Salt Spring Island has been without a public laundromat since February 2016 when the only one on the island of more than 10,000 people closed.
With the addition of countless tourists in the summer season, the local Wagon Wheel Housing Society (WWHS) says more than 200 people are in dire need of a laundromat.
Many islanders are forced to leave the island to do laundry, at a cost of $80 to $100 per trip.
“We’re on a pension and we have a part-time job and we’re seniors," says resident Helga Bagnell. "It comes out of our food money.”
Others who can’t afford the ferry get creative and use a bucket and a plunger or a stick in the bathtub, which is what Bagnell uses when she needs something washed before she can get to an off-island laundromat.
“It’s very hard, your back [gets] sore very quickly and then you have to ring them out," she says. "But if you’re a senior with arthritic wrists then wringing out the things is very painful.”
For some, there are another challenges altogether.
“When you’re having to deal with depression and addiction it makes it a much greater challenge to also have to deal with personal hygiene issues that are being forced upon you,” said Chris MacDonald, a member of the homeless community on Salt Spring.
The WWHS says it’s been trying to establish a laundromat over the past two years and has found it to be very challenging because of a moratorium on new water hookups due to an ongoing water shortage.
Another challenge for the society is that every suitable location they have found would need a plumbing upgrade and no landlord has been willing to cover that cost.
“We’ve been trying now for two years – really trying hard for the last year – to get one built and I’m hoping that in the next six months we can get one," said society member Kyle Coates.
"Realistically, I think with all Salt Spring's problems it will not get done probably for two or three years, which is unacceptable."
