If you’re carrying a lot of laundry, don’t risk your back by walking to the laundromat if it’s farther than 1 block away. Laundromats tend to be busier on the weekend. If you want the best chance of getting an open machine, do your laundry during the week. Some laundromats are open 24 hours a day. Look for a laundromat that is always open if you want to do your laundry late at night or early in the morning.
You can put a sheet of cardboard or some other kind of divider in between your colors and whites if you want to make retrieving each set of clothes from a single basket easier. If you’re walking to the laundromat, a cloth laundry bag will be easier to carry than a hard-plastic or metal bin. If you’re really dedicated to washing materials properly, read each tag on your items of clothing for washing instructions and sort lighter colors from your darks. Wash your jeans separately, and keep delicate fabrics together for a separate load.
Newer laundromats may have machines that take credit and debit cards, but these machines are pretty rare. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to use a card without contacting the laundromat first.
Smell the drum before using it. If it smells like bleach, avoid putting non-white clothing inside. Some laundromats offer several sizes of machine. If your laundromat does, feel free to grab a bigger machine if you think it’ll save you some time. Larger machines are typically designed to hold twice as many clothes as a standard machine. Try to avoid grabbing a machine next to an in-use machine in case the other person is planning on using multiple machines. If there is something in the machine and there’s a clerk at the laundromat, turn the lost item into the clerk. If there isn’t an employee there, leave the forgotten item on top of the machine.
It is not ideal to use 2 machines that are located in different parts of the store. If someone tries messing with your laundry, you want to be there.
There are usually instructions on the container of laundry detergent that suggest how much soap you should use. There are also hash marks on the inside of the cap indicating what a full or half load is for your particular detergent. If you’re using pods, put 1 pod in with each load, regardless of how many clothes you’re washing. Many people prefer to use less soap. If you want to cut back on soap, fill your cap so that it’s 1/8 full. This is usually 2 tablespoons (30 mL) for a standard detergent. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for adding fabric softener. Typically, you fill the cap either halfway or to the rim and add it directly to your laundry.
If you’re washing sensitive fabrics or expensive items, use the “Delicates” setting. “Permanent Press” is designed to wash jeans or clothes that wrinkle easily. Some machines have separate cycles for whites and colors. Use these settings if they’re available and you’ve sorted your laundry by color.
Like the washing machines, you can use multiple drying machines at the same time if you’re drying multiple loads.
Some machines allow you to adjust the amount of heat that you use to dry your clothes. The more heat that you use, the more likely your clothes are to shrink—especially if they’re made out of cotton. If you aren’t sure if you can machine dry a particular item of clothing, read the tag. There are washing and drying instructions on most clothing tags. Feel free to add dryer sheets or dryer balls to your dryer if you want to keep your clothes wrinkle and static free.
If you felt comfortable leaving during the wash cycle, there’s no reason you can’t leave again. Feel free to go grab a cup of coffee or hang out at a nearby store.
