Suds n Duds Laundromat

Always seems to be busy but location convenient for me. Owner is very nice and he is currently in the process of putting new machines in. Since it is the only gig in town I do wish more attention would be paid to the machines working instead of always going in and half of them have a tag on them. I agree with the folding space very limited and too high. I mostly use the large machine and they are $ 7 alone but don’t seem to get your clothes clean the dryers work great though.

Seriously, this is the only game in town and more than half of their machines don’t work. Meanwhile, the space where you fold your clothes is occupied by other non-​working machines. Ridiculous!

Hey– It’s the only one we’ve got. It’s cheaper than the one I use when I’m in San Anselmo which is no cleaner than Suds n Duds… I just wish they’d get rid of the washer graveyard in the back of the laundromat. They’re taking up good folding counter space.

I lost some money on one of the dryers. The dryer tumbled for about an hour, which is the amount of time I paid for. However, no heat came from the dryer, so my clothes were not dried. So, I lost the money I used to dry my clothes, and I also lost out on the time that I spent waiting for my clothes to dry.
I wrote a note to the management, and they have not responded. The phone number that is listed on Unilocal is disconnected. I found one phone number ghat is on the door in the laundromat, and I called it. However, I have not received a phone call back. I also wrote a note to the management and left it in the basket hanging on their door. The management has not responded to both the note or the phone call. This is just bad business.

The only laundromat in Benicia and much like the rest of Benicia it is over priced, over rated (even with one star) and out dated. The washing machines smell musty and I have witnessed the maintenance person cleaning the lint traps out with his bare hands instead of the attendant in Concord who kindly vacuums them out, and even uses cleaning products to tidy up the facility. Parking is rough on the weekends and it can get very crowded. The blown out speakers pump in the constant muffled sounds of smooth jazz from the 80’s, and I’ve had the pleasure of having washing machines over flow with water and create a small creek for the children to play in that are forced to stay within its stifling hot domain. I was also witnessed a gentleman who was sitting in a top loading machine flip everyone off who entered. If you’re bored with your current laundry situation I highly recommend suds and duds for the experience. Did I also mention it is very expensive when compared to even new laundromats located in Fairfield and Vallejo?

$ 2.25 for a regular washing machine
.25 cents for every 6 minutes on the dryer. Sometimes you’ll run into a dryer that doesn’t heat properly. There aren’t very many carts, only 2 – 3 and the place is always packed on weekends and evenings after work.

We are new to Benicia, so decided we’d like to check out the local laundromat. Our apartment has two washers and two dryers with no change machine… and one of the dryers doesn’t work that well. :(I wanted to have a look at the place; find when it opened for the day and closed, and get quarters for my laundry. I put a $ 20 bill in the change machine when I looked up and noticed a sign that said it was for the use of the patrons only. Oops! Sorry! The machine must’ve known because it shorted me $ 1.25 in quarters. :(I did discover the hours, however. A sign outside said they’re open at 6am and close at 10:00pm. A handwritten sign inside the laundromat said something about a «last load must be started by 9:00pm». I really don’t care for laundromats but they’re a necessary evil, I suppose. Would be nice if I could set up my own washer and dryer in our apartment, but I’m betting someone would figure it out pretty quickly. :D I don’t know this area very well, so I guess I’m stuck with this place for now until I do discover something better. ;)
Okay, my bad. Maybe the change machine didn’t really short me by $ 1.25 after all, as I discovered exactly $ 1.25 in my pocket this afternoon. *hanging head in shame* ;)

This is the only Laundromat is benicia unfortunately. Its expensive the washers and most of the dryers are really old except for 6 – 8 new silver dryers which are 25 cents for 4 min. ! It’s dirty, there aren’t enough carts and more than 5 machines had an out of order sign on them not counting the one that had 2 feet of standing water in it. Yuck

I will NEVER wash or dry here again. My 3^rd time and each time the machines take my money and there’s no one to help. No stars from me!!!

I don’t know about these other reviews. I’m a laundrymat rookie, so I don’t know what other place are like.
I go during midday on work days, and there’s always plenty of machines. I usually do four loads at once when I visit and never had problems with there not being enough machines. The quarter machines have always been able to change $ 20 for me, and I’ve never stumbled across a machine not working that didn’t have a sign.
The dryers do have signs over them saying how long their cycles for and the brand new silver ones on the right have timers. I usually need 2 – 3 cycles to get a load dry.
I’m sure this isn’t the cheapest place but I think it’s decent. Located in a shopping center with Raley’s, starbucks, burger king, and jamba juice, it’s easy to kill time. I usually just sit in my car and read twitter till my iphone alarm goes off.
I did check out a laundrymat in Vallejo. Not sure if it was cheaper but it was scarier so I’m happy to hit Suds n Duds!

Arghh! As much as I hate going to the laundromat this place makes it worse. Filthy, dryers don’t work properly, no quarters and never anyone around, not even a phone number to call just in case. Benicia should be ashamed.

I feel somewhat bad for Benicia as this is the only laundromat in Benicia. You are better off going to Vallejo or somewhere else.
I have been to plenty of laundromats in my time so I’ve got a good idea of what consist of a good laundromat and a bad one.
Cleanliness — Rates 3 of 5
This place is fairly clean. There are only two short benches to sit on, so if those are taken, you are left standing or have to go to Starbucks around the corner.
Reliability — Rates 1 of 5
Machines (dryers and washer) are broken. Unfortunately, this place does not test their machines. They let their customers discover whether they are working or not. Unfortunately, this process causes the customers to lose money as you need to deposit quarters only to find out the machine does not work. Typically occurs with the Dryers. Sometimes you will put quarters in, hold down the START button and find that either 1. the dryer tumbles, but no heat (worse) or 2. dryer heats, but does not tumble or 3. neither works. I wish they would test their machines rather than rely on their customers to do it for them.
Information — Rates 1 of 5
Dryers
There are no instructions or information regarding how many minutes of drying time you get per quarter. You can ask people and I’ve heard differing answers. A worker actually told me 6 minutes/​quarter, which in my opinion is low. At least 7 minutes/​quarter is what I’ve seen or more. Also, the dryers require that you press and HOLD the start button to ensure the machine tumbles.
Another problem with the dryers is that there is no timer to let you know how much time is remaining. Again, this just shows how OLD these units are. You’ll need to use a timer or the one of your iphone to keep track when the last set of clothes is dried.
Washers
These washers are very old. Newer washers start operating as soon as the required amount of money is deposited. These are the older kinds where once you deposit all your money, you still need to press START to actually start up the machine. I saw one lady make the mistake of popping all her quarters in there and walking away — assuming the machines would start as soon as the last coin was dropped.
Another problem is inconsistent time. I’ve had 4 machines with the same exact settings and they are varied in time from 29 to 27 minutes total wash time. Maybe they weight sensing washers, but given their age — that’s really unlikely and — weight sensing? There are no laundromats I know of that spend that extra money for something like that — that feature is something more for residential washers.
Out of Service Tags
Should you discover a non-​functioning unit after dropping some coins, there are tags with pens to at least attempt to get your money back. The tag asks for your name, phone, amount of money you lost and to place this tag in an INBOX. However, there is no inbox to be found. You could slip it under the door in hopes that someone will find it — but then again, technically, you did not put it in the non-​existent INBOX so good luck whether you get your money back.
Another problem is that the out of service tag is not placed on the machine, but it requests you place it in some unknown INBOX. Therefore, there are no instructions or way to adhere (as in tape) a tag that says the machine is broken. So, the next poor sap will deposit some coins and discover that same machine is broken.
This is just my opinion, but I believe what is going on here is that the owner is betting the customer will simply eat the loss in quarters and move on to another machine. I could be wrong, but it sure seems to point that way.
Overall — Rates 1of 5
Overally, this is not a very well maintained or operating laundromat. Many of the machines are broken and you’re lucky if they are tagged out for repair. Unforetunately, this is the only laundromat in town so unless you’re willing to travel (which I highly recommend), you’re stuck with what this place has to offer.
There is a change machine that accepts $ 20. There is a store next door should you need extra detergent, bleach or fabric softener. There is no WiFi at this location, but you can walk around the corner and borrow Starbuck’s Wifi provided you are an ATT wireless customer — then its free. If you’re not an ATT wireless customer, you’re out of luck.
I would suggest you try elsewhere to get your laundry cleaned.

And just like that, an $ 8.25 refund arrived in my mailbox. Suds n Duds, you have redeemed yourself! Thank you for the speedy refund! Apparently customer service still means something to some people.