Doing Laundry in Florence

I have used hotel laundry services all over the world. European hotels definitely charge more than hotels in, say, Asia, so it can get pricey. But keep it in perspective. You’re probably spending thousands for your trip. Will a $50 laundry bill really make much of a difference? It might be worth it to you for the convenience factor alone.

Most hotels charge by the piece which is why it adds up so fast. If you can find a hotel that will charge by the bag, it will be cheaper. You could ask the hotel to email you their laundry price list. Also, some laundromats offer a laundry service where you drop off a bag and pick it up later. I search on Google maps for “laundry” and sometimes find this service near the hotel.

We always use laundromats when in Italy. The hotel we stay at in Florence is very pricey for laundry. We stay near Santa Trinitia bridge and found a self-serve wash and dry right across the Arno on the Oltrano side. I believe it was on Via de'Barbadori, 22. We stuffed our backpacks with dirty laundry and walked to it in about five minutes. It was very easy to use. We met the owner and an American expat who works for him. If you goolge lavenderias in Florence, you will find several. Some of them will do your laundry for you and then you pick it up later in the day. These are usually reasonably priced too. We find it a fun experience, and it enables us to pack light. We each take a carry-on size suitcase and a backpack that fits under the airplane seat. Have a great trip.

We've always used drop off laundry service on our trips, including this summer. We drop it off, usually in the AM before we head out for the day, and pick it up the next day. Sometimes they'll have it ready the same day. They charge by the kilo, or often, we see it's a flat rate for up to 5 kilos. Never had an issue and allows us to maximize our time out and about. Just check on google maps and search for places to drop off laundry.

Go to Google Maps, zoom into the area near your hotel, and in the search box enter LAVANDERIA or also LAVANDERIA AUTOMATICA.

The Lavanderia Automatica is a self service wash and dry, others you can leave your stuff and pick it up later. I think they charge about 7 or 8€ per kg (1kg=2.2 lbs). If you go to a self service, you might pay 5€ for a standard wash, and another 5€ for the dryer. The equipment is large, like in the US, therefore one standard wash might be enough for all you have.

The hotels might charge by the piece, and at 4 to 10€ a piece, it adds up. However, as said above, doing laundry on the go is way more convenient than carrying excessive luggage. And if you use trains, you must really strive to travel with a carry on suitcase and a backpack only, because train travel and heavy luggage don’t go well together. On trains you don’t check in luggage, you have to schlepp it on board by yourself and place it on the overhead compartment. There are also luggage holds on each side of every car for larger suitcases, but they fill quickly. Also those luggage holds are not necessarily visible from your seat, therefore you should buy cable locks like these to secure them (tie them together) to prevent someone taking your luggage at some intermediate stop, while you are not looking.
Below some prices for a lavanderia (not a self service laundry mat) in Florence near the Central Market

http://www.lavanderiamanfredi.it/listino.html

As I am relatively often scheduled to do concert tours, that mean something like 5 cities in 9 days, I have found a laundry routine: I use four polo shirts, from a German firm (Ragman), mixed cotton/synthetic, that do not need pressing and dry relatively quickly. In winter, Germans again have mixed fabric dress shirts, again not needing pressing. I begin doing laundry literally on arrival, in order to have a clean set the following day, or in the worst case the day after the following. With a bit of planning I can do my own laundry and reuse the shirts continuously (under ideal conditions, two of them would suffice, but I need also a concert shirt and on single day stays sometimes there is not enough time to dry). Under this routine I have greatly reduced my luggage - that again, being often on the move, it is a definite plus.

We can do a two week tour and take enough clothes to last the entire trip.
I wear trousers for three days and shirts for two days.

Hotel laundry can cost more than just buying some items. For example, to wash a pair of socks can cost more that what I paid for the socks.

When we did four weeks driving around England and Wales, we accessed the website for launderettes (laundromats) and visited them twice during the trip. There is a website that shows you where launderettes are located.

I'm so proud of you for realizing that packing is important!

I make sure I have a washer in an apartment almost halfway through the trip and do laundry there. I use a carry on size suitcase (DEFINITELY check it though, it's called "luggage" for a reason and I don't wanna lug it) and even with that small of a suitcase I want to chuck it off the first train I take.

I would do a little search as others have suggested and find one that is drop off and it will be easy!

Can I assume that the "self service" type lavanderias have machines for buying detergent, much like here in the US?

This is a great video on packing.
https://youtu.be/PDn9l20NlWw?si=8R-s0-cJ80SBdO7i

In many laundromats the industrial washing machines dispense the detergent automatically (it's already loaded in the machine) and it is included in the price of the wash. In other cases there might be a dispensing machine where you buy the detergent, but the new machines are likely to have the automatic dispensing part of the washing machine.

I pack a few of the laundry detergent sheets that are no scent and gentle. We typically rent apartments and they may not have detergent or what is provided is super perfumed. Even using non-scented detergent sheets, the clothes will come out with a fragrance. This is okay by me, but be aware of this if you are super sensitive. Same with drop off laundry service. We had a load done in Naples last December. My husband just got out a pair of wool socks he hasn't worn much since and they still smelled like the flowery detergent they used. Vacation memories come in all kinds of ways (and smells).

We've always done our own washing at self-serve laundries too. Because they have multiple washers and dryers, we can get 2 loads (light and dark) done pretty quickly and control the water temp; I'm picky about washing our stuff in cold or cool and not over-drying to reduce shrinkage and wear. We also do it first thing in the morning when the nearest laundromat opens so it doesn't kill much of a day. :O)

Thank you everyone. I contacted the hotel, and it is pricey. We will do it ourselves and wait for it. Hopefully some good people watching while we wait.

We've never had to have anyone watch FOR us if we're there keeping an eye on our own laundry!

We had a fun experience at a laundromat (laviere) in Paris, around the corner from our hotel. An elderly Parisian lady kindly walked me through the directions for the high tech washers and dryers. Each time I did something right, she exclaimed "viola!!". She was so friendly and helpful.
And my husband went across the street and had a beer with a friend.
Overall, we considered it a fun people-watching experience.