The Wash House Laundromat all cleaned up
The Wash House Laundromat at 920 Dyer St. has been a hometown staple to countless Hot Spring County families, serving Malvern and surrounding communities for generations.
“The laundromat’s been here since 1959, and the previous owners had owned it since 1979,” said the current proprietor Jay Vestal. “For over 40 years Colita and Jacob Wonderlich ran it, and then we bought it.”
Vestal and his wife, Carol, purchased the laundromat in May 2021 and have left the doors open to customers as they continually perform renovations and upgrades throughout the facility.
“It needed a lot of repairs, a lot of upgrades. The ceiling was falling in, and just in general, it was in bad shape,” Vestal said. “We never closed. We did all the remodel while remaining open, but you know, a little bit at a time over this last year. Matter of fact, we are redoing the floors right now.”
The Vestals performed a complete facelift by replacing the ceiling and installing new LED lighting, new wall coverings, and brand new air conditioning, which the laundromat lacked previously. They are currently painting the floor for the second time since they took ownership, to stay on top of the maintenance.
“The restroom was one of the worst places that needed attention in the building, and we remodeled the restroom,” Vestal said. “We also upgraded the washing machines. We have now both top loader and large-capacity (front loading) washing machines.”
The machines take quarters, and the facility has a change machine to accommodate, or customers can skip the quarters altogether by downloading the Payrange app, which allows users to pay with their phone.
Vestal said the parking lot used to be dark after sundown because of a lack of outdoor lighting, but Vestal’s rental contract had a stipulation requiring the building’s owner to install LED lighting in the parking lot.
“And so at nighttime, it’s lit up real bright now,” Vestal said. “Our goal is just to provide a safe, clean place for people to come and do their laundry.”
The facility offers a drop-off “Wash & Fold” service for $1.50 per pound by appointment, or customers can schedule a full pick-up and delivery service, to and from their homes, for $1.89 per pound. Service appointments can be made by calling 501-463-6446.
The laundromat is open seven days a week from 6 a.m.-11 p.m., but frequent customers have an opportunity to get special access to the facility outside the normal hours of operation.
“We also offer to our customers an after-hours access card,” Vestal said. “I have about 50 customers now that have access cards that can come in after hours and do their laundry. The door locks automatically. The door’s locked, so they’re safe.”
Vestal said he and his wife are happy to have made the purchase and have received a great amount of positive feedback from the community.
“All of our customers have just been giving us high praise for doing this and providing a place like this to do laundry,” he said. “And we’re just thrilled to be able to do it. We’ve got a lot of really great comments, a lot of people expressing their appreciation for cleaning the place up and making it safer. We’re just thrilled for the support of the community, and just really happy to be here in Malvern.”
“We live in Hot Springs, but we love the Malvern community,” Vestal said, “and, as a matter of fact, are looking maybe in about a year to try to make a move over to Hot Spring County.”