TRADITIONAL laundries, popularly known as dobi, are fighting to survive with the evolution of self-service, coin-operated launderettes, which have boomed over the years.

Dobi owners told The Malaysian Insight they are doing everything they can to hold on but realise that modernisation will force them to close as the trade lacks people to continue the work.

Karupiah Kalimuthi, a traditional washerman, who works at A. Jaya Laundry in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, agreed that the self-service launderettes have had an impact on the traditional dobi.

Despite coin-operated launderettes mushrooming almost everywhere, India-born Karupiah, confidently said that the quality of work at dobi are unmatched by any self-service launderette.

“We wash clothes using our hands and we can be careful depending on the material and colour but for machines in the launderettes, they are all the same, washed in the same manner,” the 54-year-old told The Malaysian Insight.

“After washing, we will dry them under the sun, which will protect the clothes and its colour whereas the dryer machines in the launderettes will shrink some materials.

“Drying clothes under the sun is important but most of them who live in the city cannot afford that as they live in apartments, which makes it very difficult for them to dry clothes,” he added.

Karupiah, whose entire family, including his parents, were dobi, have been working at A. Jaya Laundry since 1992.

He said the laundry, which measures about 700sqft, first opened in 1980.

Karupiah also said that traditional laundries are able to give special care to clothes based on the type of materials.

“When it comes to Indian attires like sarees, dhotis, punjabi suits, we know how to wash and care for the material, unlike the machines.

“We will hand wash with care and there are certain methods for it. This cannot be achieved through machines.

“Take a white shirt for example, there will be a lot of difference with the outcome when we wash and when it is washed in self-service launderettes,” he said.

Karupiah said that even for ironing, they use a distinguished clothes iron, which is not commonly found in households.

“We don’t use the iron that uses coal but our clothes iron is unique and heavy. 

“We don’t have a controller to regulate its temperature but we have to switch off the power if we want to use less heat for different types of materials. So, that is how careful and detailed we are with our work,” he said.

At the moment, there are only two workers at the shop, including Karupiah, who also manages the business.

Karupiah said he will start work at 8am, and will wash and dry clothes for almost three hours before opening the shop to customers. He said this work will be done elsewhere and not at the shop.

At the shop, he will iron and prepare clothes for collection.

In Brickfields, a lady who wished to be known as Tan, runs Sun Hin Kee dry-cleaning and laundry shop.

Although the laundry has been there for more than 30 years, Tan said that she took over the business some 10 years back.

She said she was concerned about the rising number of launderettes, saying her business has dropped because of it.

“In Brickfields alone, there are few self-service launderettes. It has definitely impacted our business,” she said.

Just some 50m away from Tan’s shop is one such example, which was full when visited.

Reliance on regular customers

Although launderettes are growing in number, Karupiah said he can count on his regular customers to send their clothes for washing and ironing.

He even said he has customers who have been sending clothes to him for the past 15 years.

“Some of my customers come from Ampang and even Subang Jaya.

“I also have customers, who used to live in Sentul but have left the place, still coming to bring me their clothes, so, I have my regular customers,” he said.

Karupiah also said that he gets new customers through referrals.

“I’ve been told by my regulars that they were asked by colleagues and friends to which laundry they send their clothes.

“My regular customers also will recommend it because of the quality and neat work we do, so I get a lot of referrals,” he said.

Karupiah said that he needs to make around RM15,000 a month to break even, including rental, salaries, utilities and to buy products.

He said during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the first few months of the movement control order, business was severely affected.

“I used to earn around RM20,000 a month but the pandemic affected the business where we were hardly making half that.

“This was because most of my customers were at home and also working from home. That did not require their office attire or other clothes to be sent to us.

“Our business dropped then but now it has picked up again,” he said.

Karupiah said that the price varies between washing, ironing and dry cleaning.

He said the price also depends on the urgency and whether the customers need the order to be delivered.

However, he said that most people who put the clothes in for washing and ironing pay on a monthly basis.

One of the packages he offers is washing and ironing of 15 items a week for RM80 a month, he said.

Meanwhile, Tan also said that she depends on her regular customers for business.

With the self-service launderette nearby and the Covid-19 pandemic, Tan claimed that her foreign national customers have all but gone.

“First, most migrant workers left during the pandemic. Then lately, a new coin-operated laundrette opened just next to my shop.

“The migrant workers who used to bring their clothes to me have now stopped and are using the coin-operated machine.

“Things are not easy and business has dropped,” she said.

Tan said that she is surviving with the support of her regular customers.

She said that she charges RM3.50 to wash 1kg of clothes, and ironing will cost an additional RM1.80 apiece.

She also said that the price varies depending on the type of materials.

Tan said that she makes just enough to pay her rental and support herself.

What the future holds

Even Karupaih doubts there will be people to continue this profession in future. He simply said that people are moving forward to choosing other professions.

“If in India, there are villages where people would need such dobi, but here, people are living a fast-paced life. I am not sure if there would be people to continue the business.

“Probably, I will still have to find workers from India but even there, they are opting for different professions,” he said.

Tan said the dobi business is difficult and that it does not attract many to venture into it.

“This is a difficult business. You need to wash, then iron… it is very tiring and requires a lot of energy.

“These days, youngsters are not into such a business. They prefer it easy like the coin-operated launderette business,” she said.

Tan said she dropped the idea of hiring more staff because she could not afford it. – August 21, 2022.