Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Laundry machines--reducing damaging use of machines

[Katie Henry (katie-henry]

Leased laundry equipment is commercial quality -- larger and more durable. It 
will stand up better to high-volume use (and abuse) than home equipment. 


In my former community, we switched from one company to another (Mac Gray) 
shortly before I left, so I have no first-hand experience with Mac Gray. With 
our previous company, the machines held up well and were serviced promptly when 
needed. And they were brand new, modern machines. Very nice.


I believe Mac Gray is a nation-wide provider. They offer equipment that lets 
you view machine availability and hourly usage trends on your phone and 
notifies you when your cycle is finished. I'd be pretty excited about those 
features.


http://www.macgray.com/laundry_services/


I wonder if charging for use might make the overloading situation worse. I 
might be tempted to stuff a few more things in a washer if I were having to pay 
per load. 


Katie Henry


----------------
The question of coin or card operated laundry machines brings up two questions 
for me...


For those who rent laundry machines, do your machines break often,does the 
rental company replace/fix them quickly, and do they complain
about the wear and tear on them? And, for those who charge for washer and dryer 
usage, do you think
that improves the way people treat the machines? At Mosaic Commons (in Berlin, 
MA) we have what feels like a large
number of repairs needed on machines we own, and each time the repair
person insists that our users are causing the damage by overfilling
them. The rental option is intriguing to me.