There are few things more aggravating than the shared laundry rooms in Mahoney Residential College.
Nine times out of 10, the laundry rooms look like a war zone. On an average day, you’ll find murky water on the floor, balls of lint everywhere and abandoned piles of clothes in the machines or thrown in random locations by the next impatient user. Half of the washers are out of order at any given time, and one of the washers has had to be repaired after losing its door at least two different times.
It’s time for freshmen to learn some laundry room etiquette. I know some people have never washed their own clothes before coming to college, but eventually, you need to grow up and learn.
I get it, the transition to college is hard. You’re living on your own and away from your parents for the first time ever. But, out of all of the daunting things that come with living alone, laundry should not be such a huge struggle.
The first problem in the laundry room is people leaving their clothes in the washing machine long after their cycle has finished. The average wash cycle takes around 35 minutes, and up to 40 minutes if you set the soil level to “heavy.” What does this mean? You need to set an alarm to remind yourself to get your clothes out of the washers. If you don’t have 35 minutes to wait for your clothes to be done washing, you need to find another time to do your laundry.
Getting clothes out of the washers at the right time is the most important part of the process, because it helps keep the entire system moving. After all, we have dozens of residents on each floor sharing eight dryers and six washers. It’s a constant battle.
I’m usually not an advocate for moving other people’s clothes around in the laundry rooms, but if someone is holding up the line for more than a few minutes, moving things becomes fair game in my book. This adds to the gross pileup of soggy clothes and miscellaneous socks lying around the room — if people got their clothes in time, it would be much more organized.
Maybe I would be able to handle the dirty laundry rooms if they were at least safe, but everybody knows the Mahoney-Pearson dryers are notorious for catching fire. More often than not, these fires happen from plastic items being left in clothing. I feel like this should be self explanatory, but you should always check the pockets of the clothing you put inside the dryer. This will not only save your clothes from melted lip balm stains, but also save your entire floor from being evacuated until 2 am (which has actually happened to me).
After safely removing your clothes from the dryer, clean the lint trap. It is one of the easiest ways to keep the entire room clean, as long as the lint actually makes it into the trash can, meaning not throwing it on the floor.
The most important thing to remember is to respect the shared space. Throw away your trash, don’t leave random items – including clothing – in the room and remember that dozens of other people also need to use the laundry room. We are all new adults navigating our first time living alone and in shared spaces. The least we can do is respect each other.