apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Makes me remember to say a little 'thanks!' to the universe that I now have my own washer and dryer. I do remember the days of communal washing vividly.

Especially the homeless gentleman who came in to the laundromat one day, stripped to his skivvies, threw his whole outfit in the washer and sat in a chair reading the paper until he had fresh clothes to wear. Beats the stinky hippies I'd end up sitting next to in class who thought it was cool to be dirty!

This does not apply to places with coin laundries, but if someone leaves in a wash and you need to use the washer, just put it in their basket or on top of the washer... don't put it in the dryer and start it. There are a lot of fabrics out there that don't go in the dryer.

Our building is 36 units on 4 floors with a washer and dryer on each floor. So it's usually pretty accessible. Except on Sundays. Everyone seems to wait until then. I get up early anyway, so I do mine then. As soon as I return to my apartment, I set the oven timer for the duration of the load. This way I don't forget and keep someone waiting. I also fish used dryer sheets out of the wastebin and use them to whip down the washing machine if any detergent is spilled on top.

Ohh my... I do wipe the washing machine with a damp cloth before putting my clothes in (we use a liquid soap, which does not leave residue). No matter what, we always get powder-y patches on our clothes ! Our building is, well, not really well cleaned... We do our bit to help, but the powdery stains and people that don't empty the lint-thingy in the dryers, make me go up the wall!!

..I used to love doing laundry :o(

I don't believe it! That many people sharing a laundry! The idea of using vinegar is great as it leaves towels soft. It's great for wool blankets too. Do you know how little laundry detergent it takes to get your whole (full load) wash clean? One tablespoon. I kid you not. One tablespoon. In fact towels and anything bulky retain so much detergent after two rinse cycles that once in a while you can leave out detergent altogether. But if you are sharing a washer with so many people you might prefer to use some. But remember this for when you have your own machine. I hope that happens soon Sarahrae, though you seem to have a good system going.

I like the extra pillowcase tip.

My first load/s are always towels or sheets and LYSOL. I've read that even though you are washing your clothes in them, public washing machines are not always so sanitary. I can't wait to have my own washer and dryer so I can buy nice towels and sheets that don't smell of Lysol!

Like Lori, I always set a timer for my laundry. I don't like the idea of people touching my clean clothes.

lysol! no way....

Yuck!!!

I live in a 20 unit building (all studio apartments) with only one washer and dryer in the creepy (remember the movie Rosemary's Baby...do you remember the laundry scene in the basement...well, my building' basement reminds me of that) basement. I never like going down there. But, it wasn't until my laundry got hit with an unseen tissue bomb (you know, someone washed their clothes with a paper tissue in their wash) that I stopped using public washing machines and dryers outright. The owner of my building installed solar panels on the roof, and ever since then the water out of the hot tap comes out boiling hot; so I wash all of my clothes by hand in the sink or in a large plastic basin that I place in the tub; then, after hand wringing, I hang them to dry on a rack that I place in the tub.

Yes, laundry takes longer to dry. But, my clothes (I hand wash towels and sheets, too!) are truly clean. They smell the way that I want them to. The fabric is not worn out by agitation from the washing machine or the heat of the dryer. Yes, it is more labour intensive, but the upper body workout is well worth it.

I just put in a load of laundry! My apartment has people notorious (in my book) for leaving their laundry in the washer and/or dryer for hours, even up to DAYS, at a time!

These are my little rules:

If the machine is still running, I give the person about 10-15 minutes from the time the cycle ends.
If it's in the washer and the machine has stopped, I put it in the dryer.
If it's in the dryer and done... I'll only move it out if it feels like it's been done for a while.

Most of the time, when I move stuff out of the dryer, the clothes are still sitting there when I'm done with all of my stuff, so I never feel that bad!

Seriously, it's time to sell my condo and move into my own house!

I am so sick of washing my clothes downstairs, and coming back up with dog hair in my otherwise clean undies!!! Sick sick sick!
Seriously dog owners... if you're washing a blanket that your dog sleeps on (or worse your sheets that your dog co-sleeps with you... super ick) please go wash them at a laudromat!!! Don't make your neighbors deal with it. (yes, I am suggesting that you make strangers deal with it!!)

At the very least -- make an effort to wipe out your dog hair from the machines.
I even wipe out my human hair - so no i don't think it's too much too ask.

I live in an NYC 3rd floor walk up and I hated wash day. I always put it off and spent lots of precious time hauling back wrenching bags back and forth to the unclean and loud laundromat. On this very site I saw someone recommend the Haier portable washing machine. I bought it the next day and I have been in LOVE with it ever since. It is small, quiet, cheap compared to laundromats, can be rolled around on a dolly, hooks up to and drains into the kitchen sink and offers 100% control over the wash. Check the Amazon reviews, they are spectacular. I wish I had done this years ago. I'm running a wash right now, and except for the occasional large thing like a sofa cover or comforter or blanket, I never have to go to the laundromat again. I'm serious and I'm not being paid to post - check my irascible commenting history for proof - but I would highly recommend it!

Also, the Haier is energy star rated- at 10 cents a kilowatt it costs $25 a year for "average" use.Just FYI since I was scared of the electric cost. OK I'm stepping off the soapbox. But this machine changed my life.

mskk, that was awesome.

I share two washers and two dryers with 79 other units - I've found that the only sure time the machines will definitely be available is after 11PM on weekdays. It's terrible, but I will say that our laundry room is impeccably maintained. I'm dying for the Haier washing machine mentioned above, but it's against the terms of my lease. I wonder if that particular model's modest water-use will make my landlord reconsider...

My personal rule: Babysit your laundry.

A girl I know once opened a dryer to find out that someone had taken a dump in her clothes while she was gone. Ruined absolutely everything in the load - which was most of her clothing. Not an awesome thing for a college student to go through!

I always found laundry day to be a good day to catch up on reading!

In my new apartment we share a washer and dryer with the couple upstairs. Every time I do laundry, I have to "guard" it closely, or they'll go down and take it out the second the washer stops. EVERY TIME. They even had the gumption to leave me a note saying I should be "flexible" and let them cut in whenever they have laundry to do. What!

Just today I asked the landlord if we could each have our own assigned days so they'll stopping touching my clothes. I don't know how you guys in those big buildings do it.

Wow. These comments were all it took for me to be a little less excited about my building finally getting its own laundry room so I won't have to go to the laundromat anymore. But I guess the dump-in-a-dryer story does make me grateful, still. Unless I severely underestimated my neighbors.

Tea tree oil is a good additive to the laundry as well. "google" it ...

God bless, RB - 2 washers and dryers for 79 units?!? That's the definition of insanity.

I hate laundry and before I bought my condo I used to budget to have my clothes sent to the local wash and fold service. It was well worth that $10 per pound I spent. I do still hate laundry but it's conveniently located in unit.

OMG - these horror stories are making me really love my washer and dryer. I guess I'm lucky - when I want to do laundry, I walk in the kitchen and open the closet on the right and there they are - my full sized machines.

Even though I bemoan my lack of in apartment washer dryer we really are lucky.

We have 100 units and 12 washers and 12 dryers. It's almost never too busy, and we have a maintenance guy who cleans it daily. If a machine breaks it's fixed within 2 days. It costs $1.25 to wash and $1 to dry. I had a friend though who's washer/dryer situation was designed to keep people from using it. 25 2 bedroom units and 1 washer/dryer which costs $4 a load. They had a ton of clothes and did all their laundry twice a month at a laundry mat. Now she has a house and does laundry whenever she pleases.

I'm in a bit of a bad laundry situation. There are 2 washers and 2 dryers for about 30 apartments where I live and there is little to no maintenance. One of the dryers is currently broken and it takes them about two weeks to come out and empty the coin receptacles (in the mean time, you can put coins in and jam the machine up so you're out $1.75 and the machine won't start). There used to be two laundromats in my neighborhood and both have closed down in the past year so whenever there's a problem in my building I have two options: walk 7-8 blocks to a laundromat in a bad part of town (for those in Baltimore, I live in Mount Vernon and I don't want to do my laundry on North Avenue) or take a bus up to Charles Village. It's sucky and I'm seriously considering a portable washing machine. I spend $20/month to occasionally wash my clothes in a rat and roach infested basement that only occasionally has working lights. Ugh.

This is all good advice. I know I'm going to start doing the vinegar/downy ball thing.

Finding a little metal pot of some neighbor's strawberry lipgloss melted all over my dryerful of now goopy sheets taught me to always, always, always run my hand along the inside (the part you can't see easily) of both the washer and dryer to make sure there's nothing left behind from the previous user. This is also good for avoiding having your white load dyed accidentally turning out pink from the left-behind red undies.

I guess my laundry situation isn't as bad as some of yours, but I somehow always need to do laundry when a couple people from my floor (or another...I can't tell if other floors don't have W D or everyone just loves my floor) leave their clothes in the washer for two hours, then in the dryer for two or more hours. EVERY TIME. My whole weekend is thrown out of whack when that happens. I even try to do it during non-peak times (like on a Friday night when everyone is out, or during Superbowl), but somehow seem to always get stuck behind these people.

Is it rude to leave a note in the laundry room asking people to time their laundry so that no one has to wait? You would think it would be common sense, but some people just don't get it.

"Ensure", not "Insure."

Sorry, that was bothering me. Though it would be nice to have State Farm pay us if our clothes didn't come out clean.

mskk, which model do you tout so strongly? And how do you dry?

first5times, after having several weekends thrown completely out of whack by the laundry schedule of another I am left in a similar quandary. I have no problem removing sheets after they have been abandoned for an hour, but when an orphaned load has intimate ladieswear what is a man to do?

I hear you, kiljoywashere. The two offenders are males and I don't really feel like touching their boxers and old socks so I vow to do laundry the next day (which usually doesn't happen). One time I did get so annoyed that I took his clothes out of the dryer, but was done in time to put them back in. That's how long he lets them sit.

I think I need to explore the other floors and see what their laundry situation is. While this one is more convenient (it's practically across the hall), I like to get it in and out, folded and put away ASAP since it's my most dreaded chore.

Anyway, to answer your question - I personally would not be offended if someone took out my washing if it had been sitting there longer than 15 minutes.

I live in a building with five washers and dryers for 100 units and the hours are restricted. The doors are locked until 9 am and then locked again at 10 pm. And on holidays and Sundays, it's even further reduced from 10 am to 9 pm. I'm very timely with my washing. I am usually around before anything finishes because I've seen people take the laundry out the second it's done and dump it on the dryer. I've even seen someone feel another person's clothes to see if it's dry enough and take the clothes out and stuff theirs in to steal some time in the dryer. I do not feel it is acceptable to have someone else handly my clothes. I've never had it happen to myself but I'm sure I'd feel slightly violated. The thought of some stranger having his or her hands on my underwear is pretty gross. The shit in the dryer is just the most disgusting thing I've ever heard. So juvenile..

Always do your towels (white preferably) in Chlorox first. It will kill anything in the machine left over from someone else. I do not believe wiping or spraying Lysol will do it.

Let's put it this way. An old roommate got a "rash" in the nether parts from not being careful about disinfecting the machine with the first load of wash. Just saying bad things can happen to unsuspecting and trusting people. Always assume it as cooties in it, because it really might have them in it.

Adding to my previous comment.... if you already have the hassle of doing laundry, just go out to a decent laundromat anyway. The machines are better, usually have someone standing by to help with problems or even change. It can be more expensive per load, but the machines hold more too, so you can go once a week, or longer depending how much stuff you have between laundry days. And all the ones I have ever used had dry cleaning in the same location (is that a Southern thing?), so it would be a two-fer to drop off and pick up dry cleaning.

in college, we made 'laundry magnets' with our name and room number so if you left your stuff in too long, someone could knock on your door and give you a chance to get it before it got moved to the counter or floor.

my last building had about 16 units and two washing and drying machines. the weird thing was, I never once saw anyone else using them. the only evidence that I wasn't the only person in the building that did paundry was the lint trap full of white dog hair that someone coudn't be bothered to clean...

and cheep3r5: not to doubt your roommate's integrity, but I highly doubt that 'rash' was from the laundry... that has about the same probability of happening as a hickey actually being a curling iron burn... ;)

In Spain, shared laundry facilities are unheard of. Yes, it's nice knowing that all the clothes that have been in there were yours but when it's your first apartment, it's a lot of extra money to spend!

I'm one of the luckiest people in the world, apparently! I've got a super-clean laundry room with 4w/4d at 50-cents each for a building of 28 units (I think that's one set for every 7 people). Most times I can do ALL my laundry in 2 hours. There are also lockers for your detergent, drying lines, and generous folding tables. But the best part is (drum roll please)... TIMERS ON THE MACHINES (and a clock on the wall).

Also, the building provides 1-2 plastic baskets so that you can take others' laundry out if they've missed their "pick-up" time. If I didn't have to go outside to get to it (courtyard building), it would be heaven on a stick. But seriously, having a nice place to do laundry makes such a difference, and indicates a decent landlord/manager in my book.

foodefafa -- Even if one can get their mind off of what could have been on the clothes, think about the build up of detergents - you can get a rash from using too much laundry detergent. I have gotten a rash from certain detergents since I'm just allergic to some of the chemicals - and unless you clean the washer, some of it is probably still there.

By the way--if you come in late on your laundry, and another tenant is removing it so she (or he, as the case may be) can use the machine, she is likely to apologize.

However, in this situation, the one who should be apologizing--hell, groveling--is you, the one who failed to collect your things in a timely manner and forced your poor neighbor to have to choose between wasting more time that she'll never get back, waiting around for you to get your inconsiderate @ss back to the laundry room, or having to actually touch your and your sig. other's creepy wet underwear.

Anyway, that's what I try to keep in mind when I'm in either position.