, but here we are… ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/18 "2026-05-14T16:07:21Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ve encountered the term “Washateria”, but I couldn’t tell you where. Not in any of the places the OP points out. I probably found it in a book somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/19 "2026-05-14T20:07:32Z")
At some point (1950s) the term ‘washerette’ also started being used for laundromats. However. . . There was indeed a portable washing machine in the 1920s called “The Washerette.” Have not been able to identify who manufactured it, but the ads for this breadbox-sized doohickey tout: _The Washerette weighs but six pounds and may therefore be easily carried about. In fact, it is so small you can put it in your trunk. Just attach the hose to any faucet and the water will lubricate and run it. The result: Your finest garments will be washed spotlessly clean without the slightest wear on your clothes or effort on your part._ I also saw an add for a car dealership offering jobs to “washerettes” and “greaserettes,” who would respectively wash and lube vehicles. Those didn’t seem to catch on anywhere else, though. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058/20 "2026-05-14T20:59:08Z")
I heard it when I was living in Lafayette, Louisiana. That fits with the southern idea. Best combo I saw was a combination laundromat/video game arcade near the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia. That was like 40 years ago, don’t know if the arcade is still there now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-heard-of-a-washateria/1030058.md?page=2)