Lavanderia

Lavanderia is a term used in Spanish and Italian to refer to the process of washing clothes and to the places where this work is carried out. It covers both household laundering and professional services, such as laundromats, industrial laundries, and facilities that process textiles for hotels, hospitals, and other institutions.

The word derives from the verbs lavar (Spanish) or lavare (Italian), meaning to wash, with suffixes that form nouns indicating a place or business related to the activity. Regional usage varies: in Spanish-speaking countries, lavandería typically means a laundry or laundromat; in Italian, lavanderia can denote a laundry shop or the act of laundering, with specific terms used for self-service or industrial facilities.

Facilities and services associated with lavanderia include self-service laundromats where customers operate coin- or card-operated washing and drying machines, as well as full-service or industrial laundries that handle large volumes of garments, hotel and hospital linens, and uniform cleaning. Dry cleaning is usually offered separately under tintorería or lavandería y tintorería in Spanish, and under tintoria in Italian. Household laundry may be performed at home, while commercial lavanderias provide rapid, large-scale washing, pressing, and sometimes garment repairs or alterations.

Environmental and technological trends in lavanderia include the adoption of energy- and water-efficient machines, ozone and chemical reduction methods, and detergents formulated to minimize environmental impact. The term remains everyday vocabulary in many Spanish-speaking regions and in Italy to describe both the act of washing clothes and the facilities where it is done.