By Rachel Peterson
In September of 2024, as a part of the City of Portland’s Impact Reduction Program, The Wash House began operation in the Central Eastside. For almost a year, it has served houseless and lower income populations as a free laundromat and textile recycling center.
The laundromat is one of the youngest programs of the Ground Score Association, an association of informal workers that contribute to reducing waste in the Portland area through various programs. Utilizing water efficient washing machines and dryers, The Wash House processes up to 40 pounds of laundry per person, offering same-day or next-day pickup. Alongside processing laundry, The Wash House works with G.L.I.T.T.E.R., the Ground Score Association’s litter and waste collection program, to recycle and reuse textiles.
“From my earliest days with Ground Score, I was always surprised by how much perfectly usable textile materials were discarded due to a lack of laundry services,” says The Wash House manager Nic Boehm. “There was not much we could do with them but throw them away.”
According to a study run by Kaitie Lindsey, a contributing founder of The Wash House, discarded textiles make up about 17 percent of the materials picked up by G.L.I.T.T.E.R. teams. With the involvement of The Wash House, those textiles are redistributed to the community, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to aid for local shelters. Between November of 2024 and January of 2025, The Wash House prevented the emission of about 53 tons of CO₂ equivalent, or the greenhouse gas emissions from 12.4 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles that are driven for one year.
The first months of The Wash House highlighted how environmental justice and economic justice are intertwined. As noted by Boehm, “That pair of jeans mouldering in the dirt near a homeless camp is pollution, but the person who left it there may have needed them and may miss them dearly, or want a place or the means to get them properly cleaned.” The access to a basic service like laundry is important, and The Wash House helps provide support to those without immediate access.
The funds to establish The Wash House were provided by the City of Portland’s Impact Reduction Program (IRP). However, the laundromat is currently operating with no active funding. While The Wash House will receive the remaining funds from the original production budget, it will cover a little over half a year of current scale operation costs.
Despite uncertainty with funding, The Wash House seeks to extend service days to five to seven days a week. The need for community laundry services extends beyond just being clean, and Boehm, as well as additional staff of The Wash House, understand that. Clean clothes contribute to a better well-being and strong sense of self.
“The dignity of clean clothing can be a step on the way back to a sense of normalcy,” says Boehm, “…if you are forced to abandon that shirt you love or your favorite pair of jeans because they grew moldy in your tent in the rain or saturated with sweat in the summer heat, it can be a loss of self as much as a loss of a needed item.”
Terrence Freeman, a G.L.I.T.T.E.R. employee who shifted to The Wash House when it opened, spoke on how many people have sought help from The Wash House in the effort to better their own lives. Freeman has experienced homelessness himself, and has seen how clean laundry for job interviews, seeing family and general living contributes to a feeling of an improved situation.
“A lot of people that I’ve worked with here, I’ve either been homeless with them or I’ve met them while I was homeless,” Freeman said, “So it’s really a good network of family in a sense.” Freeman is proudly two years sober, and continues to connect with members of the community who share a similar background.
The Wash House has been able to provide a space to not only restore clothes and materials, but also restore a sense of dignity. Boehm spoke on how prevalent the connection between clothes and self becomes when washing possessions for individuals whose situations span from houseless to lower income. “Personal dignity, even just hygiene, can be that first baby step toward turning your life around.”
The Wash House, 2609 SE 6th Ave., is open Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 am-4 pm.