Green Laundromat in Eugene
Cold-water machines that use eleven gallons a load, dryers that run on heat pumps rather than gas, and a detergent you can read the whole label of. Same price as the place down the road.
Three Things That Are Actually Different
Not a recycling bin by the door and a leaf on the sign.
Eleven Gallons, Not Forty
Every washer here is a high-efficiency front loader. A 20 lb wash uses about eleven gallons; the top-loaders most laundromats still run use closer to forty.
See the machinesCold Water By Default
Heating water is where nearly all the energy in a wash goes. Our detergent is formulated to work at 20°C, so the hot cycle is there for nappies and sickness, not for everything.
How it worksHeat-Pump Dryers
They recycle their own warm air instead of burning gas and venting it outside. Slower by about eight minutes a load, and far gentler on fabric.
Ask us about itWhat You Can Do Here
Self-service, drop-off, or somewhere in between. Prices are the same as any laundromat in Eugene — the difference is in the machines, not the bill.
High-Efficiency Self-ServiceFrom $3.75
Twenty-eight front loaders from 18 lb to 55 lb, all cold-capable, all metered so you can see the water and energy a cycle actually used. Card or coin.
Fragrance-Free Wash & Fold$1.85 / lb
Drop-off by the pound using our unscented, plant-derived detergent as standard. Full ingredient list is on the counter and on every invoice.
Line-Dry & Low-Heat OptionNo charge
Ask for line-dry and your order goes on the racks in the back room overnight instead of into a dryer. Free, and noticeably kinder to elastic and print.
Cloth Nappy & Baby Laundry$2.20 / lb
A dedicated hot sanitise cycle and separate machines for nappies, muslins and baby bedding. Booked in advance so the machine is always free when you arrive.
Refill Station & Zero-Waste SuppliesFrom $0.40 / oz
Bring any container and fill it with the detergent we use. Also stocked: wool dryer balls, soap nuts, stain bars and mesh bags — no plastic bottles at all.
Every price here matches the conventional laundromat two blocks over. Running greener costs us more; it does not cost you more.
Built Around One Stubborn Question
Sorrelwick was opened by two people who had spent years trying to find a laundromat that would tell them what was in the detergent, and kept being told it was proprietary. Everything here follows from refusing to accept that answer. The detergent's full ingredient list is printed on the counter. Every machine is metered and the readings are on the wall, updated monthly, including the months they get worse. Where we cannot do something properly we say so rather than dressing it up — we are on Eugene's grid like everyone else, our vans are not electric yet, and the plastic we have eliminated is only the plastic that passed through our own doors.
- Meteredmachines, readings posted monthly, good months and bad
- Detergentingredients printed in full on the counter
- Line-dryingoffered free rather than sold as a premium
- Claimslimited to what we can actually show you
Three Places, In Order Of Size
Not Heating The Water
Around ninety percent of the energy in a typical wash goes into heating water rather than turning the drum. Washing cold is the single biggest change available, and it is the one that costs you nothing.
Not Venting The Heat
A gas dryer burns fuel, uses it once and blows it out through the wall. A heat-pump dryer recycles the same warm air through a closed loop. It takes about eight minutes longer and uses roughly a third of the energy.
Not Using Forty Gallons
A front loader tumbles clothes through a shallow bath instead of filling a tub around them. Eleven gallons against forty for the same 20 lb load — and less water means less to heat, so the two savings compound.
How To Get A Cold Wash Right
Use The Right Detergent
Cold washing fails when the detergent was designed for hot water. Ours is enzyme-based and formulated for 20°C — it is in every machine here and available at the refill station.
Give It A Little Longer
A cold cycle runs 38 minutes rather than 28. The machine does the waiting, not you, and it is still quicker than a hot wash plus the time you spend re-washing things that shrank.
Pre-Treat, Don't Turn Up The Heat
Grease, collars and cuffs want a stain bar and two minutes, not 60°C. There is one on the folding counter and it is free to use.
Keep Hot For What Needs It
Nappies, towels after illness, and anything a doctor told you to sanitise. That is what the hot cycle is for, and we have not removed it.
What's On The Floor
Ordinary laundromat things, plus the few that are not.
Detergent Refill Station
Bring any bottle. Same detergent the machines use, priced by the ounce.
Overnight Drying Racks
Sixty feet of racking in the back room for the free line-dry option.
Meters On The Wall
Water and energy per machine, posted monthly whether they improved or not.
Nappy-Only Machines
Two machines used for nothing else, on a hot sanitise cycle.
No Single-Use Cups
Coffee and water in ceramic. Borrow a cup, bring it back next visit.
Bike Racks At The Door
Eight spaces under cover, which in Eugene is the part that matters.
What Customers Notice
My daughter reacts to almost every detergent on the shelf. Sorrelwick was the first place that could tell me exactly what was in theirs, and her skin has been fine ever since.
I came for the refill station and stayed because the machines are genuinely better. Cold wash, low heat, and things last noticeably longer than they did at my old place.
We wash cloth nappies for two children and had run out of options. They have a dedicated hot sanitise cycle for them and it has never once come back smelling of anything.
Bring One Load And Compare
Wash a normal load here and look at the meter reading on the way out. If it does not come out as clean as your usual place, tell us and the wash is free.
The Sceptical Questions
Does a cold wash actually get things clean?
For everyday laundry, yes — provided the detergent was designed for it, which ours is. Cold water struggles with heavy grease and with sanitising, which is exactly why we kept a hot cycle for nappies, towels after illness and workwear. For shirts, bedding, jeans and kids' clothes there is no visible difference.
Is it more expensive than a normal laundromat?
No. Every price here matches the conventional laundromat two blocks over. High-efficiency machines and heat-pump dryers cost us more to buy and they save us on water and gas; the arithmetic works out, and we would rather have your custom than a premium.
What is actually in your detergent?
The full ingredient list is printed on the counter and on every drop-off invoice, and you can fill a bottle from the same drum the machines use. It is enzyme-based, plant-derived, unscented and free of optical brighteners, phosphates and dyes.
Why does drying take longer here?
Heat-pump dryers run cooler and recycle their own air, so a load takes around eight minutes more than a gas dryer. That lower heat is also why knitwear stops shrinking and screen prints stop cracking, which most people decide is a fair trade.
Can I bring my own detergent?
Of course, for self-service. For drop-off we would rather use ours so we can stand behind the result, but if you have a medical reason or a strong preference, bring it in and we will use it and note it on your file.
Are you certified or accredited in some way?
No, and we are wary of the badges that are for sale in this industry. What we offer instead is the meter readings on the wall, updated monthly including the months they get worse, and an ingredient list you can read. Judge us on those.