re: Lessons About Prison Life That Our Resident OT Ex-cons Never Prepared Us For

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I think I’d just keep my rag and towel and wash them myself. Assuming you’re allowed to even do that.

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To avoid all of the indignities of the laundry process, many prisoners wash their own clothes in the sink or shower, using soap or shampoo. Since prisoners can’t buy detergent, sometimes they use fragrance oils during the wash to reproduce the effect of nice-smelling detergents and dryer sheets.

And some people will pay to have their laundry done. Entrepreneurial prisoners I know will charge a small fee, anywhere between $2 and $5 depending on the number of items, to wash your laundry, including sneakers. These laundrymen can earn between $8 and $20 a week when they wash three or four people’s clothes. It is a good and honest hustle for those who don’t receive any outside financial assistance.

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