Cohousing-L Mailing List: re: washers and driers

[Joani Blank (jeblank]

At Doyle Street we have two washers and two driers for 12 households and we
are planning to start out with those same numbers at Swan's Market.

We use rented machines and they are the coin-operated type but we have them
set for free operation and we sign up for use and pay up once in a while.
No one here has their own washer and drier. I'm glad we pay for usage
because as a single person I do so very much less laundry than, say,  a
family of four, especially if one or more of those family members is in
diapers.  

Recently we started a system whereby if someone tosses the common house
laundry (napkins, dishtowels, etc.) in with their wash, they get a free
ride for their own stuff.  As a person whose wash loads are usually small I
can often take advantage of this freebie. 

Front loading washers are great for several reasons.  You can stuff them
really full, they use considerably less water for more clothes, they spin
dry the clothes much drier, so that you conserve on drying time.  And they
don't cost any more to rent than top loaders (at least not from our rental
company--though if you want to buy one it'll cost close to twice as much as
a top loader). Most important, however is that top loading washers are not
accessible to a person in a wheelchair.   

Also, by all means see what you get donated before buying or renting
something.  

Joani Blank
Doyle Street, 1992 to March, 2000, and  Swan's Market, Oakland, CA, 2000
until the next time I move.....