Ironing, linen and textiles in Gouda
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Gouda had two industries that defined the look of the town: cheese and clay pipes. Both required a particular working population with particular work clothes. The cheese-maid wore a roomy white apron over a dark blue jacket; the pipe-baker wore a short leather apron with long sleeves, and a white under-blouse beneath. In both trades, the 'white' under-layer — shirt, apron, collar — was the only part that had to give visible evidence of cleanliness.
That gave Gouda a particular ironing culture. In the Lange Tiendeweg and on the Peperstraat, small ironing shops specialised in work clothing: immaculate white aprons, crisply starched collars, boiled petticoats. The Gouda pipe-baker baked thousands of pipes a day in the district between the Turfmarkt and Jeruzalemstraat, and came home in the evening in clothes that were pipe-grimy — and his wife had to have it all back to immaculate white again the following morning.
The pipes are gone, the cheese has become a tourist attraction. Gouda is now an independent town with a lively centre, the Sint-Janskerk, districts such as Bloemendaal and Goverwelle, and many commuters to Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague. The old Gouda standard of neatness is still there: a Gouda shirt has to be sharply cut and crisply ironed.
Since 2013 we have been driving from our laundry on the Henricuskade through Gouda on fixed mornings. We collect your laundry, iron everything, and deliver it back with the same driver.
How does Strijkservice Haaglanden work in Gouda?
For residents of Gouda our service works exactly as in the rest of Haaglanden: on a fixed day of the week our driver comes by, picks up your laundry bag and brings your laundry back clean and crisply ironed. No appointment needed — your routine is set.
You get one regular driver and a fixed pickup rhythm so you always know what to expect. No carrying, no full drying racks in the living room, no evenings at the ironing board.
Everything is handled in our own laundry on Henricuskade in The Hague. Shirts, blouses, table linen, bed and bath textiles — we iron it the way it should go back into the cupboard at home, neatly folded and ready to use.