London's beautiful launderettes – in pictures

“I love launderettes. I love the smell of washing, the sound of the dryers and the punning names,” says Joshua Blackburn. The London-based photographer plans to immortalise every launderette in the capital: out of more than 300 he has, since the spring, shot 40. “I want the project to be a record of these amazing businesses at a time when they’re struggling to survive,” he explains. Across the UK, there are now fewer than 3,000 launderettes – down from 12,500