A "smart" laundromat whose washers come pre-loaded with Tide detergent has opened in Garland, bringing Tide-scented clean laundry to those in the vicinity of 1518 Northwest Hwy., where it is now open in a former Aaron's furniture rental store.

Called Tide Laundromat, it's a franchised concept from Tide Services, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, and this is its second location in the Dallas area. The concept made its debut with great fanfare in August when it opened a location not so far away in the Whiterock Marketplace at 11255 Garland Rd.

Does it seem like Tide has impressions about people on the east side of town needing clean laundry? No, because every Tide Laundromat location is locally owned and operated by franchisees. The local franchisee is a company called Turns, whose CEO Patrick Elverum says that, "after touring dozens of sites, Turns selected Garland and East Dallas as the entry point due to the economic growth in the area and the wonderful neighbors that are supporting these new businesses. These are neighborhoods that have been underserved by the existing laundromat facilities and Turns is excited to bring an elevated experience for everyone to enjoy."

Turns has a third store opening in November and plans to add another five stores in 2025.

The concept was founded in 2020 and boasts high-tech equipment which spits out a dose of detergent, fabric softener, or dryer sheet into your laundry automatically, included in the price of the wash. You can choose from Tide or Gain detergent, Downy or Gain fabric softener, and Bounce dryer sheets, scented or unscented.

"Gone are the days of dingy, outdated spaces," their release says. But isn't dingy part of the charm of your local laundromat? It surely is mine.

Tide's "smart" machines are said to wash and dry in less than 35 minutes, with Tide and Gain detergent included in every load, and an app to check machine availability and pay from your phone.

The washing machines come in three sizes: small, medium, large, and jumbo, priced accordingly — beginning at about $5 for a small and $12.50 for a jumbo. For point of comparison, the smallest load at my local "dingy" laundromat starts at $2.25, plus an additional $1 if you buy their single serving of detergent from the vending machine.

The dryers at Tide give you six minutes of drying for a quarter (versus 20 minutes at my local laundromat), but the Wash and Dry cycles at Tide Laundromat are rumored to dry faster. Someone needs to do a test.

Tide is offering free washes for a month with their Loyalty Card to celebrate the opening.