If you live in an apartment without a washer/dryer hook-up, you probably have a shared laundry room in your building or somewhere else on the property. While it might not be the most convenient situation, it certainly beats having to haul your dirty stuff offsite to a laundromat, especially in the heat of the summer or during a frigid Ohio winter. If you want to maintain harmony in the community laundry room, here are some practical tips to follow:
- Be mindful of the hours. In many apartment communities, there are designated hours for when you can do laundry, which are usually restricted to “normal” business hours – so don’t try to sneak in at dawn or after midnight. The same goes for weekends, when the machines might be available during limited hours as to not disturb people who like to sleep in.
- Make sure to have exact change. Nothing is more frustrating than realizing that you are short on quarters (or whatever currency is needed). Make a habit of buying a roll of quarters at least once a month when you are out shopping or running errands. Most grocery stores will sell a roll of quarters or make change at the customer service desk.
- Keep track of the time. How many times have you tried to use a washer or dryer and found it full of clothes and nobody comes to get it for hours on end? That is inconsiderate to other residents. Simple solution: set the timer on your phone when you put a load in either machine, so you can retrieve it promptly. The longer you leave clothes in the dryer, the more prone they are to wrinkles.
- Empty your pockets. Tissues, pens, chapsticks and other items that go through the washer end up with disastrous results. It’s also a nightmare to try to clean up. Do yourself and everybody else a favor and empty your pockets before you even head to the laundry area.
- Remove dryer lint. If takes only a few seconds and is a common courtesy to other residents. Lint build-up hinders dryer performance and can be a fire hazard.
With COVID-19, laundry room usage may vary due to more people being at home during the day. Maintain your distance from other residents; you’d be surprised how many people like to socialize while doing laundry. Make sure you are wearing a mask and adhering to social distancing. If you can, try to gauge peak hours and avoid them.
Avoid handling other people’s laundry, no matter how tempted you are to remove somebody’s stuff from the dryer when you need to use it. If there are repeat offenders, let the property manager deal with them. Clean up after yourself. If you drip water or spill anything, clean it up and throw your used dryer sheets in the trash; don’t leave them in the dryer for the next user to deal with.
At Vision Communities, we encourage our residents to be good citizens when using the common laundry areas in our apartment communities. We take pride in the communities that we build and want our residents to feel the same way. With apartment communities near Clintonville, Downtown Columbus, and Westerville Vision Communities has the floor plan and amenities that you are looking for. To learn more, browse our Central Ohio communities and find the right floor plan for you and your family.