World's Largest Laundromat: Making it Count for the Community

In the early 1980s, a contest was held to determine which laundromat would be given the title of “world’s largest.” Not only did it win, but World’s Largest Laundromat has been the undisputed champ ever since. If you’re really into numbers, the World’s Largest Laundromat is your jam. But it’s what’s happening behind those numbers that makes this Berwyn icon the flagship store of the laundry industry. It’s what the laundromat does with its space and its tech that has landed it in newspapers and newscasts on every continent on the planet, except for Antarctica, and even grabbed the attention of French documentary filmmakers.

13,500 Square Feet

300 Machines

Their summer reading program, Read to Ride, has not only resulted in tens of thousands of books read and 335 bikes given away, but led the laundry industry to jumpstart its own nationwide literacy initiatives. From educational programs on voter registration and immigration policies, to handling the laundry needs of local homeless shelters and nonprofit arts organizations, World’s Largest Laundromat has made knowing its community just as much its business as dirty shirts, pants and socks … even that one you’re always missing. For the past twenty years, customers know that choosing the World’s Largest Laundromat isn’t just about clean clothes. It’s also about helping the environment. Each of the laundromat’s ten-by-six-foot solar panels converts free sunlight into hot water, which means loads of laundry are clean and green. This keeps costs and, in turn, prices down.

36 Solar Thermal Panels

World’s Largest Laundromat often says it has the best employees and customers in the world. And as an annual thank you to its community, the laundromat sponsors Berwyn’s annual Fourth of July Fireworks. Covid-19 has changed the way everyone does business, and World’s Largest is no different. It increased its cleaning staff, added hand sanitizing stations for employees and customers, and brought in disinfecting specialists. Some of the amenities that covid has impacted – pizza Wednesdays and evening entertainers – will return when it’s safe to do so.

The washers and dryers are the top of the line. The paperless payment options lead the industry. And the free WiFi lets parents get work done and kids research school projects while their laundry spins. But none of this is possible without the people who work there. World’s Largest Laundromat has a staff of over twenty cleaning and laundry professionals who, each week, help thousands of customers and handle thousands of pounds of laundry through their drop-off service. This place never closes and the staff is there every second to help, with a simple goal: For the World’s Largest Laundromat to be the cleanest and most family-friendly business you ever step inside of.

1street named for the owner, Tom Benson