Eco-Friendly Laundromat In Brooklyn Carries On Amid Pandemic

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Published on July 30, 2020, 1:44 pm
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Like a lot of things in Brooklyn, “Celsious” is a cool place to hang out. Clean, bright, well-decorated and featuring free Wi-Fi, a lot of thriving plant life, an organic coffee bar, healthy snacks, and also an outdoor patio – this is a rare laundromat where you actually do not mind spending your mornings. Run by the Williams sisters (no, not the tennis players) Corinna and Theresa, “Celsious” might cost a little more than your typical laundromat, but the money goes toward running the energy-efficient washers and dryers.

You could go elsewhere to save a buck, sure, but if saving water and electricity does not sound so bad to you, then it is worth giving “Celsious” a shot. Plus, they will also throw in eco-friendly unscented laundry powder that is derived from a concoction of baking soda, washing soda and organic castile soap. The sisters, who were born and raised in Germany before setting up the laundromat in Brooklyn, said that they were surprised that not every apartment has its own washer when they arrived in New York.

“Moving here five years ago, I was flabbergasted by the state of laundromats. I was in New York and it was the city of all opportunities yet there was not one clean, pleasant laundromat to go to, and that was when I started toying with the idea in my head,” said Corinna in an interview with Elle. “The sustainability is a major part of how we were brought up. Our mom is an organic pioneer so we literally grew up with organic food. This became part of our lifestyle, so it was a no-brainer to also bring this to the business we were building as much as possible.”

As you might have expected, CoViD-19 has affected their business, as “Celsious” has stopped all self-service laundry and opted only for drop-off and pick-up running six days a week. A wash, dry, and fold service is available, as is a wash and dry option without the folding. The store is open from Tuesday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 07:00 p.m., and Mondays and Saturdays from 08:00 a.m. to 04:00 p.m. It probably helps if you have already sorted laundry to speed up the process, as it is worth worth learning how to do this properly. Hopefully, soon, “Celsious” can start admitting customers into their unique laundromat once again, as there are no doubt hundreds of regulars who want the full experience of a coffee and chit-chat in a beautiful surrounding while waiting for their laundry to be finished.

Nevertheless, the sisters are keeping their spirits up and trying to make the best out of a tough situation in New York and the rest of the world. After all, laundry life has to go on. “Celsious” is also offering priority online booking for certain groups, such as over 65s, those working on the front lines or essential services, and families with small children.

“I am definitely starting to feel the physical strain of processing thousands of pounds of laundry every day,” says Theresa in a separate interview. “We have had to adjust our operations almost on a daily basis, based on new information and guidance that is released. There is not much time for your spirits to be down when you have a team that is relying on you to keep them employed and find a way back to financial sustainability.”

Celsious
115 N. 7th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11249

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Jonas Bronck is the pseudonym under which we publish and manage the content and operations of The Bronx Daily.™ | Bronx.com - the largest daily news publication in the borough of "the" Bronx with over 1.5 million annual readers. Publishing under the alias Jonas Bronck is our humble way of paying tribute to the person, whose name lives on in the name of our beloved borough.