There’s a dirty little secret behind washing your clothes.

For most of us, it’s a mundane chore of wash, dry and fold.

But for those on minimal incomes, clean clothes are often a luxury.

That’s the fundamental philosophy of For The Love of Laundry, a London social enterprise that’s trying to take loads of worry off the shoulders of the less fortunate.

“It’s just a basic need that’s totally forgotten about,” said founder and organizer Melissa Power.

Power organizes free laundry events at laundromats where people can do their wash for free.

For a single mom with kids, or family on a fixed income, a free load of laundry can make the difference between making the monthly rent, said Power, once a single mom herself.

“Sometimes, laundry just had to wait because it wasn’t really a do-or-die situation. It often waited — I hated to do that, but that’s what needed to happen,” she said.

Power, now married with three children, started a do-it-yourself project to make her own laundry soap to cut costs.

“I was able to make really, really great soap for a really inexpensive price,” she said.

There was one drawback — when she made it, “I made tons,” she said, enough to last her family two years.

She wanted to give back and started donating her soap to different agencies and homeless shelters. She realized the soap couldn’t do much good unless someone had enough money to wash their clothes.

Free laundry events were her solution, but she found it difficult to entice laundromats to take part.

Enter Lore Wainwright at Pillar Non-Profit, who encouraged Power to start selling her soap and use the proceeds to run her laundry events.

Power now sells her soap — a secret recipe — at various markets. She’s held seven free events, getting the word out through social service agencies, churches, shelters and more.

Some agencies might have free laundry services, but often not enough machines for the need.

Regulars come. Some of the women of My Sister’s Place have attended all of Power’s events. There are also a lot of single moms with their little ones in tow.

“Doing laundry and saving $50 here or there makes a world of difference to them,” she said.

At one event, one young mom with three children came to Power and “gave me a big hug.”

“‘Now, I can take my kids out to dinner. I’ve never been able to take my kids out to a restaurant before,’” she told Power.

Power saw a woman at January’s event who brought all her dirty summer clothing, because she couldn’t afford to clean it. She’s also seen homeless men come in and peel off shirts into the wash.

Dignity comes in a clean shirt.

Power has ideas to expand the program, like making donated clothing available for those who need it. She’s also talked to the school boards about reaching out to students in need of laundry services.

“I don’t want to do my own laundry, but I will certainly help other people do theirs.”

jane.sims@sunmedia.ca