Laundry room etiquette. (1 Viewer)

[Jack Briggs]

My apartment building houses twelve units in a lovely L.A. neighborhood. The laundry room is in the basement. There is one washer and one dryer.

Luckily, with just twelve units (all occupied), most of us can get our loads done with minimal waiting and minimal hassle.

However, some people are not so courteous.

In other words, some people will let their wet clothes remain in the washer for more than an hour after the machine is finished.

And in more cases, some tenants will let their clothes remain in the dryer long after their clothes are finished drying. Meanwhile, my clothes must remain in the washer, subject to mildew, while the errant neighbor blissfully goes about his or her business.

What to do?

In the case of wet clothes remaining the washer, I will transfer the neighbor's laundry into the dryer and start my own load.

And if someone's clothes are still in the dryer, I will remove them and place them on the top of the dryer or in his laundry basket if it's in the laundry room.

Yet all this is applicable only in the case of the clothes obviously being part of a man's wardrobe. If I see that the clothes belong to a woman, I will not disturb them.

Complaints to the manager are generally shrugged off. And, once, when a neighbor taped a sign to the wall advising others to demonstrate a little courtesy, the manager promptly removed it.

So, what would you do if you needed to use the laundry facilities and someone is leaving her or his own clothes unattended? Remove them? What if the clothes belong to someone of the opposite gender?

One last thing: It pisses me to no end when others do not remove their lint and dust from the dryer's filter. Why not make life a little easier for the next person in line? It's all the more bothersom when one realizes that most dust in most human habitats is attibutal to human skin that has flaked off its owner.

Ugh.

 

[Lawrence]

Wow! Someone who feels the same way I do. My building has two washers and two dryers for 25 units. People will sometimes leave things in there for HOURS. I wait 30 minutes and if no one removes their items, I take them out, whether they are men's or women's clothes. I usually grab a fresh kitchen trash bag and throw the clothes in that. I've had people get annoyed with me at which point I let loose on them about how rude it is and how it inconveniences others, at which point they usually apologize!

 

[Philip_G]

same here, 2 washers and 2 dryers for 25 units. Worst of all the washers are a dollar and the dryers 75 cents, the dryers run about 40 minutes per dry, but it takes TWO OR THREE times to get your clothes dry

 

[Chris Derby]

the way our machines work around here, i usually give you about 15-20 minutes to swap/retrieve your clothes.

wet clothes go into the first available drier. dry clothes get put on top of the drier.

you snooze, you lose. and don't get pissed that you have to wait until my loads are done before you can finish yours. and you sure as hell better not take my stuff out of the drier to put yours in if i "go around" you.

 

[Leila Dougan]

My patience only lasts about 5-10 minutes. I'll take whoever's clothes out of the washer or dryer and put them on the table, I don't care. I don't have time to sit around and wait till the other person decides they are good and ready to get their clothes and quite frankly I don't care if they think I am rude.

Like they say, you snooze you lose.

 

[Philip_G]

I don't care if they think I am rude.

I saw a video of a guy that went into a laundromat and dropped off his clothes in a washer and left, right after he left someone took his clothes out and put theirs in to use the washer for free, then they left. He came back, saw what happened, calmly bought a bottle of bleach and dumped the whole thing in there and left.

be careful who you piss off.

 

[Jason_Els]

The general rule in school was to take the clothes from the washer and put them in a pile somewhere without putting them in a drier. Someone might have something that won't dry well. If the person is going to let them mildew either way it won't matter. I would watch my laundry like a hawk during the wash cycle then immediately dry the appropriate items. Drying didn't matter so much because if someone moves the clothes after the dry cycle is over then they're still dry and drying does take a long time.

 

[ThomasC]

5 washers, 5 dryers in my dorm. i've never had a problem with the washers, because every time i go down there, they're either all being used or the ones that have stopped washing have the clothes taken out of. the dryers are another thing...

i have to use two dryers for a one washer load because the dryers don't dry too well...if there's a dryer done drying and clothes are still in there, there's a table right next to the dryers so i take the clothes out, male or female, and put them on the table, simple as that. others have done that too...once, i saw clothes sitting on the table for at least an hour, maybe two...snooze, you lose.

 

[KeithH]

Jack, I went through this when I was an undergrad. and in grad. school. This is one of those situations where you are damned if you and damned if you don't. I used to wait a half-hour, and if someone's laundry was not removed from the washer or dryer in that time frame, I removed it so I could proceed with my laundry. I always was respectful with other people's clothing. A lot of people would leave a laundry basket on top of the washer or dryer, so I would place their laundry in it.

In my apartment building in grad. school, we only paid for the washer; the dryer was free. What really bugged me is when I was late getting my things out of the washer (I tried hard not to forget and often kept a timer running in the apartment), someone would sometimes move my stuff to the dryer. I like to air-dry certain items, so I abhored it when people threw all my stuff into the dryer.

 

[Rain]

What if the clothes belong to someone of the opposite gender?

Who cares? They're just clothes. Fabric, dude, that's all.

 

[Chad Ellinger]

Back in the dorms at University of Maryland, we had dryers in the laundry room that were notorious for requiring multiple cycles to get clothes dry. I tried to time my checks on the dryer so that others wouldn't have to wait, but there were still those impatient people who would take half-dry clothes out of the dryer and put their own in.

One time my friend and I caught someone doing this to my clothes. I called him on it, saying "C'mon man, these clothes are still wet!" His response was just, "Dryer cycle ended." Luckily there was another dryer, but as we were leaving my friend turns to me and says "Man, don't you hate those jackasses who take wet clothes out of the dryer?" (loud enough so the other guy could hear him). When I came back, the guy had flipped my dryer to "No Heat." Guess I had that coming. :b

 

[Leila Dougan]

be careful who you piss off.

You have a point, Philip. That's why, though, I would stay in the laundry room and watch my clothes. I've been through too many instances in college of people doing things others have mentioned here. . things like take your clothes out to use the washer/dryer for free, dumping them on the floor, and stealing them.

Of course now I'm blessed to have a washer/dryer in my apartment so my machine-sharing days are in the past.

 

[Dan_J_H.]

I used to be in that same situation. 25 units, 2 washers and 2 dryers. In 1997 I bought my first house with a new (larger capacity) washer and dryer. Now, I can go in the basement in my underwear and no need to come up with 14 quarters every week. Privacy rules!

 

[Richard Kim]

Yet all this is applicable only in the case of the clothes obviously being part of a man's wardrobe. If I see that the clothes belong to a woman, I will not disturb them.

In college, I always removed people's laundry from the machines if they have finished washing for quite some time. It was the customary thing to do in my dorm. But this one time, this girl saw me remove her load, and she gave me this really nasty look as she took her laundry, like I was some pervert trying to steal her underwear or something. Maybe if it didn't take her more than 20 minutes to remove her clothes after they finished washing, this wouldn't have happended.

 

[Mario Bartel]

What ticks me is when people put their basket of clothes beside the washer, indicating they're next in line when the current load is done, and then they don't follow through! I show up with my load, and the washer is empty, the dryer is going, but what am I to make of this waiting basket? How long has it been waiting? If it's only been five or ten minutes, then I have no problem getting in line, but if it's still there when I check again, I think I've earned the right to queue jump.

Up until about a year ago, we had a young family in this little building that seemed to regard the laundry room as their own personal storage closet. They'd spend a whole day dominating the lone washer and dryer, and three days later, piles of clothes--some dry and some damp--would still be scattered on the ironing board, the folding table, on the top of the dryer, on the floor. One of their wash days would screw everyone else up for a week! Since they moved out, a semblance of order has returned to the laundry room. But it's a fine line...

 

[Mark Larson]

In my dorm, if you're not there in like 5 minutes (maybe 10 if the person waiting is really patient), your clothes get thrown out.
No way am i sitting around waiting for someone to finish watching Days of Our Lives or fapping while my clothes sit in the washer.

 

[Chad Ellinger]

My rules: If a washer cycle was done, I would have no problem taking the clothes out and setting them on a nearby table. If a dryer cycle was done and the clothes were dry, I would also take the clothes out. If the clothes were still damp in the dryer, however, I would leave them in.

 

[Carl Johnson]

How could anyone have the nerve to get mad when you take their clothes out of an unattended washer/dryer? They are the ones who are in the wrong for not being there when their cycle ends.

 

[JasenP]

Courtesy is less and less common. I always set a timer and I arrive about one minute before the washer or dryer stops. If things are sitting too long they are removed regardless of gender.
I must say it's not as much of a problem where I currently live, but in the dorms I just expected to have to move OPL (other people's laundry)

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

It's all the more bothersom when one realizes that most dust in most human habitats is attibutal to human skin that has flaked off its owner.

Althought this is generally true, it is probably not true in the case of a dryer, where most, if not all of the dust comes from the clothes just being dried.