Laundry at Camp

As a parent, we know you probably welcome the idea of not doing your camper’s laundry for almost a month! But we also know that you might be wondering who will do her laundry and what the process is like.

All camper laundry is sent to Brown’s Cleaning and Laundry service once a week. Brown’s Laundry has been servicing the Lookout Mountain camps for many years, and we’re grateful for their hard work.

Every Wednesday, campers are reminded to prepare their laundry to go out the next day. Each camper makes sure she has a laundry slip clearly labeled with her name which she drops inside her laundry bag before securing the top. She then drops her laundry bag off on the Dining Hall porch before breakfast on Wednesday mornings. The laundry truck comes to Camp, loads up every camper’s full laundry bag, and takes it all to Fort Payne.

On Friday afternoons, freshly laundered and folded bundles are returned to the porch of the Dining Hall. Campers can come by to collect their bundles during a free period of after 5th period, before supper.

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Detergent Sensitivity

If your child has an allergy to certain detergents, we can make arrangements to launder her clothes in allergy-sensitive detergent once a week instead of sending her laundry to the laundry service. Please discuss this with one of the directors prior to Camp.

Stains

Whether from ice cream sandwich fingers or a muddy game of Ultimate Frisbee, girls sometimes have stains to deal with. We provide stain sticks and spray stain remover at the Head Counselor’s cabins. Campers are instructed to immediately apply the stain removing product and toss the item in with the rest of their laundry. If they are concerned about a set-in stain, they can talk to the Head Counselor about getting it washed separately.

Bedwetting, Accidents, and Periods

The Head Counselors and the Medical Staff are all pro-active about helping campers take care of soiled sheets, underwear, pajamas, or other clothes. If your camper sometimes wets the bed, it is important for you to talk with her about how she will handle that at Camp. She needs to feel comfortable telling her counselor so that the counselor will know to change her sheets. Many campers choose to set up a “signal” - like leaving a flashlight on her pillow or putting a shoe on her trunk - to let the counselor know that her sheets are wet. It is also important that you let Camp staff know if your camper is an occassional bedwetter so that her counselor can help her navigate that well.

Older campers may occassionally have blood stains on their sheets or clothing. When this happens, girls can simply ask their counselors for help, and the counselor will take the soiled sheets to the Health Center to be washed. We talk to girls at the beginning of each session about how to handle their period at Camp, and we try to create a culture where girls will not feel embarassed or ashamed but will feel comfortable asking the adults in Camp for what they need! From underwear and white shorts to bedsheets and pajamas, counselors know how to be kind and discreet in order to help campers get their laundry needs taken care of.