Those of us who enjoy dining out also like to read restaurant reviews, sometimes disagreeing with the supposed expert. It appears we may have found the launderette equivalent in James Crumpton, director of The Laundry Box in Kingston upon Hull, whose credentials include being named Hull & East Yorkshire Entrepreneur of the Year 2024. He also launched Botanic Laundry there, a business built on sustainability benchmarks, and which serves clients including hotels and the University of Hull as well as providing specialist workwear cleaning using ozone and intelligent laundry equipment.

Laundry Box is a bright and modern launderette he opened last year and Crumpton says his mission is to develop such launderettes and laundry businesses across the UK. Crumpton renovated former launderette premises to provide a contemporary environment for customers, featuring quick and large capacity washing and drying machines, looked after by attentive staff who ensure the premises remain tidy and welcoming. It’s thriving, with customers particularly liking those fast and large machines. He also recently started working remotely as retail sales manager for JLA. He undoubtedly gets about, and on his travels likes to ‘review’ other launderettes he visits. Check out his linkedin page and you’ll see him sharing his discoveries. For instance, Laundry Go in Wigston is praised for ‘not over-thinking it and offering a simple but effective retail laundry on the high street’.

Gloomy entrances or uninviting interiors all come under his scrutiny. At one premise he expresses admiration for ‘old work horse’ Loadstar dryers but is dismayed to find they’ve been daubed with a brush, possibly blackboard paint. Then there’s another visited on a day off where Crumpton found old Ipso push-button washers. All were working and in good order, but Crumpton says: “The gap in customer experience between older launderettes and a modern retail laundry is stark and it’s only getting bigger.”

After checking out low spin speeds, with washing coming out wetter than it should, so requiring longer drying, he concludes: “I genuinely love the history of coin-op launderettes, but the reality is: customers now expect speed, simplicity, and convenience. The operators who modernise will thrive. The ones who don’t… will struggle.”

Inside the bright and welcoming Laundry Box

James Crumpton