NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, as some of you may know, I'm away from home this summer, and so, for the first time in my life have had to do laundry in a public place. It was quite a learning experience.

But, I'm still not closed on the finer points of laundromat ettiquette. My favorite place only has three machines and two dryers, and it can be really busy - so these things come up. For example, if someone has to do two loads, and puts their first one in, and while they are waiting for a second machine, another person comes in, should the new person get the next machine, or the one that already got to put in half of their laundry?

*hopes that this thread is an original on NS*

Er - I must admit to having used a laundromat for dating-purposes.
Etiquette and niceness were directly related to flirtability.

*sits on naughty-step today*

Er - I must admit to having used a laundromat for dating-purposes.
Etiquette and niceness were directly related to flirtability.

*sits on naughty-step today*well, I can think of less wholesome places to meet people. It is a fairly non-threatening and relaxed environmnet, I suppose.

ok, another question: if someone fails to come back in time to get their laundry out, is it permisible to remove it yourself and put your stuff in? (if there's a queue)

well, I can think of less wholesome places to meet people. It is a fairly non-threatening and relaxed environmnet, I suppose.
I found it a great place.
Does a reasonably healthy-looking late twenties-guy who irons his own shirts make a favourable impression of SWFs around 21?
D'uh! :p

ok, another question: if someone fails to come back in time to get their laundry out, is it permisible to remove it yourself and put your stuff in? (if there's a queue)

I'd say YES in most places.
It definetely beats having your underwear impounded by someone who gets annoyed, and trashes it over the floor. I've seen that happen at the Uni, way back when.

I found it a great place.
Does a reasonably healthy-looking late twenties-guy who irons his own shirts make a favourable impression of SWFs around 21?
D'uh! :p.

The most romantic thing that happened to me at the laundromat is this half-witted Yeshiva student asking me to go for beers with him, a proposal which I nondescriptly declined. I didn't even know they were allowed to date!

Watch that Friends episode where Rachel goes to the laudromat. It explains a few things:D

The most romantic thing that happened to me at the laundromat is this half-witted Yeshiva student asking me to go for beers with him, a proposal which I nondescriptly declined. I didn't even know they were allowed to date!


And isn't beer supposed to interfere with the suffering?

Want to pick someone up at the laundromat AND get your laundry finished too? Well, if you are waiting for a washer where the load has finished, go ahead and put the other person's wash in a dryer and donate 3 quarters to the cause and start their wash drying (make EXTRA sure that you have used the correct setting and are not going to shrink all their clothing, that would not be appreciated). When the person comes back, casually say "Hey, I threw your clothes into this dryer here..." and smile at them. In the meantime, you have gotten your clothes into a washer, and the worst thing that could happen is someone says "thanks" and walks away... and possibly you loose 75 cents. On the other hand, the person might be charmed that you have been so nice...

I dated a guy who did that for me once for about six months (till he moved to California).

I hate Laundrettes. We had to use one in halls last year - I basically spent the year wearing slightly dirty clothes. Apart from anything, people would put their clothes in the machines, then go for a pint in the student halls bar and not come back until midnight. The most annoying thing was always when someone dumped your clothes on the dirty side. I always timed it so that I'd arrive back at the laundrette just in time to collect my clothes, yet there was always some impatient fuckwit who was just throwing my wet clothes haphazardly from the washer.

Laundry brings out the worst in people, it really does. And by people I mean me.

I hate Laundrettes. We had to use one in halls last year - I basically spent the year wearing slightly dirty clothes. Apart from anything, people would put their clothes in the machines, then go for a pint in the student halls bar and not come back until midnight. The most annoying thing was always when someone dumped your clothes on the dirty side. I always timed it so that I'd arrive back at the laundrette just in time to collect my clothes, yet there was always some impatient fuckwit who was just throwing my wet clothes haphazardly from the washer.

Laundry brings out the worst in people, it really does. And by people I mean me.


How long does it take to wash clothes? Take a book and stay there. Maybe you regularly misjudged how long it took and your impatient fuckwits thought you were inconsiderate.

I hate the places. Two years using a college/uni laundromat was enough for me ...

I'm so glad my mom is still willing to do my washing.. She's probably much better at it than me anyway..

I'm so glad my mom is still willing to do my washing.. She's probably much better at it than me anyway..

It's not hard.

Whites in one pile, dark colors in another.
Sort things which must be washed in cold or hot, and make sure nothing you're washing says "Dry Clean Only"
Follow the directions on the box or bottle of laundry detergent.

It's not hard.

Whites in one pile, dark colors in another.
Sort things which must be washed in cold or hot, and make sure nothing you're washing says "Dry Clean Only"
Follow the directions on the box or bottle of laundry detergent.

I guess parents don't do any "home training" anymore.

It's not hard.

Whites in one pile, dark colors in another.
Sort things which must be washed in cold or hot, and make sure nothing you're washing says "Dry Clean Only"
Follow the directions on the box or bottle of laundry detergent.

No softener Kat? :)

I do all my laundry at whichever truckyard I'm at, or at a truckstop if I absolutely have to..

The general rule to stay clear of trouble is to 1.) avoid eye contact and 2.) never leave the room while your stuff is spinning.

None of my clothes have any color left in them, so I just use color-safe bleach and forget about it. :p

It's not hard.

Whites in one pile, dark colors in another.
Sort things which must be washed in cold or hot, and make sure nothing you're washing says "Dry Clean Only"
Follow the directions on the box or bottle of laundry detergent.
ha, I still havent figured out how to use bleach with my whites. So I just throw them in warm water and my colors in cold. Of course though, out here I cant really do that so I wash everything by hand in what water I have.

How long does it take to wash clothes? Take a book and stay there. Maybe you regularly misjudged how long it took and your impatient fuckwits thought you were inconsiderate.
I used to stay in there at first, when I lived in a state of perpetual fear that some pervert would take my clothes and sit, sniffing them in a darkened room somewhere. It took a little under half an hour for the wash cycle and a multiple of 8 minutes for the drying, depending on how many 20 pence pieces you put in. I sat in there once, after having arrived a little early, and watched as someone went to my washing machine and started to unload it before I'd even had a chance to get up.

I understood their impatience a little - I mean, it was horrible in there, very hot and close - but it irks me that someone should feel the need to dump my clothes because they can't wait an extra 5 minutes. 20 I could understand.

I used to stay in there at first, when I lived in a state of perpetual fear that some pervert would take my clothes and sit, sniffing them in a darkened room somewhere. It took a little under half an hour for the wash cycle and a multiple of 8 minutes for the drying, depending on how many 20 pence pieces you put in. I sat in there once, after having arrived a little early, and watched as someone went to my washing machine and started to unload it before I'd even had a chance to get up.

I understood their impatience a little - I mean, it was horrible in there, very hot and close - but it irks me that someone should feel the need to dump my clothes because they can't wait an extra 5 minutes. 20 I could understand.
Thats something I have never understood. Why is it that some guys like to smell women's clothes? Its like they think its the greatest thing in the world.

I guess parents don't do any "home training" anymore.


I managed to figure it out for myself. ;)

No softener Kat? :)

Depends. Some do in-washer, some do a dryer sheet, some do both. :D

you have dibs on the next washer even if you are already using one. its best to tell the guy who comes in that you have one more load to put into the next available machine so he knows where you stand.

id give the person whose clothes are in the machine a couple minutes to show up and deal with his own clothing but if you have to wait more than 5 minutes its ok to put them on top of the washer as if they were your own clothes. no tossing them around as if they were yesterday's trash.

i know you said its your favorite place but why put up with the frustration of such an inadequate laundromat when there are places out there with dozens of machines and no wait if you go at the right time? why take longer than necessary and have to crowd your clothing into fewer machines than you would really like to use?

oh and if you are female, dont leave your clothes alone in a machine. there are perverts who will steal your undies if they get a chance. it sucks to find out that you have no underwear.

Well, as some of you may know, I'm away from home this summer, and so, for the first time in my life have had to do laundry in a public place. It was quite a learning experience.

But, I'm still not closed on the finer points of laundromat ettiquette. My favorite place only has three machines and two dryers, and it can be really busy - so these things come up. For example, if someone has to do two loads, and puts their first one in, and while they are waiting for a second machine, another person comes in, should the new person get the next machine, or the one that already got to put in half of their laundry?

*hopes that this thread is an original on NS*
My understanding has always been that it is first come, first served. If you are there waiting for a machine to become available and somebody else walks in after you, you're still first in line for the next machine.

The only exception, in my opinion, is if you are already using all the other machines. I consider somebody a major dickhead if they decide to occupy all the machines at the same time.

Of course, I tend to do laundry at very odd hours, so these things never really come up. :)

It's not hard.

Whites in one pile, dark colors in another.
Sort things which must be washed in cold or hot, and make sure nothing you're washing says "Dry Clean Only"
Follow the directions on the box or bottle of laundry detergent.Well, if I compare my dad's washing, to my mother's washing. There's a markable difference. And it's not that my dad hasn't been following the directions well enough for the past dozen years.
But you're probably right that I could learn. And I probably will once I have something more than a dorm room, and a washingmachine of my own.

ha, I still havent figured out how to use bleach with my whites. So I just throw them in warm water and my colors in cold. Of course though, out here I cant really do that so I wash everything by hand in what water I have.

I tend to use detergent with "bleach alternative" + Oxyclean. Had my mom ruin too many of my whites as a pre-teen.

I mean, you pull on your socks and.... you have the cuff in your hands and it's up about your knee, with the foot portion looking sad as it slumps around your ankle. Better than a friend of mine who ripped the elastic right off his briefs pulling them on for the same reason. (Pain that I am, I asked why his mom NEEDED so much bleach for his shorts.)

Too much bleach can destroy the fibers in your clothes. (Of course, sometimes a little bleach is absolutely necessary with a tough stain, so... fall back to "read your bottle's directions carefully and follow them.)

Thats something I have never understood. Why is it that some guys like to smell women's clothes? Its like they think its the greatest thing in the world.
Nah, it wasn't gender specific. Some bloke got caught in the first month, stealing clothes from washers and hoarding them.

City centres - you've got to love them really.

i know you said its your favorite place but why put up with the frustration of such an inadequate laundromat when there are places out there with dozens of machines and no wait if you go at the right time? why take longer than necessary and have to crowd your clothing into fewer machines than you would really like to use?

oh and if you are female, dont leave your clothes alone in a machine. there are perverts who will steal your undies if they get a chance. it sucks to find out that you have no underwear.
Well, there's another one down the street, but its the same size, and not so great. There aren't any really large laundromats in my neigborhood- but waiting around doesn't bug me too much - there's alot of people to talk to, or my book. I am female - but I always leave my stuff and go to get fallafel, or hang up the previous load at my uncle's, or visit the neighboring shopping district - that's the fun. I sort of like trusting the wellbeing of my clothes to my fellow-washers for half an hour and hoping its ok.

It's not hard.

Whites in one pile, dark colors in another.
Sort things which must be washed in cold or hot, and make sure nothing you're washing says "Dry Clean Only"
Follow the directions on the box or bottle of laundry detergent.

Meh, it's even simpler than that.

Pile clothes into washer (I don't sort out my colors from my whites), set temp to cold, put laundry detergent + Oxy Clean in, insert quarters, and go! :D

It's not hard.

Whites in one pile, dark colors in another.
Sort things which must be washed in cold or hot, and make sure nothing you're washing says "Dry Clean Only"
Follow the directions on the box or bottle of laundry detergent.
uh.......... I just throw all my clothes in the same load and wash it in cold water.... is that bad? I mean I just throw whatever is in the basket into the wash.....