Mumbai’s Dhobi Ghat open-air laundry is a sprawling hub of activity that is almost impossible to comprehend. Hundreds of men with strong, sinewy bodies wade in knee-high water at washing platforms flogging clothing and sheets, women fold and tag pieces for safe return to their owners, and children play and run about amongst row after row of clotheslines filled to capacity. If you hate doing laundry a visit here will put your weekly chore in perspective.
Steve thinks I’m obsessed with cleaning, but he was still surprised when I told him that visiting an open-air laundry was on our sight-seeing agenda in Mumbai. When the driver let us off, we snaked our way down a narrow street to follow a sign pointing the way. As we approached the entry, a couple of Brits were saying goodbye to a local man they introduced to us as a tour guide. I had just thought we’d wander around on our own, but at 500 rupees (about $6 CAD) engaging this “guide” was a bargain. His English was not always easy to understand, but he gave us access to areas we would have felt intrusive to venture.
Mumbai’s Dhobi Ghat: The World’s Largest Open-Air Laundry
The term dhobi ghat refers to anywhere that a large number of people gather to washing textiles. This one in Mumbai not only claims to be the largest in the world, but it also holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest number of people hand washing clothes at the same time in the same location (496). There are about 5,000 washers (called dhobis) who work here, and many live in adjacent shanties—which the government is apparently planning to redevelop. Mumbai’s Dhobi Ghat dates back 140 years. Think of all that laundry!
Whose laundry is this anyway?
Our guide explained that anyone can bring their laundry here, but the bulk is clothing and other textiles from hotels, spas, and even hospitals. There is a separate sterilization area for medical laundry.
Photo Tour
Our guide told us that the laundry handles one million pieces per day. Not sure if that’s true, but I have seen references on news sites stating anywhere from 5,000 – 7,000 dhobis working here each day.
Most of the washing is carried out in the more than 700 washing platforms.
They do have washing machines on site but flogging laundry against the concrete stone is standard.
No need for pins with this cleverly designed line.
Each piece is tagged for return to its owner. Apparently, the system is virtually error-free.
This is a serious iron! Charcoal keeps it super hot.
Our guide invited me to give it a try. Talk about a weight training workout! It would be like spending the day moving a bowling ball back and forth with one hand.
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A child peeks out at us while her mother works close by.
There’s always time for a game of marbles.
Sarees destined for resale.
Getting to Mumbai’s Dhobi Ghat
The laundry is located in the Maharashtra district. We took Uber and the driver knew exactly where to drop us. Your anchor is Jacob Circle, which is the easiest place to get dropped off and picked up. The surrounding neighbourhood is filled with market stalls, which are interesting to poke around in too.
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As I read this, I have just finished transferring a load of laundry from the washing machine to the dryer. My laundry gets done while I am mostly doing other things. I cannot imagine doing laundry this way. And it is hard to believe every article makes it back to the rightful owner.
It is hard to believe how accurate they are in getting items back to the rightful owner. Years of honing the system, I suppose. This is no easy way to make a living — wading in detergent all day.