Lessons for Life Your Momma Apparently Never Taught You
Welcome to Your Neighborhood Laundromat!
Looks like you've got a lot of clothes to wash and dry. This place sure is busy today and you wouldn't want to make this rather unpleasant task any worse for all these people. What can you do -- what rules can you follow -- to help the laundromat stay clean and to help other people get their work done too?
Once you've unloaded your car (and you didn't park in the handicapped spot did you?), pick an unoccupied table to keep your baskets and detergent together on. If you have a lot of loads, you can find a cart to make transporting them all around easier. If you only have one or two loads, be polite and leave the carts for people who need them.
Next decide what size washer you'll need. If you only have one load of regular clothes, you don't need to use one of the big machines. On the other hand, if you're washing a comforter, don't use one of the little machines. If using a small top-loading washer with powdered detergent, please be considerate of the next person and use it with care. Start the water running first and then add your carefully measured detergent, then your clothes. If you use too much powdered detergent or don't let it dissolve at the beginning, the next person will not be able to use the washer, because you left caked on detergent everywhere.
If using a front-loading washer, use care with how much fabric softener you put in. The fabric softener dispenser on these machines is often clogged up, so yours may not make it into the washer at the rinse cycle. The next person could end up with your softener all over their clothes; and god help them if they have allergies. The same goes for bleach. Using tons is bad for your clothes and makes the whole place stink.
So your clothes are done washing and you're ready to dry. Great! Empty your machines quickly. Other people are waiting to use them. A double loader of regular clothes can fit in one laundromat size dryer (they're bigger than home dryers and tend to run hotter too). They'll probably need about 40 minutes on hot. Don't waste your money and other people's time by using too many dryers or setting one for an hour of time. For that matter, don't stuff all your clothes into one and expect them to get dry. Unless you only had one load, they WON'T.
The dryers need care to stay operating effectively. There is a sensor on these machines just in the opening of the unit that checks if the door is closed. If it doesn't sense the door is closed, the heating element will not come on. Your (and others') clothes are not going to get dry in no heat. If that sensor is damaged, that's exactly what will happen. SO, DON'T SLAM THE DOOR!!
Watch your clothes (and your belongings like your purse). Don't leave to go get food. If your clothes stop too soon (like if you dry tennis shoes and the door gets kicked open), or if you're late and people are waiting for you to empty the dryer, other people are going to get upset at your rudeness.
The laundromat is a public place, not your home. Please watch your children. Please take loud cell phone conversations outside. Treat the bathroom like your own. And above all, treat the machines well. They can break so easily just from heavy use. Your abuse doesn't help. It could cause the laundromat owners to raise prices, and nobody wants that.
Thank you.
Looks like you've got a lot of clothes to wash and dry. This place sure is busy today and you wouldn't want to make this rather unpleasant task any worse for all these people. What can you do -- what rules can you follow -- to help the laundromat stay clean and to help other people get their work done too?
Once you've unloaded your car (and you didn't park in the handicapped spot did you?), pick an unoccupied table to keep your baskets and detergent together on. If you have a lot of loads, you can find a cart to make transporting them all around easier. If you only have one or two loads, be polite and leave the carts for people who need them.
Next decide what size washer you'll need. If you only have one load of regular clothes, you don't need to use one of the big machines. On the other hand, if you're washing a comforter, don't use one of the little machines. If using a small top-loading washer with powdered detergent, please be considerate of the next person and use it with care. Start the water running first and then add your carefully measured detergent, then your clothes. If you use too much powdered detergent or don't let it dissolve at the beginning, the next person will not be able to use the washer, because you left caked on detergent everywhere.
If using a front-loading washer, use care with how much fabric softener you put in. The fabric softener dispenser on these machines is often clogged up, so yours may not make it into the washer at the rinse cycle. The next person could end up with your softener all over their clothes; and god help them if they have allergies. The same goes for bleach. Using tons is bad for your clothes and makes the whole place stink.
So your clothes are done washing and you're ready to dry. Great! Empty your machines quickly. Other people are waiting to use them. A double loader of regular clothes can fit in one laundromat size dryer (they're bigger than home dryers and tend to run hotter too). They'll probably need about 40 minutes on hot. Don't waste your money and other people's time by using too many dryers or setting one for an hour of time. For that matter, don't stuff all your clothes into one and expect them to get dry. Unless you only had one load, they WON'T.
The dryers need care to stay operating effectively. There is a sensor on these machines just in the opening of the unit that checks if the door is closed. If it doesn't sense the door is closed, the heating element will not come on. Your (and others') clothes are not going to get dry in no heat. If that sensor is damaged, that's exactly what will happen. SO, DON'T SLAM THE DOOR!!
Watch your clothes (and your belongings like your purse). Don't leave to go get food. If your clothes stop too soon (like if you dry tennis shoes and the door gets kicked open), or if you're late and people are waiting for you to empty the dryer, other people are going to get upset at your rudeness.
The laundromat is a public place, not your home. Please watch your children. Please take loud cell phone conversations outside. Treat the bathroom like your own. And above all, treat the machines well. They can break so easily just from heavy use. Your abuse doesn't help. It could cause the laundromat owners to raise prices, and nobody wants that.
Thank you.