Scrub a dub dub

(this post idea comes from our new guest "post developer", who has declared himself perfect for this position, not that there was an opening.)

Public laundry rooms. Laundry rooms in the basement of your triple-decker house in the city. The laundromat. Everyone's had one or more of these in their lives at some point or another.

Thoughts about laundry rooms/laundromats: (in no particular order)

1. Laundry Cards: Some are equipped with these very convienent cards, allowing you to put money on an account and swipe the card in place of having quarters on hand. I've never had that luxury, having gone to college long before the introduction of such technology and having never lived in a swank building. I imagine it's great, as I spent 20 minutes Friday night on my way home stopping into stores and coffee shops begging for a couple dollars in change so I could do laundry when I got home.

2. Lint: Why don't people clean out the damn lint trap? Laziness? Lack of education? (My brother reached the ripe old age of about 25 before he even knew there was any such a thing in a dryer, so this is possible.) Whatever causes this breakdown, it means that the rest of us have to come along and clean your lint out of the trap before we can even begin, lest we start a fire or end up with wet clothes after spending a buck seventy-five in hard begged quarters. Now granted, it's clean lint, but the amount of hair trapped in there with it is extremely disconcerting.

2. Detergent: In shared laundry rooms in smaller houses, people generally leave their detergent on the table or the floor or wherever. This is convienent for people like me, who come along and steal some, since I keep forgetting to buy my own. In those situations where you have to bring it with you, this limits your choices, since the most economical version tends to be that giant tub with the little cup you place under the push button. No hauling that thing around. The suggester of this post is a proud supporter of Mrs. Meyers products, which are natural and expensive and don't leave an unnatural smell and come in convienently small bottles, perfect for hauling around. That's a good thing, because for $11.99 a bottle, you wouldn't want some lowlife thief like me helping themselves.

3. Touching other people's clothes: The rules are definitely not clear on this front. In college, everyone did it. You arrive to a full washer and want to use it? Pull out her clothes, leave them on top of the dryer and carry on. Does this rule apply in a public laundromat where the owner might be right there, but is just lost in the Telemundo soap on the 12 inch TV? Does this rule apply in the house laundry room where there's only 5 occupants total in the house and you can probably figure out who owns the skanky royal blue lace thongs?

4. Claiming the carts: This one applies to laundromats. You know those cart things with the rack on top for hanging stuff? Do you get to claim those and hang on to them for 2 hours until your clothes are ready? I think not. Tell that to those living in rural Gettysburg. They didn't know that.

5. Children: Keep them under control. This is not a playroom. And on a busy Saturday, 15 children running amongst the 20 adults, 30 machines and cars in the parking lot is not cool. It's a hazard.

6. Timing: Are there rules about times that it is appropriate to do laundry? If so, adhere to them. In K & C's house, nobody is supposed to do laundry before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m. I personally think that's a little tight reigned, and would advocate for before 7 or after 10, but whatever the rules, follow them. It's so the poor bastids on the first floor don't get rocked out of sleep at 2 a.m. by a spin cycle or your 22 cents in the agitator.

Got any laundry pet-peeves? Let me know!