Whether you are a senior or a freshman, being a college student means having a lot to balance on your plate. Classes, projects, part-time jobs, clubs, sports, and of course; chores. For many students, using shared laundry rooms can be a new experience that can be difficult to maintain. Every student knows the annoyance of finding all the washers in their building full when they really need to get a load done. Here are a few laundry tips that help students avoid laundry frustrations.
Save Quarters
Although many college campuses have updated their laundry rooms to incorporate machines that have multiple payment options, many campuses still rely on quarters for operation. If this is true on your campus, get used to saving quarters and keeping your change. Otherwise, you will need to find a bank or a change machine that can get you the quarters you need for laundry. If you use change machines, make sure to find an ATM near campus that doesn’t charge a fee for your withdrawal (average 3 dollar fees will add up quickly in a semester).
Time Your Laundry Loads
This advice is more about being courteous to your fellow students. When you put your clothing in the wash, make sure to time your washing load. Not only will it keep things moving in the laundry room, but clothes that sit too long can grow mildew. Although before that happens, a classmate of yours might just empty your clothing on to the floor if you take too long to show up. The same goes for using a dryer. Nowadays there are a lot of laundry machine companies that provide apps that allow you to track your loads of laundry and set alerts.
Figure Out “Peak” and “Off-Peak” Times
Trying to do your laundry on a weekend night? You are going to have to wait in line. If you can schedule your laundry around your class schedule on the weekdays, you can avoid waiting extra hours for a machine to open up. If your school has a laundry app, you can track peak and off-peak times by watching the app throughout the week. Otherwise, a few cycles are all it takes to learn your dorm building’s habits. Pro Tip: almost everyone does their laundry right before heading home at the end of the semester (unless they are planning to have it done at home).
Get “Smarter” Laundry With Automatic Laundry
Automatic Laundry provides college campuses with machines that come with app integration. Students can load money on their cards, track their machines, and see when machines are available. Give your students one less thing to worry about with machines that are programmed for modern students. Contact us to learn more.
