Updated January 7, 2025 – Having a small apartment, especially an off campus student rental, can be fun until it’s time to do laundry. If you are fortunate, your apartment complex has a laundromat nearby. For everyone else, it is time to look for a public laundromat that has good washing machines and reasonable prices. The majority of laundromat managers are reasonable when it comes to maintenance. They will fix, or at least try to fix, the machines as long as someone tells them that there is a malfunction. You might need to try two or three of these before finding one you enjoy. These laundromat tips will help you.
Sort Out Before You Set Off
Many of us are not great at showcasing their dirty laundry and sharing it with the public. The best way to combat the embarrassment is to organize your clothing so that each load is ready before you leave for the laundromat. When sorting at home, you can ensure that all of your colored clothing is in its own basket. This protects whites from getting dirty and ensures that colored clothes maintain their brightness.
Utilize Pods Wherever Possible
At the moment, people may be ridiculing the pods, but they actually cost less than the boxes of detergent you purchase at the laundromat. Furthermore, they are much more convenient to carry into the laundromat as they have a smaller footprint. Gone are the days of having to worry about large bulky bottles spilling in your car or weighing your clothes baskets down.
Secret Formula to Get Things Done
Overall, the laundromat is located inconjuction to my home. It takes me less than 5 minutes to get there and further 5 minutes to get back home, this prevents me wasting time. The most effective tip to cut down the time spent in the laundromat is to pick a period that is off peak for other customers. If I go in the morning or before I go to sleep, that normally saves me a lot because it allows me to avoid waiting for machines like most customers have to. If all goes as planned, I have managed to save some time and still completes everything I initially wanted to do.
Save Times By Dashboarding
You can actually save a total of 60 minutes combining the wash/dry cycles, the most logical thing to do would be to create a list of tasks to do during the waiting period. This would help in reducing the time wasted. Combined with some errands, you would be surprised how much you can accomplish eliminating a grocery store run. If you are up for it, you can include a short work out at the gym.
Funnel Web Drying Balls
Funnel web drying balls are a great way to eliminate static cling while being cost effective. Simply roll some aluminum foil into a ball, toss it in the dryer, and voila! There are no harmful chemicals in the process and the aluminum ball helps absorb static which means no more getting electrocuted when taking clothes out of the dryer.
Take Care of Every Machine
Public machines should be treated with an extra bit of care and precaution. Before putting clothes in the machine, open the drum and detergent recepticles to make sure there is nothing left behind from previous users. Optional, but also highly encouraged, is checking the temperature controls. Using hot water when washing delicate clothing items can cause a lot of unwanted damage.
Unfortunately, laundromats are a way of life for most people, but there are a few simple tips that can help make laundry day much easier. Using these established laundromat techniques can significantly decrease the amount of time spent doing laundry, but oh-so-incredibly time wasting.
