Ich gehe heute zum Waschsalon, weil meine Waschmaschine kaputtgegangen ist.

Zum is a contraction of zu dem.

• zu + dem = zum
• It means to the
• Waschsalon is masculine: der Waschsalon

So:

• zum Waschsalon = to the laundromat

German often uses zu with places you go to for a purpose, especially businesses or people:

• zum Arzt = to the doctor
• zur Schule = to school
• zum Waschsalon = to the laundromat

You may also sometimes hear in den Waschsalon gehen, which emphasizes going into the place. But zum Waschsalon gehen is very natural and common.

Because weil is a subordinating conjunction. In German, subordinating conjunctions send the conjugated verb to the end of the clause.

Main clause:

• Ich gehe heute zum Waschsalon.

Subordinate clause with weil:

• weil meine Waschmaschine kaputtgegangen ist

So instead of:

• meine Waschmaschine ist kaputtgegangen

it becomes:

• weil meine Waschmaschine kaputtgegangen ist

This is one of the most important word-order patterns in German.

This is because the clause after weil is subordinate, so the finite verb goes to the end.

The normal main-clause order would be:

• Meine Waschmaschine ist kaputtgegangen.

But after weil:

• ..., weil meine Waschmaschine kaputtgegangen ist.

In a perfect-tense construction, German has:

• a past participle: kaputtgegangen
• an auxiliary verb: ist

In subordinate clauses, the auxiliary usually comes last.

Kaputtgegangen is the past participle of kaputtgehen, which means:

• to break down
• to stop working
• literally something like to go broken

This is an inseparable-looking but actually compound verb expression: kaputtgehen.

Its forms are:

• infinitive: kaputtgehen
• present: geht kaputt
• simple past: ging kaputt
• past participle: kaputtgegangen

Examples:

• Die Waschmaschine geht kaputt. = The washing machine breaks down / is breaking.
• Die Waschmaschine ist kaputtgegangen. = The washing machine broke down.

German perfect tense uses either haben or sein as the auxiliary verb.

Kaputtgehen takes sein because it behaves like a verb of change of state. The machine changes from working to broken.

So:

• Die Waschmaschine ist kaputtgegangen.

Not:

• Die Waschmaschine hat kaputtgegangen. ✗

Many verbs involving movement or a change of condition use sein.

Yes. That is also correct, but the meaning is slightly different.

• weil meine Waschmaschine kaputt ist = because my washing machine is broken
• weil meine Waschmaschine kaputtgegangen ist = because my washing machine has broken down / broke down

The first describes the current state. The second focuses more on the event of it breaking down.

In everyday speech, both can work in this situation.

Yes, heute can move.

In the sentence:

• Ich gehe heute zum Waschsalon

heute is an adverb of time. German word order is flexible, but the conjugated verb usually stays in second position in a main clause.

All of these are possible:

• Ich gehe heute zum Waschsalon.
• Heute gehe ich zum Waschsalon.

Both are correct.

If you put heute first, it gets more emphasis:

• Heute gehe ich zum Waschsalon = Today I’m going to the laundromat.

In German, a subordinate clause is usually separated from the main clause by a comma.

So:

• Ich gehe heute zum Waschsalon, weil meine Waschmaschine kaputtgegangen ist.

That comma is required.

This is different from English, where comma use before because is often different.

Because Waschmaschine is:

• feminine: die Waschmaschine
• the subject of the clause
• therefore in the nominative case

So the possessive determiner is:

• meine Waschmaschine = my washing machine

Compare:

• meine Waschmaschine = nominative/accusative feminine
• meiner Waschmaschine = dative/genitive feminine

Here it is the thing that has broken down, so it is the subject.

After zu, German uses the dative case.

Since Waschsalon is masculine:

• nominative: der Waschsalon
• dative: dem Waschsalon

So:

• zu dem Waschsalon
• contracted: zum Waschsalon

That is why you see zum.

Yes.

You can say:

• Weil meine Waschmaschine kaputtgegangen ist, gehe ich heute zum Waschsalon.

This is very common. Notice what happens in the main clause after the comma:

• gehe comes before ich

That is because the entire weil clause takes the first position, so the conjugated verb in the main clause must still stay in second position.

So:

• Weil meine Waschmaschine kaputtgegangen ist, gehe ich heute zum Waschsalon.
• Ich gehe heute zum Waschsalon, weil meine Waschmaschine kaputtgegangen ist.

Both are correct.

Yes, Waschsalon is a normal word for laundromat.

It is made from:

• waschen = to wash
• Salon = salon/parlor

So literally it is something like washing salon, though of course in English we would not translate it that way in normal speech.

German often builds long, transparent compound nouns like this:

• Waschmaschine = washing machine
• Waschsalon = laundromat

This is very typical of German vocabulary.