Page 6 ■ Thursday, March 8, 2012


Clean laundry can be a


By JESSICA HOLDMAN Bismarck Tribune


tear up a washing machine. Several laun- dry businesses have had to close their doors to workers as a result, but others are building their businesses around the boom.


Laundrette Car and Dog Wash at 2125 E. Thayer Ave., Bismarck, reads, “Because of odor & residue problems, we no lon- ger allow oil fi eld clothes in this estab- lishment.” Owner Mike Walsh hung it there about two years ago when damage to his washing machines and dryers be- came too much. “We tried for about three years,” Walsh


said. “Now we refer them to somebody else when they call ... It was just getting out of hand.” A similar sign hangs at Interstate


Laundry and Carwash at 1438 Interstate Loop. Customers can be charged for washing oily clothes at Boulevard Laun- dromat at 1310 E. Boulevard Ave. A new machine can cost as much as $10,000, and the upkeep became too high as more oil fi eld workers made their way to Bis- marck. Walsh said the gloves the workers


wear are saturated in oil and it was get- ting left behind in the washers. “It wasn’t a good fi t for us,” Walsh


said. “We had to protect our other cus- tomers so when they bring their stuff in they don’t get their stuff ruined.” Walsh also is short on dryers. It can


“The dryers are the worst because it A sign on the door of King Koin BISMARCK — Oil fi eld clothes can


just bakes in there,” he said. Soap and Suds Laundry Mat at 122


W. Bowen Ave. in Bismarck has opened its doors to the rig workers, though. Owner Louis Baltrusch thinks he is the only self-service laundromat to allow oil fi eld clothes in Bismarck. “Why shouldn’t I work with them,”


Baltrusch said. It just takes a lot of soap to make it


work.


the top loaders and leave a mess behind,” he said. Baltrusch now has three washing ma-


chines at the front of the laundromat that he asks rig workers to use. He sees at least 30 to 40 workers each week. “It’s really picked up the last couple


“Before, guys would come in and use


in a white comfort- er right after and not have a prob- lem,” he said. Baltrusch said


“You could put


BAKKEN NEWS


the water in the washer looks like mud during the fi rst rinse cycle, but by the fi nal cycle the water is clear. The oily clothes are then clean and don’t mess up his dryers.


years,” he said. “I’m going to have to get some more of them because they’re used so much.” Interstate Laundry and Carwash


drop off their oily clothes at Arrow- head Cleaners and Laundry Inc.


used to have machines set aside for oily clothes, too, but had to stop when the number of oil fi eld customers increased. Baltrusch watches for any workers as


they come in the door to tell them which machines to use and what to do. “If I see somebody coming in with a


take as long as an hour and a lot of clean- ing supplies to get one back in working order after oil fi eld clothes have been in it.


pretty dirty tote, it’s a pretty safe bet he’s a rig worker,” he said. Baltrusch has oil fi eld customers put


two scoops of soap into the washing ma- chine in each of the fi rst two rinse cycles. Then he has them take a towel and wipe it down when they’re fi nished.


tering to oil fi eld laundry, many workers are dropping their clothes off in other towns on their way home and picking them up on their way back to work. “I have a lot of guys call me and ask if


1140 N. Third St. The company has two older machines that it uses. Turrito’s Dry Cleaners at 1041 E. Interstate Ave. and 1131 E. Main Ave. and Dakota Dry Cleaners at 820 E. Broadway Ave. do not take oil fi eld clothes. With very few places in Bismarck ca-


at Rig workers can


MIKE McCLEARY/Tribune


TOP: Mike Walsh, owner of King Koin Launderette Car and Dog Wash in Bismarck, is no longer allowing oil fi eld workers to use his washing machines due to oil residue left behind and the potential for damage to other customers’ clothing. ABOVE: Louis Baltrusch, owner of the Soap and Suds Laundry Mat in Bismarck, has designated three washing machines for oil workers to use when cleaning their oil-stained clothes.


from Bismarck and they won’t let us.’” Pirkl said his business has more than doubled because of the oil boom. It re- ally picked up for him about a year ago. “I’m so busy, I don’t know which way


to turn,” he said. “I have laundry bags sitting in front of me and I don’t know what to do fi rst.” Pirkl said he even comes in to work at


I take oil fi eld clothes,” said Melvin Pirkl, owner of Superior Laundry Cleaners in Dickinson. “They say, ‘We just came


night to try to get caught up. The biggest problem he faces is equipment damage due to overload. (Reach reporter Jessica Holdman at 701-250-8261 or jessica.holdman@bis- marcktribune.com.)


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