On-campus laundry facilities provide sub-par results
For some, adjusting to college life is fairly easy. The responsibility of living alone may be less harsh for incoming students if their life prior to college involved chores around the house or taking care of younger siblings.
For others, college is a whole new world: cleaning, preparing food, time management and of course, laundry.
When I first came to college, I already had some experience with doing my own laundry. However, after the first wash in dorm washers, I panicked and began to question my previous knowledge on the subject.
Am I forgetting to separate whites from colors? Am I using the right amount of detergent? The dryer sheets go in the dryer, not the washer, right?
Why would I be asking these questions? Because my clothes were ruined after just one wash.
In the past year and a half I’ve used the washers and dryers on campus, I’ve learned that you never know what you’re going to get.
Sometimes, my clothes are completely dry after washing. So, I transport my clothes to a separate washer and pray for the best, only to find my clothes splotched with soap stains and white residue.
The amount of issues I experience with on-campus washers is extensive and originally made me believe I was the problem. I thought maybe I had too many clothes in one washer, but when I lessened the load the next time, I found I had similar problems.
After realizing the problems with the washers was a campus-wide epidemic, I did my best with what I had. Now I’m in year two into college living, and laundry is still the biggest difficulty I have during the week.
It’s already a chore to begin with, but when the washers damage clothes, don’t work and leave clothes dirtier than they were before, I often wonder how long I can go without washing clothes before people start to notice.
Although each load of laundry costs just $2.50 for a wash and dry, the amount of money I’ve wasted on extra washes or dries due to faulty machines is ridiculous.
I have somewhat adjusted by avoiding machines I know don’t work and I’ve also begun rinsing my clothes in the sink before putting them in the dryer. However, these steps shouldn’t be necessary to get clean clothes.
It would be one thing if using the washers and dryers in the dorms were free, but we’re basically paying to have our clothes ruined.
As someone who’s tried every tip and trick when it comes to washing clothes, there isn’t any way around this problem. If students are paying for it, they should get their money’s worth.
