Anyone
who’s spent any time in Windham and Raymond has probably visited the Busy Bee
Laundromat in Windham and knows of its longevity in business and reputation as
the place to go in town when you need to wash and dry clothes.
Owner
George Bartlett has operated Busy Bee for the past 35 years and as times have
changed, he says the laundry business has too. Busy Bee’s vast array of washers
and dryers still accept coins as the traditional method of payment, but now
also take debit and credit cards.
Washers
and dryers are more powerful and more energy efficient than ever and the
customary method of dry cleaning has been discarded in favor of a safer and
more environmentally friendly way of cleaning materials using water instead of
dangerous chemicals.
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| Busy Bee Laundromat’s Natasha McFarland, left, and George Bartlett, are ready to assist the public with resolving cleaning issues for fabrics and clothing. Busy Bee is open seven days a week and has launched a new pick-up and delivery service for the Windham and Raymond area. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
And
Busy Bee has also made the transition to using the new standard process for
cleaning clothing and materials called “wet cleaning.”
“Water has been
a normal cleaning
solution, but many garments had problems with water cleaning.
Over the years many solvents evolved to replace water as the cleaning medium,” Bartlett said. “The original solvent was petroleum and
the term dry cleaning
developed since water and petroleum do not mix. Eventually a solution called perchlorethane
became the solvent
of choice and has been used for decades since it cleaned better, faster,
and safer
than petroleum.”
According
to Bartlett, with today’s focus and emphasis on the
environment, the use of chemical solvents in dry cleaning have
become unacceptable.
“Enter the
digital age where we
can now control the agitation,
heat, drying times as well as the amount of moisture left in the garment
to eliminate shrinkage,” Bartlett said. “Reenter water as the cleaner of choice. We can
now safely clean
delicate fabrics such as wool, silk, rayon and many synthetics with our
highly refined cleaning system. This
also means we use less energy, less water and the results are nicer looking and nicer feeling garments.”
Serving the public and
helping everyone find affordable and available laundry solutions is key to the
continued success of the Busy Bee Laundromat.
“My father was in business for many
years and he gave me some great advice. He told me that a business goes through
ups and downs and the best way to keep a business going is to serve the people,”
Bartlett said. “That’s exactly what we do here.”
Located at 771 Roosevelt Trail, Suite
7, in the Windham Shopping Plaza, Busy Bee is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven
days a week during the spring, winter and fall months and remains open until 10
p.m. during the busy summer tourist and camp season.
Busy Bee Manager Natasha McFarland has
worked for the laundromat for nearly two decades and said that everyone who
walks in through the doors to Busy Bee finds a clean and safe facility with
friendly and knowledgeable staff.
“It’s a small business and we really
get to know our customers and their needs and preferences,” she said.
To assist the community further, Busy
Bee has established a new and convenient 10-mile pick-up and delivery service
in the Windham and Raymond areas, McFarland said.
“To arrange for the pick-up and
delivery service, all a customer has to do is come in to the laundromat and set
up an account,” she said.
As a mechanical engineer, Bartlett says
he’s always striving to find the best way to solve cleaning problem and has
learned the latest and top techniques for cleaning garments through constant
schooling, seminars and personal experience.
“Many people come in with stains and
problems that need our expertise and specialized equipment to help solve,” he
said. “We’re here to help and everyone leaves here as a friend.”
For more information about Busy Bee
Laundromat, call 892-5914 or visit BusyBeeLaundry.com. <
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