Thread Number: 43135
Sometimes, a college student just needs a washer and dryer of their own! |
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Post# 634538   10/26/2012 at 16:20 (4,198 days old) by Pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)   |   | |
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And, thanks to my wonderful boyfriend's help, I have a set! I've had the dryer since I moved in in late August and got the washer up here a couple of weeks ago, I just needed to work out some kinks to get everything the way I wanted it!
This year, I'm living in a on campus apartment (SOOOO much better than the dorm rooms I had the past 2 years!) and I'm loving it. The apartment complex was built 2 years ago housing full time students 20 or older. It's nice to have a more mature mixture of neighbors! Anyway, these apartment come with a bed that can be raised up to allow for storage or usable space underneath. I use the space to store my washer, dryer, and centrifuge! The washer and dryer are both on wheels now and roll easily to their respective hook up locations! I hung up a curtain that surrounds underneath the bed to hide the machines when I'm not using them and especially during fire drills and safety inspections (both of which are always announced) since I doubt I'm allowed to have them... (There are no specific rules saying you can't but I'm not taking any chances!) During fire drills and safety inspections, those who perform the inspections are not allowed to touch or open anything under any circumstances without a warrant from a judge. |
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Post# 634539 , Reply# 1   10/26/2012 at 16:22 (4,198 days old) by Pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)   |   | |
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The washer rolls to just outside the bathroom where the hoses can reach the sink and sits against a wall with a blanket between it and the wall for stability. It's almost impossible to hear this machine outside of the apartment and cannot be heard above or below it!
The towel stuffed in the handle for the detergent drawer is to muffle the sound of the machine filling. Just in case... |
Post# 634540 , Reply# 2   10/26/2012 at 16:25 (4,198 days old) by Pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)   |   | |
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The dryer has been rewired to run on 120V and hooks up in the living room. It does take about 2 hours to dry a large, heavy load, even after it's been spun in the centrifuge but it works like a charm! The exhaust blows into a pair of pantyhose and then the window fan pulls the exhaust air out of the apartment. Since the dryer's heating power is so low and the fan pull both air from the dryer exhaust and from the room outside, you can't see any moisture on a freezing cold night blowing out the window. |
Post# 634542 , Reply# 3   10/26/2012 at 16:29 (4,198 days old) by Pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)   |   | |
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The plumbing is minorly annoying but it works well enough. Due to differences in the hot and cold water pressure, if left on in the warm position with the machine not filling, the cold water will flow backwards up the hot water line and make the hot water run cold. This is a bit irritating to deal with while the machine is filling for a warm wash or any of the rinses (I rinse in cool or warm water, not cold) because I have to babysit the faucet. It's most annoying for the wash fill since the LG fills in 2 second burst for such a long period before just letting the water flow in.
The drain in the sink creates quite a powerful suction when the washer starts draining and very very easily keeps up with the flow of water from the drain hose. |
Post# 634579 , Reply# 4   10/26/2012 at 21:20 (4,197 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine)   |   | |
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Post# 634580 , Reply# 5   10/26/2012 at 21:32 (4,197 days old) by Pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)   |   | |
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Well, it seems to have passed inspection! This building is also a LEED certified building. Right down to the little trickling shower adapter the bathroom faucet used to have, just like in public restrooms! (Obviously, I've removed that.) And all the lights have motion detectors in the ceiling, if you sit (relatively) still long enough (20 minutes) the lights will shut off on ya! Really annoying when you're trying to study at your desk... :P |
Post# 634581 , Reply# 6   10/26/2012 at 21:36 (4,197 days old) by Iowegian ()   |   | |
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Wow, with your ability to hide big pieces laundry equipment in plain sight, you should consider a career with Air America, or whatever the modern-day version of that company is... |
Post# 634634 , Reply# 9   10/27/2012 at 02:26 (4,197 days old) by Mikeklondon (London)   |   | |
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The Heath 7 safety team would have fainted if they found a socket in a bathroom in the UK, looks like an accident just waiting to happen |
Post# 634664 , Reply# 10   10/27/2012 at 09:38 (4,197 days old) by MikeKLOndon (London)   |   | |
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That should have said The Heath & safety team |
Post# 634665 , Reply# 11   10/27/2012 at 09:50 (4,197 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)   |   | |
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Post# 634688 , Reply# 12   10/27/2012 at 12:51 (4,197 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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Post# 634701 , Reply# 13   10/27/2012 at 15:07 (4,197 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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Post# 634708 , Reply# 14   10/27/2012 at 15:39 (4,197 days old) by Pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)   |   | |
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There is a laundry room in the building, directly across the hall from me here on the second floor! There are however, no coin-op machines to be seen. Instead, the entire University's policy on laundry is that it's included in your room and board cost if you live on campus. The dorms provide you with a pre-paid laundry card with $90 and a card with $120 on it in the apartments on campus.
The laundry room has 4 Maytag front load washers (Duet Sport clones) and 4 matching dryers. The machines are not owned by the University but are rented by a separate company that maintains them. (The dorm laundry rooms have 2 Orbital Maytag washers and 2 matching dryers per floor.) A wash is 75 cents and same for an hour in the dryer. In the apartments, it's enough for 2 loads a week for the year. I, however, average 5 loads a week and more when I want to wash my comforter the extra blankets, etc. (So between 5 and 10 loads a week.) And rather than use the washers and dryers provided, I brought my own!
No one really cares about what you bring in as it's common for students to bring large furniture with them here. Many assumed I was bringing up a dresser (the dryer) and a personal refrigerator (the washer). In fact, the Hall Director for my apartment complex is the one who held the door for me when I was wheeling the dryer in. i just had both machines covered up in big sheets and wrapped in a plastic bag. (The plastic bag actually was part of my packaging for my boyfriend's mom's new Maytag Bravos XL dryer...) There are cameras everywhere in the halls, stairs, and the elevator but, it seemed innocent enough that they didn't question me at all! (Plus, I doubt they think anyone would actually bring such appliances!)
I also didn't have to worry about buying anything really. I already owned the washer, dryer, centrifuge, and the base with wheels that the dryer sits on (that was from last year when I had a washer in my dorm room!) and all I had to buy was the set of wheels for the washer. Only $45 including shipping...
In case you're curious, here's the washer I had in my dorm room last year. No one suspected a thing, they just assumed that I had brought up an extra wardrobe for my clothes! |
Post# 634710 , Reply# 15   10/27/2012 at 15:50 (4,197 days old) by dustin92 (Jackson, MI)   |   | |
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Nice job, I really like the setup and I'm sure you do! Also love the coin op washer/wardrobe! |
Post# 634777 , Reply# 16   10/27/2012 at 22:00 (4,196 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.))   |   | |
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Post# 634778 , Reply# 17   10/27/2012 at 22:09 (4,196 days old) by Pulsator (Saint Joseph, MI)   |   | |
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Post# 634783 , Reply# 18   10/27/2012 at 22:17 (4,196 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )   |   | |
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Post# 634784 , Reply# 19   10/27/2012 at 22:19 (4,196 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )   |   | |
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Post# 634798 , Reply# 20   10/27/2012 at 23:28 (4,196 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)   |   | |
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I slipped my Haier Combo in late one night into the condo I was renting. I got off work around 3AM, and a coworker and I hauled it upstairs. I had it hooked-up to the sink and it had built in retractable wheels so moving it around was a breeze. I just got tired of waiting for the person who's laundry had been in the washer for the last 3 hours to come claim them for the 3rd time this week. Very inconsiderate and I wasn't about to empty their clothes out to use it. I have to say, I thought the raising bed and hiding the laundry pair under it was way kewl, until I saw the secret washing armoire. Gobsmacked! |
Post# 634809 , Reply# 21   10/28/2012 at 00:41 (4,196 days old) by tolivac (greenville nc)   |   | |
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There was no laundramat in the tiny town of Springfeild,S.Dak where I attended college.Closest one would have been in Yankton, S.Dak-about 20Miles away. |
Post# 634959 , Reply# 22   10/28/2012 at 21:01 (4,195 days old) by Iowegian ()   |   | |
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@technopolis: 2nd the kudos for the Mrs. Kravitz reference! Well done, I salute you! |
Post# 635015 , Reply# 24   10/29/2012 at 01:48 (4,195 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.))   |   | |
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