#24 hour laundromat san francisco driver#

The afternoon at the laundromat is a game of waiting.Įveryone bides their time, occupying themselves in different ways, either by streaming films on their phones or by gazing up at one of the five televisions tuned to Telemundo or ABC-7.Īt times, opportunities present themselves. Moreover, he likes setting his own hours. It pays more, he says, and it’s less stressful. Though he was a cook for 10 years with steadier hours, Norello gave it up to do Uber full-time. But drying clothes is another issue - one dollar buys you just 16 minutes.

That’s a godsend for families like the Norellos, who wash bags of clothes regularly. Some of the machines have prices as low as a dollar to wash an entire load. “If I don’t have cash at least I can use my debit card,” he says. “This place, it’s gotten better,” he says in Spanish, pointing to a washing machine and its card reader. But when his kids are at school, they have to wash clothes at least once a week, a two-hour ordeal that costs him $30. Right now his loads aren’t crazy because of the summer break. Norello, a 15-year-Mission resident who lives just a block away with his wife and two children, makes the trip to the laundromat at least twice a month. He occasionally dozes off for a few minutes before waking up to Wendy Williams’ show on one of the laundry’s five flat-screen TVs.

#24 hour laundromat san francisco driver#

He worked as an Uber driver until 4.a.m., he explains. Back within the laundromat, Santos Norello struggles to stay awake.