Public laundry laundry mats by necessity

[sarahperdue]

My younger son is entering college this fall. He will be living in a dorm and using dorm laundry facilities.

What do y'all recommend he use and do to get the best result possible?

Thanks,
Sarah

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Check the machines before use:

You never know what someone put in there. Use hot wash on the heavy cycle if possible(the hot water in most of those building is well below 140F so no fabrics will be damaged and the heavy cycle provides better rinsing).
Using a good detergent such as Tide is always a good idea as you can use less and get cleaner laundry.
Commercial dryers get VERY HOT on the high heat setting so it is best to use the medium setting for most loads.
WK78

 

[qsd-dan]

Have him send a photo of the available machines and go from there.

 

[maytag85]

Reply #1 is correct, those commercial dryers which are mainly Dexter run HOT, definitely have a 40,000 or even 50,000 or possibly higher btu than that for quick drying. If you look up towards the top of the drum, you can literally see the flames from the burner! Talk about a burner that’s too close for comfort to the drum and is very high btu/heat output. Commercial dryers are great when you have a lot of towels or bulky bedding to dry but for regular clothes, low heat is what I’d use. I preferably like to use dryers that surround my clothes with a even circle of uniform heat

 

[iej]

Don’t skimp on the detergent and use low heat in the dryer!

In my very narrow experiences of using commercial machines in such contexts, I’ve never had any issues with them.

 

[tomturbomatic]

The reason you can see the flames at the top of the dryer is that the design is counterflow so that the heat is above the fabrics which was determined to be safer than having it below the fabrics. The fan sucks the heat down through the fabrics and out of the dryer.

If your son has not done much laundry, have him practice some before leaving for school. Maybe he will meet someone there who will help him on the finer points. You can find a magnetic-mount thermometer that he can put on the dryer door to give him an idea of the temperature inside the dryer. The heat does not have a tendency to do damage until things are dry so tell him to be careful and not overdry fabrics.

 

[circlew]

The Dexter dryers at the washateria I have been to have a way to check the current temperature at any time. It's been a while since I've been there, but it involves pressing and holding two buttons at the same time. Maybe someone else here can remember the exact procedure

 

[sarahperdue]

Thanks, y'all

He has been doing laundry since elementary school, cares about his clothes and even does some hand washing.

I'll pass on your advice and send pictures when he gets there.

Sarah