Dhobi Ghat

At this out door spot, clothing and linens which are collected from all over Mumbai are soaked, scrubbed and pounded in concrete wash tubs and then hung to dry.  After that they are starched and pressed using old-fashioned irons which are heated by filling the inside of the iron with hot coals.   Each dhobi collects the dirty clothes and linens from your home or business, washes, drys and presses each item and returns to you several days later.   Seldom is there a mix up with the items.  

The tubs are filled with water from a central source and the water is infrequently changed.   Somehow the clothes come out clean we were told!

The dhobi's climb on the roof to hang the clothes to dry on lines
which are actually several lines twisted together.  The clothes are
attached between these twisted lines, thereby eliminating the
need for clothes pins!

In the monsoon season the wash is put in some
sort of spinning contraption to get most of the
water out since it is not usually possible to
hand the clothes outside to dry!