Laundry Room Etiquette

So you thought doing laundry at your mom and dad’s house was annoying? Try doing your laundry in a shared laundry facility at a student apartment complex. One hundred students and five machines can wreak ten times more havoc than ending up with your sister’s underpants clinging to the folds of your favorite dress shirt.

So how can you simmer down and relieve the stress of missing quarters, long lines, lugging heavy baskets and then dealing with ornery neighbors on top of it all? Try some laundry room etiquette. It may change your laundry life.

Remove your laundry immediately.

While not everyone is going to follow this piece of laundry room etiquette, you should plan to remove your laundry immediately after the washing machine or dryer stops. If you can’t stick around, set the alarm on your cell phone for five minutes prior to your laundry being done and get back down there.

Avoid removing other people’s laundry except in certain circumstances.

Directly tied to the first etiquette tip, removing someone else’s laundry depends on several factors. If laundry in the dryer is still wet, the answer is a big, fat no—unless you’ve been waiting for the abandoner of laundry to return for more than twenty minutes. Also, don’t remove laundry if it’s considered extremely rude in your apartment complex. And remember to always put removed laundry on a clean surface.

Come prepared.

Don’t come to the laundry room lacking quarters, laundry detergent and dryer sheets. It’s incredibly rude to “borrow” these items from other students who aren’t watching or aren’t available to ask—it’s also called stealing. Not to mention you’ll sit in a long line for nothing—no one is going to hold your place in line while you run out for quarters.

Clean up after yourself.

If you spill laundry detergent, clean it up with a paper towel or with an item you’re about to throw into the washing machine. Also, clean the lint trap when you’re done using the dryer—it keeps the machine working properly, makes clothing dry faster and will probably earn you brownie points with your neighbors.

Use common sense.

Don’t wash items that aren’t supposed to go in the washing machine and don’t overload the washing machine. You are very likely to cause an overflow and break it. Not overloading the dryer goes hand-in-hand with not overloading the washing machine—overloading the dryer means it will take three to four times as long to dry your clothes, leaving your neighbors waiting even longer to dry their own clothes.

Unless you’re lucky enough to live in an apartment with a built-in washer and dryer or washer/dryer hookups (and you can afford a washer and dryer), you’re going to have to learn some laundry room etiquette. You’ll be surprised at how much quicker and less painful the process is when you do it right.