First visit to my new laundromat today! The owner is one of the nicest business owners I've ever met. Spacious, plenty of room to study while your clothes run, WiFi, more than enough machines, all of the amenities you could need. 10/10! read more

SUCH A FAN! Came here today after perusing through different laundromats in Alameda. It was my first time using such industry-sized front-loaders and I ended up not utilizing them.. so instead of just a review, I'm going to write what I'm going to do the next time I come here. Yes, parking is sparse, but Alameda always has street parking. If anything, just park, then go to the laundromat, pick up the rolley cart, bring it to your cart, load the cart, and take it back into the laundromat. Voila. Then bring your $1, $5, $10, or $20 bill and use their handy dandy coin machines to get all the quarters you need. There's an ATM here as well. IF your coins get eaten up because the power randomly goes out but then comes in again while you're there, then just flag down the owner and he'll open the coin slot and give you back all 26 of your coins (true story - although I dono if I'd be so calm about this if it had happened when he wasn't here... 26 quarters!!!) I also learned that front-load washers can take a lot of clothes. DON'T leave half of it empty. I daresay you could fill it up about 3/4 full - I've seen some crammed full! Also DO believe the signs that say you don't need that much soap. For the 55-lb washer that I used, I put in about 3/4 cup of my detergent and by the last rinse, i could STILL see soap bubbles :-/ It's not the washer's fault (I was honestly so fascinated by the front-load washer that I stood there the whole time watching...).. there's plenty of water. I just think I shouldn't've used that much soap. As everything is washing, you can sit and chill. It's nice. Or strike up conversation with people in there - they're not THAt weird here. hehe. The dryers are pretty amazing. 3 quarters for 16 minutes + 2 minutes to cool. They're HUGE and honestly, I washed all my whites in one dryer with 6 quarters. Let me break this down for you. One twin down comforter, 2 white knit blankets, 3 sheets, 2 thick towels, my white sweatshirts/socks/delicates... 32 minutes. (although I DID have to take one of my towels and throw it in with the coloreds to finish up since the coloreds started later and the towel was a wee bit damp). THEN there's PLENTY of space to FOLD your laundry before you go home and IF you stagger your whites, coloreds, and delicate clothing, you can fold as you go.. and by the time the last thing is done, you're ready to leave! They stay open EVERYDAY til 11PM. How great is that? I'm just going to start taking my laundry to school and do this when I come home. Then I can also grade while things wash. Also, now that I know that the huge ones can take a LOT more clothes than I initially put in, I'm just gonna throw everything into one and let it whirl. WOOHOO read more

Super clean and it was empty I was looking to do my laundry before heading back to the house and found this little amazing place

Washboard Laundry is an exceptional business and the owner, Art, is very helpful and easy to contact. This is a very clean business and the machines always seem to be up to par. I love the early hours and the cleaning crewman is exceptional, pleasant and hard working. I especially love the top loading washers he keeps. Being elderly for some reason I prefer them. Thanks. read more

If you have to go to a laundrymat and wash clothes, go here all of the time! The owner is there at least a few days a week, if not more. He seems to always be upgrading and adding new machines. There is a new washer so big I bet the entire Raiders football team could wash all of their uniforms at once!!! He just installed some new clothes folding tables, new rolling clothes baskets and is very energy conscience. He recently had an electrician replace all of the old light fixtures with new energy efficient lighting, there are lots of windows for daylight and the place is nice and bright at night. The place is kept clean. The restroom is clean. There's a string attached to the wall with clips for socks that have lost their mate, that's so cute! The best time to go is morning because the place is popular with the locals, especially after 5pm. Supreme added bonus: if your there when the owner's on site, he'll give you a few quarters for drying your clothes just to let you know how much he appreciates your business!!! read more

I called the number listed on here to get in touch with the owner, forgot to ask for his name at the end but I assume it's Derek based on reviews. Long story short -- I learned when swiping your card for the dryer, make sure you wait before swiping again so the machine recognizes the transaction (green light) then continue to select the heat temp to add on more time. I made the mistake of swiping one too many times and when it didn't register, I got quarters to add in more time. Will be receiving a refund for the charge, which I appreciate it. I won't make that mistake again, thank you! read more

Great place to wash! Decent prices. Clean facilities. Friendly patrons. Clean bathroom. Street parking only :( Tip: Put your soap in first. Once you close door and pay money, the door will lock. Great restaurants and shops nearby if you get bored waiting for your loads. Bring your quarters that you're partner has stored up in jars around the house or just pay with plastic! No hassles! read more

Washboard V - Quarters or credit cards or both! - Laundromat Near Me - Alameda, California

I don't normally go to a laundromat, but today I went here because I was in the middle of replacing my old machines that broke. Everything looks nice and tidy and very clean. Plenty of machines, I would come here again read more

This place is one of the better ones on the Island I think. It is on Park St. So a few cafes nearby to wait at, but it also has Wifi (which I am currently using to write this review) and it is decent. Granted it is noon on a Thursday, so there is almost no one here, but there are loads (pun intended) of machines and very reasonably priced for the area. The small machines (18 pounds) are 2.75 and it goes up from there. The dryers are huge and I got two loads in one drier easily. 6 minutes per quarter on the driers. They have an ATM and a coin machine, and washers that could fit grown men in, so good place for bedding. Some of the bigger washers also allow you to use credit cards, but the driers don't. I love that they have wifi, but my only complaint is they don't have a table, lots of benches, but doing work with a laptop in your lap gets annoying. All in all real nice though. read more

Free Wifi, huge washers, and street parking. We've been there when the owner's checking in on things, and he'll go around giving customers free quarters as a thank you. There's an ATM if you don't have cash. Also, if you want to grab a bite while you're waiting, just go down the block to The Red Onion! read more

Quiet and clean environment. We took too big machines to wash our pillows and bed sheets. Their largest machines weren't that many, but the dryers are big enough to fit two of our loads. read more

I love this laundromat! The owner is so pleasant and makes sure his customers are satisfied! There's a bathroom that's always clean and there's an additional sink to wash your hands. He even has a clothesline for missing socks! How cool is that! If you ever have an issue with the washing machine you're using all you have to do is call/text and he's able to start it from his phone! It doesn't get any better than that! Overall I would recommend this laundromat to anyone. :) read more

This place is really great, we get free dries from time to time and the best thing is we have free wifi in the laudry, the owner is really good with te customers. read more

See all

We found this location on Yelp 2 weeks ago, it has yet to be crowded, and it is clean and quite here. I am able to use there free wifi if needed, but my BF prefers to read and I prefer to color, my little one enjoys reading the magazines... Location of this place is close to some restaurants here on park street. The only CON, is parking but other than that, they have every size washing machines and dryers, there newer washing machines take credit/ATM or quarters. They have an ATM on site and of course a change machine as well. read more

First time here.. Drop in cause i seen some good review on YELP.. But dude.. Maybe its just my luck or the machine doesn't like me.. But there's no freaken water inside the fucking washer. I only had one load, an i gamble my luck in number 27. I been to plenty wash house an god dam.. This is the second laundromat that has no freaken water. The clothes just looks damp an going in circle. We try looking for who ever is in charge here but that one or two was no where to be found. Anyways.. Think this is going to be my first an last time here. Thanks read more

Washboard V - No water - Laundromat Near Me - Alameda, California

See all

This was the greatest place to do laundry when I was a kid. We moved further away so we have to go to a more convient location elsewhere, but so glad to see this place hasn't changed much. By the way, is mr. Bill still around? He was one of the owners back in the day, runs the place with his business partner Tom i think. Used to give us kids quarters for snacks whenever he empties the machines and tells us stories about his childhood. read more

This laundromat has its good and bad. It can either be a really good day with all the machines working and accepting your credit card or they can just decline your card once you have all your clothes and detergent inside for whatever electrical, technical issue that it is they have or! Your car in the parking lot can get broken into, or your clothes can be stolen from inside the laundromat. These two things have both happen to me at night unfortunately at this time of year it gets dark early or I can only go at night. Avoid going at night if you can!!! There are a lot of homeless/transit people who wash here which my heart goes out to them and God bless them, but a lot of them check for open car doors or are watching who is coming in and out doing laundry whom they know might've left their car open & will go into it and try to find whatever lose change or money they can find which I never leave money in there, but I will say I've had lose change laying around in my car however, it is really upsetting when this happens. On the other hand the owner Art is very attentive and responsive he does go above and beyond when incidents like this happen and even if it's just a quarter that one of the machines took he will give it back to you :) and for the most part the quarter machines are always stocked and most of the machines take cc but recently started having declining issues as in a previous comment. Not many laundromat owners respond ASAP when there's an issue & Art does! If it wasn't for the stealing and car breaking & transit people spying on who comes in and out to see what they can get and the parking lot only being able to fit 3 cars & street parking being hard to find I would give this place 4stars! Hope this helps understand and that there can be more vigilance. read more

We've been coming to this place every week for about a month now. There's a nice and comfortable feeling here and the place has always been clean. Today when we walked in, the owner was there handing out quarters and thanking everyone for coming. He was a very nice guy! We like to go catch Pokémon while we are waiting on our laundry and have never had our laundry machines messed with while we were gone. It's a nice area for catching Pokémon also. We found Charizard right on the same street! The bathroom is clean and there is off street parking, but it only fits 3 cars. There are machines that take credit cards too. This is our favorite laundry mat now and I'm so glad that we found it. read more

Great place to do laundry. Owners are attentive. Building and washers are clean. WiFi is speedy. Come here to make the mundaneness of weekly laundry a little less boring. read more

Love this place so much. I have a washer/dryer in my place in Oakland but I go out of my way to come here because the prices are awesome! The dryers are HUGE so it doesn't take much time before your clothes are nice and dry! Plus, every time I see the owner Art, he is super friendly and gives me a few extra quarters! And I'm always excited to talk some Raiders Football! Can't say enough good things about this place! read more

Nice place that is always clean. I have never had issues with the machines and there always seems to be enough open ones for everyone. The staff is also very friendly, one guy working there gave me some quarters just today as a bonus for some free drying! I would recommend washboard to anyone looking for a good laundromat read more

I've been coming here for a few months now. The laundry room in my apartment complex is overpriced, and my clothes mysteriously end up out of the dryer before time is up. Whenever I come here, my clothes are ALWAYS clean, dry, and untouched by the other patrons. Not to mention, the prices are the best in my area (Oakland), and Alameda. I finally met the owner today - a very nice man who even threw a few quarters my way for drying. It should really say something about the place considering I drive from my area to come to this particular laundry mat. One of my favorite features though (aside from the quarter machine) is that BOTH the washers and dryers take credit cards, which is rare. Thank you to the owner for keeping modest prices in the wake of many surges. Oh, and there is always parking! read more

This place is great for a laundromat but what really shines, is the owner, Art, and his great customer service! Anytime theres a malfunction the refunds come quickly in the mail with a little extra for the trouble. When he is on-site he is friendly and will pass out free quarters to all the patrons. This place is always clean and well maintained. I dont typically use laundromats bu since my laundry room at my apt has been out of service, theres nowhere else I'd rather go! Oh yeah and RAIDERRRRRSSSS!!!! read more

Cell phone charging station, Wi-Fi and the machines take credit cards! This is why I don't dread going to the Laundromat. The owner is also helpful and cares about his customers. read more

Great place to do laundry. Wifi, owner comes in ocassionally and hands out free washes to customers. I feel like a valued customer not only because of the ocassional free washes, but also because there are lots of customer friendly signs in the laundromat. There's a huge sign near the dryers warning customers the last 2 minutes is cool down. There are signs of credit card only machines etc. This place gets an A for service, especially when compared to the rude old Asian man at the South Shore Laundromat. The washers are 25 cents cheaper than those in south shore laundromat, you get 1 more minute oer quarter for the dryers too. read more

Machines were good order. Dryer were okay. Maybe because I had delicates that needed more time on low heat. The owner, Art kindly gave me some quarters. Thought it was some old timer trying to be nice. Pleasant surprise. read more

Really good energy here. The type of place I like to do business with. There are friendly notes that talk about why they keep the prices down by modifying the machine operating procedures. I like this place a lot. read more

Great place to do laundry. Clean inside and out. A staple in the city of Alameda. The owner is a former Raider that invested his NFL signing bonus in this small business in the 1970's. Really a nice all american story. I met Art a few times and found him to a determined business owner. It shows. Thanks!!!!!!!!!! read more

Good # of washers and dryers. Wifi is useful for working.

This is my first time washing here. The place is nice, there's plenty of nearby parking, and the guy working here is very friendly. The machines also accept credit / debit cards. I'll definitely be back. read more

Very spacious, and pretty reasonable prices. It gets a little crowded sometimes but even then, there are always open washers and dryers that you can use. I go here just about every time I need to do laundry--possibly the best place to go in Alameda read more

I'd give 3 stars but I come here too often to do that. Maybe it's me, but a quarter for a 6 minute dry is kinda pricey, 2 minutes which are cooling time by the way. If you're there when the owner is, you can get some change for a free dry. There's only 3 parking spots though, unless you pay at the meter during the day. BUT the place is always clean, it's spacious, and they have free wi-fi. That's enough to make this place more than ok. read more

Very nice area. Plenty of machines. Attendant is super friendly and always there to help. Some of the machines even accept credit cards.

I come all the way from Oakland to wash here. Best Laundromat mat ever! Great wife and the place is clean. Owners pretty cool guy. Gave me some free dryer time. read more

The Washboard V is a great place to do laundry very responsible price and you get free wifi. A parking spot if you're really lucky. Then there's Art he is always giving out some quarters for drying. He was on the Raiders a real nice guy! read more

I was having to use a laundry mat for a few weeks to a month when I found this one I was very happy! Very clean machines and bathroom.. I also used a machine that didn't work properly then filled out the paper the owner provides, Next thing I know I received a full refund plus money for drying on my next visit... I just wish there were TVs in the location.. If I remember correctly there is free Wi-Fi.. Parking Lot only has 3 spots witch stinks but if you go in the evening there is a Big O Tires a crossed the street and I would park there... I did about 5 or 6 loads once and paid like 20.00-25.00 the next time I went I had to do lots of bedding washing and I want to say I spent like 35.00 or so... read more

It's a laundromat. Better than the one at the end of Park st. next to 7-11, and WAY better than anywhere near my actual place of residence. Still -2 stars for having to be asked by the owner (even tho I've been here a million times) "You're doing laundry here, right?" As if the best place in Alameda to loiter for the free WiFi is the effing laundromat. Because any coffee shop in town AND the library both suck compared to this place. Also I've never seen it first hand, but apparently this place is a hotbed of quarter machine & bathroom priveleges abuse (there are signs posted everywhere), so the guy's kinda paranoid. Small price to pay for a nice(er) place to wash me crusty draws I guess. read more

It's not BrainWash, and it's not my favorite laundromat ever which was in Rohnert Park and sold popcorn and played good movies on a widescreen TV. (I miss my laundry dates with Michael!) The decor's a bit outdated/shabby but it's a nice peaceful place compared to some others I've been to, and there's no annoying card system. Prices seem reasonable enough. read more

i came here once on the tail-end of a long road trip so i was surprised to come across the owner like other reviewers have. seems like he's there regularly: the place (including the bathroom) is really clean, the dryers dry, and one washer had a sign on it that said one of the buttons was being fixed so he seems to be up on the maintenance. lots of washers and dryers -- there are two sections -- and enough seating but there is also a park across the street, a walgreens, and a few banks nearby in case you need to run any errands. it was also pretty cool inside during a hot summer day read more

I love this place. The owner seems really nice and the location is great. Even though it's a better further from where we live we make the trek just to go to this place. It's very clean and there is always a lot of room. I would recommend going to this laundromat for sure! Also parking is always available when we have went! read more