Scenario: You’ve just moved to a new building. Hurrah, you have in-house laundry! Less hurrah, you have to share it with strangers.
Solution: Our guidelines for sharing this most sacred of clean spaces:
1. Never, ever dry someone else’s clothing
You find someone else’s laundry in the washer, finished, and decide it would be neighborly to dry their clothes for them, since you have to move them anyway in order to do your own washing. WRONG! Not all items can be safely machine-dried, and even ones that can are sometimes better off line drying (preserving underwear elastic, anyone?). I’ve witnessed firsthand the kind of meltdowns that can happen when one apartment dweller permanently changes the size of hundreds of dollars worth of clothing—someone else’s clothing.
2. Don’t wait hours to switch your load
It’s always a dilemma, not to mention an irritating one: what to do when someone’s laundry is sitting wet in the washer for hours. Move it? Don’t move it, and instead waste more of your weekend? Spare your neighbors this particular choice, and dry stuff in a timely manner.
3. Move people’s laundry…or don’t
So, what if your neighbors aren’t following guideline #2? There’s some debate over the polite course of action. We suggest checking back after half an hour; if the wet laundry is still there, it’s reasonable to move it (preferably to a basket, but in a pinch to the top of a dryer) and start your own.
4. Don’t take up all the machines
Well, maybe if it’s midday during the week, and there’s really no one around. But otherwise, you might be depriving neighbors of their only window to wash.
5. Don’t use other people’s detergent
Yeah, actually…I’ve totally broken this one. But I shouldn’t have, and neither should you.
6. Clean the lint catcher!
If your dryer’s lint catcher is full of lint, it won’t dry things properly. And then you’ll need to do a second round of drying, and back up the whole process. Always swipe that lint out before you start drying.
7. Leave it clean
This may seem like commonsense, but plenty of people overlook the lint they’ve discarded on the floor, the odd sock they’ve let fall from their arms, the wrappers they removed from pockets but didn’t manage to throw away. Don’t be a slob—or at least, keep your slobbiness to your own apartment.
What are your laundry room pet peeves? Tell us here or on Facebook!
when people dye there clothen in the washer
Oh no! You’re right, that would totally ruin the experience for everyone else. Thanks for commenting!
Julia
MyNewPlace.com
Admiring the commitment you put into your website and in depth information you provide.
It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same old rehashed material.
Wonderful read! I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
oooh i love those! i adore tulips! very sweet! there rellay is nothing like a little cleaning help huh? also, I am very sad to hear no such photos exist. I had hope.
i guess we’ll just have to take extra care to document the rare occasions we have together now. but you know…i swear there has got to be a preschool photo somewhere! I will keep my eyes out!