Dhobi

A Dhobi is a washerman in India. Dhobi's usually run door to door collecting dirty linen from households. After a day or two they return the linen washed, sometimes starched and ironed. Dhobis were the forerunners to modern professional dry cleaners. Since the dhobi charges are much lower than dry cleaners, they are popular with most households. Dhobis are often pictured with a donkey as their beasts of burden carrying the bales of linen in its back.

Each dhobi marks a unique symbol or character on garments belonging to a particular household. This is marked in black indelible ink to prevent it from being washed off. Dhobis may wash the clothes themselves or outsource it to dhobis who only wash clothes.

In Mumbai (Bombay), dhobi's are an integral feature of the city. All the dhobis wash their linen in Mahalaxmi area known as Dhobi Ghat. This area is strangely popular with foreign tourists looking for a piece of quintessential Indianness. Another region in South Mumbai – Dhobitalao used to be a (now filled up) lake where British soldiers used to have their uniforms washed about 120 years ago.

Dhobis are thought to be unhygienic and hence the term dhobi itch – a fungal infection affecting mostly the groin region is derived from the term dhobi.