American Bedu

One of the very marketable and therefore competitive opportunities in Saudi Arabia is owning and operating a cleaners (laundry).  Due to the number of laundries and dry cleaners in business these places are always looking at creative and innovative ways to attract business.  To begin with sending ones clothes to a laundry or dry cleaner is reasonable from a cost perspective as well as time saved for anyone who is doing their own laundry.  And if one is married to or is a male who chooses to regularly wear the thobe and smaugh it is much much easier and a more professional job is done to take this to the cleaners for washing, ironing and pressing.  Now if one chooses to wash and dry the thobe and smaugh from home, they can then be taken to the cleaners for professional pressing which results in great creases in the right places for the smaugh and thobes are pressed in mere seconds with the special pressing machine the cleaners use and at reasonable costs.  Usually one can take a thobe or smaugh into a cleaners and it will be pressed while one waits, especially if time is of the essence.  However for those who don’t mind a several hour wait for laundry to be cleaned, dried and pressed, most of the dry cleaners and laundries will both pick up and deliver.  This is a great convenience offered in Saudi Arabia at reasonable costs as compared to same services in other places of the world.

How does one find a good dry cleaners and laundry?  I suggest asking friends, neighbors and colleagues.  One can also try going to a dry cleaner or laundry in ones area at least to see what the place looks like before sending clothes there.  And most laundries and cleaners wishing to keep business will advise customers that pick up and delivery services are available.  Either I or my husband would call the cleaners which we preferred in Riyadh.  Usually the driver would pick up clothes between the two evening prayers and have the clothes returned that same day before 11pm (2300) at night, unless we instructed that next day service was acceptable.

Many compounds will have washers and dryers installed in individual housing units.  Some compounds which also have apartment buildings within the compound instead of having washers and dryers in each apartment may have communal laundry facilities for the building residents.  In many residences a housemaid is responsible for all laundry services.  Whether one has a housemaid or own washer and dryer within a residence, it is still worth knowing that laundry services in Saudi Arabia are affordable and convenient.

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