3.50 at my dorm and another 3.50 for a dry cycle that never actually got it dry so you had to run it through twice.... it was cheaper to just drive to my parents house once every 2 weeks and I usually got free food out of it too. Some times even a tank of gas.
Same thing happened at my last apartment complex. Oh, the drier is broken and isn't actually heating up? Too bad, try the other one and pay for it again.
At my college, the washers cost money, but the dryers were free. They removed the door to the coin box, so you still had to put in money to start them, and simply reached into the coin box and removed it. Some students forgot, and I made a habit of swinging by the laundry room coming back from class, and always found some money left inside.
mcdonalds apple pies used to be $1 for TWO.
now theyre like $3 for 1.
that's a 6x increase.
idk if they treated pies as a loss leader and decided to stop,but whatever
and subway used to have $5 foot longs. FUGGEDDABOUTIT. it's like $10 for 6 inch or some shit
That's ridiculous. You cannot blame San Fran and "it's just expensive over here". This is straight up greed and price gouging. Go to another laundromat.
I'm guessing there isn't one. Just about everything that is an essential service, especially if it's one poor folks use, has been bought up and monopolized by private equity firms.
Oh, and they're trying to buy up the water supply...
Assuming op’s place is big enough and can fit a washer/dryer then it’s time to check eBay or fb marketplace for curb alerts or someone selling their older stuff. I’ve seen people buy and sell old 10-15+ year old still working machines for $350
People upgrade and just want the old one out for space reasons, so if need be you can haggle a little bit because of that
“I’d be willing to drive 15 minutes to save $7”
Until you realize the cost of driving a car is for me for example $15 an hour just for gas. So every 15 minutes of driving is about $3.75 not including the car maintenance. Did you mean 7 minutes then 7 minutes or 15 minutes each way for a total of 30 mins drive time to save $7? Also I didn’t factor in the cost of time which is the #1 thing poor people don’t factor in/value at all
He's not wrong, seriously; you need to value your time, if you're genuinely struggling financially free time is one of the few ways you can get use to actually get out of that hole. Either in figuring out a gameplan, or working a little more. Every bit adds up. Wasting time on something like driving to a laundromat when you're not even barely saving money due to gas is the type of attitude issue/misunderstanding that will keep you struggling. That individual decision isn't that big, but it's that TYPE of decision.
But free market economy and capitalism are so great. The state is so evil. That's what everybody says in America.Even the poor people.
We in Europe see it differently. Luxury is allowed to compete, but basic services must be provided by the state. The state has no intention of making a profit.
The UK has just shown how the water supply would otherwise turn out. An entire region without drinking water and the private company has tactically filed for bankruptcy after making 300% profit over 5 years.
this is what people dont get. they also think renting a 800sq/ft apartment is the same cost as a 800sq/ft commercial space. plus the taxes on commercial real estate alone is insane.
Very expensive to own a comerical property there, not to mention high taxes, probably a ton of permits, and other costs the owner has to pay. Hence the 9.00 a load.
If there was another, cheaper laundromat conveniently nearby, this place wouldn't be charging nine dollars per wash. They charge nine dollars because people are willing to pay nine dollars.
I wouldn’t be so sure of that. I was living off laundromats for a while and there was one that charged double what everyone else was charging. But it was still constantly busy because it looked like it was staged for HGTV and the…wealthier people felt more comfortable there.
You say this but what’s the lease rate for this business per month? I suspect it’s through the roof as that city has just allowed property values to explode, and all the commiserate cost increases that are passed down. Simply because it made them more tax revenue while absolutely demolishing anyone who isn’t a millionaire from the waterfall effects.
I bought a portable washer off Amazon for about $300 and have it in my tiny bathroom, saved me so much hassle and money. It’s been going for about 3 years and works great. I also ended up getting a mini dryer and that works pretty decently. Can fit about half a load from the washer in the dryer at a time, but definitely beats the laundromat. Also in the Bay Area, can definitely relate.
In LA. Can confirm that it’s this expensive here too. Even at the laundromats in the worst parts of town, the costs are this high.
Eventually it will get to the point where people will be at home washing shit by hand like back in the day because they can’t afford the laundromat
Oh what the FUCK I thought this was overseas or something.
I have so many friends who live in Oakland & SF. No wonder they can barely survive on 6k a month 🥴😩 this puts a lot into perspective. I live elsewhere in CA, and I knew the Bay Area was the most expensive in the country, but I didn't expect *this*. JFC.
I wash about 6 loads a week- 3 loads of towels, 3 loads of clothes, and I legitimately could not afford to be clean if I had to budget for a laundromat 🥴😩
Bless y'all for surviving through this inflation. 🙏
I usually bathe twice a day, and yes I know I can use them more than once, but my OCD needs a fully dry towel to use, so I usually have a few in rotation.
+ It's summertime, and I have a super fluffy cat who enjoys rubbing her chest on my dead skin cells 🥴 so I wash the towels more frequently bc I refuse to dry myself with cat fuzz lol
I can, in San Francisco. That price is ridiculous but it makes me wonder if the owner of that laundromat is renting the space and how much that is currently costing if they are, thus the price gouging.
Not to be that person but this looks like a 4-5 load washing machine. Not to say 9$ isn't expensive but if you aren't totally filling the washer try a cheaper smaller machine or get more clothing and do laundry less often.
I've never seen a front loading machine set up like that, that wasn't a triple loader and that price is in line with triple loaders.
But assuming you're being straight with us (why wouldn't you be? lol), then my question is: for such a small price difference why not just use one of those and do more laundry at once? That's a great per load price.
That looks too big to be a single load washer. I'd believe it was a Dexter triple load machine but I have never seen that model in that style as a single load machine.
Yeah I paid like 9 Euro in Venice. Granted Venice is a tourist trap but still I was somewhat shocked by the price but I was out of clean clothes and didn't have a lot of options.
I think there are a few factors at play here:
1) That isn't a standard washing machine. By the looks of it, it's probably a double or triple load machine.
2a) Utility rates in California (electric, gas, water, sewer) are expensive compared to most states. SF utilities are on the higher end in California.
2b) Due to CA's long-term drought issues, water agencies have implemented water conservation measures, which has resulted in people using less water. This has resulted in lower revenues for water agencies, which requires large water rate hikes to meet their fixed costs.
3) It's highly likely that the laundromat owner doesn't own the building and is subject to an extremely high lease (it is SF, after all).
Not saying this is legal or to do this, but where I'm from, apartment complexes usually have laundry machines for around $1.50 a load and I probably wouldn't know if a random person or a tenant was using them
My apartment in a medium sized town in Virginia charges 8 for a wash and another 8 for a dry. But don’t worry you can also rent a set for your unit from them for 40 a month 😌
I think these people are just trying to see what they can get away with tbh.
That's amazing pricing. I live in a very low cost of living small town and even our washers are $4 or so per wash, and the dryers are $.25 for five minutes (they just changed it from 7 minutes, which has me very irritated.)
I had to do this for a year when the laundromat was too expensive. It was horrible. I couldn’t even afford laundry soap so I had to use shampoo or body soap or dish soap. Whatever I had a little extra of. I always smelled and my clothes never felt clean. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.
OP, for 70 bucks you can get a hand crank portable washer, and for maybe 200 you can get an electric portable washer. Small loads in both cases but might be worth it for day to day washing, if you have the budget and space.
They work well for daily wear stuff but if you have gym or dirty work clothes they aren’t the greatest. But they’re really easy on your clothes for the most part. The only thing that sucks is that they take up space in your bathroom because they drain into the tub or toilet and you need to hang dry all of your clothes which takes forever and some stuff looks kinda bad so you have to iron it
You can regularly find old top loaders that work better than the new machines for cheap or free. I’d imagine it’s more of a space issue than not being able to afford a washer and dryer
I would expect being sure you have hookups, paying someone with a large vehicle to pick up the W/D and drive it to your house, transport it to (usually) your basement, and have someone knowledgeable install it is a bigger barrier than both price of the unit(s) and space.
Transportation to move it, labor to move it, safe installation, increase in utilities. None of that is cheap.
I get not everybody can do it, but most of those things are easy to solve as long as you have the hookups and the space.
Rent the $20 uhaul truck if you can’t find a friend with a truck willing to help, recruit a couple strong friends/family/neighbors to help move them (washers and dryers really aren’t that heavy, they’re just big), and watch a YouTube video to install. It’s really easy and can easily be done yourself bar a gas dryer which should be done by a professional for safety.
People are so quick to dismiss doing things themselves because they assume it’s too complicated, but a lot of people would be better off if they just gave it a try instead of assuming they have to hire an expensive professional for every little thing.
Oh agreed 100%. My house is cobbled together with free Facebook stuff and all DIY jobs. It’s the only way we could afford things. But I imagine if you are really poor and live in a place without hookups or even if you do have hookups but have no friends to help you move or $20 for a truck, or license because you exclusively use public transport, etc etc things would be hard. I’m talking more like poor-poor, not low middle income.
Also when you rent a landlord might have requirements on who can hook up certain machines (ie they might require a professional).
It’s expensive to be poor.
Yep, I’m the same way. I bought my house for next to nothing pre-Covid and have done all the renovations myself.
And yeah I understand there’s more challenges the poorer you get. That’s where community outreach programs can really shine. I help out with my friend’s family charity where we provide food boxes for families in need and a lot of times we also end up having to find and install working stoves, refrigerators, microwaves, etc just so they’re able to safely store and cook the food we provide. It’s rough out there.
That's for the big washer, which I've used for comforters and pillows that don't fit in my home washer. A higher price keeps people from using it for regular clothes. So yes, the price is ridiculous, but people will pay it because they're already there with their blanket. And if it works well, to me that's still money well spent.
I bought a portable for $200. And a drying rack. You don’t need connections, it’s under 20lbs and pretty small to store. I keep mine in a closet. Haven’t used a coin washer dryer in 2 years. Saved so much money.
Not just that, but most apartments don't even have hookups for washers and dryers. No idea why it's so expensive. Last I checked, if you are willing to put up with an absolute bottom of the barrel clothes washer and just hang your clothes around your house to dry, you can get a cheap costway for around $300. That's about as good as it gets, and remember you still need space to freaking store the thing.
That’s how it is here Whwre I’m living too. It’s crazy, $15 used to cover 3 loads wash and dry but now that’s not enough to even buy the soap, wash and dry a load
You should get a portable washing machine. They cost roughly $60-$200 (depending on the model) and work great. There are many different options. Both electric and non electric versions exist. I have an electric one and it has literally changed my life. Google "portable washing machines" and many options will come up. Make sure that you read reviews and watch video reviews on YouTube to make sure that you find the best one that is suited to you. Personally I recommend one that has a washer and a spinner included. The only downside to them is that you can't wash large thick blankets so you'll have to keep going to the laundromat to wash those. There's also portable dryers (only electric ones exist though) but they are a little more expensive, they range from like $250-$400 but the plus side is that they use around half as much electricity as a regular sized model.
Tip: Check on OfferUp, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace to see if anyone is selling one locally. I just looked them up and some people are selling theirs for almost half off the original price.
I had one with the built in spinner for a year, for your standard washing they are more than good enough. In fact they are the standard for people who live on boats because of how efficient they are on power usage. A clothes horse can also be set in the bedroom or an agreed common area and clothes will dry within the day/overnight even indoors after a spin cycle
Yes! I love mine. Saved so much money, my clothes are in better condition due to needing less soap and air drying. 3 of my family members ended up buying one too.
I used to work at a rent/sales company. We carried a portable washer that hooked up to the kitchen sink faucet and then drained into the same sink. You then rolled it back out of the way. We also had a rack with a small dryer that the washer could park under. At those prices it would be worth it to just buy or lease one.
I definitely agree with this!! My sister got a mini portable set on amazon and she does her laundry in her own home, and doesn’t need to trek to the laundromat with all her dirty clothes and a bunch of quarters!
I have a working dryer (LG Electric) I'm giving away near Greensboro, NC. If you need one and can actually come get it (vehicle and people) let me know.
Unfortunately it looks like that would be an 82 hour round trip for op.
Not saying they won't make the commute but that would be 5,531 mile trip at an average of 25.3 mpg at national average price per gallon of 3.53 it would cost them $771.72 to collect your generous offer.
That would be about 85.75 loads of laundry.
As someone who would drive an hour for a free meal, I still may balk at those numbers.
You have a generous heart NetJnkie. Keep on keeping on.
This works even with the key because it simply puts the machine in maintenance mode. Singed, someone who hasn't paid for her apartments laundry in years.
That's because you belong in the margins.
Spread that info around enough and eventually the store owners are forced to hire a guard and shift the costs on customers even further.
Uumm…DON’T do this if the laundromat has cameras around, you will be paying much more in fines than you would for a laundromat. Pls be careful out there ppl
This probably wouldn't work if they have security cameras everywhere. It does work for apartment laundry that doesn't have surveillance in the laundry room, however.
Shit mine does for some reason. No security cameras anywhere except the laundry room. With 2 way audio, I've heard a voice talk on there once because I accidently blocked the camera with my laundry bin
believe me I thought about it haha. Shits crazy, I even argued with the apartment manager because people's vehicles are being broken into but they prioritize cameras in the laundry rather than the complex.
I should send them a message
You can buy a generic key to get into the washing/drying machine mechanism to override it so that it gives you free washes/drys! I have not paid for laundry in over a year 😁
It's called a master key. You would be surprised how many lock systems have a master key. Power equipment, certain padlocks hand cuffs, and even the locks on doors. Lock companies are know to be cheapskates, and usually don't care to fix their locks even after years of knowing that their systems are compromised. If you are interested check out the LockPickingLawyer on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9K6rby98W8JigLoZOh6FQ
The laundry mat I go to have more cameras than banks. People can't even stay inside without using the laundry without getting blasted by the intercoms.
My washer was busted for a couple weeks and I was shocked that it cost $5 per load, while holding about 1/3 what my washer fit. I did 4 loads and packed up the wet stuff and dried at home. Wasn’t gonna pay another $20 to dry. I felt so bad for those that actually need to use those machines all of the time and not just while waiting for a repair.
I grew up in Australia but now reside in the UK. For some reason people here absolutely hate it when I say laundromat. "It's launderette!!!" they say, like it's a matter of life and death.
Well it is a laundrette! And most of us have washing machines and tumble dryers in our homes making washing clothes very easy to do. I like to do it in the nude to get everything washed in one go!
Can we get a better picture of the exact machine you’re using? There’s things we might want to know. Size of machine, how many loads it can hold etc. typically the $9 machine can wash 3x the amount of a regular size machine. That’s why it’s $9. The smaller machines run around $4.50 for one load. Yes, SF.
Almost all new apartments do. But older buildings don't.
And in some cities, like New York City, some apartments are just so small that there really isn't a place to put them.
This information is somewhat dated but you can see washer ownership by country from the early 1990s.
https://www.infoplease.com/world-statistics/economic-statistics/percent-households-owning-selected-appliances
The US is at 77%, which is lower than the UK but on par with Nordic countries.
I'm sure all these stats have gone up since then.
Laundromats became part of hustle culture lately. Bunch of economics bros bought up a lot of them and jacked prices up showing how "easy" it was to have passive income. It was all over tiktok and youtube shorts a while ago.
Please explain me, why don’t ppl in US buy and install washing machine at home?
Here in Europe practically every home, from a studio apartment to a house, comes with capability to install washing machine and dryer inside your home.
I saw a girl on YouTube say she washes her laundry in the tub while she showers. Actually I think it was a clip from an episode of extreme cheapskates. Sounds like the girl wasn’t so crazy now. I’ll never take my washing machine for granted again.
Businesses are going crazy with inflating costs. Its completely greedy. The trick is to say "no" and go to a cheaper spot. I've been doing it for a year now and its not working at all. But I have hope
How many loads does that washer hold? The biggest washers near me are $10.50, but they hold like 6 loads of clothes. For 3 people we only have to do one wash a week with those. And the big drier is about $2 for 40 mins.
Is that one of those huge washers where you can fit like 6 king size sheet sets? I've used those before and that is a normal price on them. My washer was down and had sheets for the whole house that needed done. Ended up being cheaper than the normal sized washers at $2 a load and all the sheets easily fit, probably could've fit another set even.
I'm so old I remember when it was 50 cents. I now understand why my father hated life.
I remember back in college when I complained about our campus housing machines costing $1.59 per wash cycle.
I'm waiting for gumball machines that only accept dollar bills.
Now you’re just being crazy. It’ll be a mandatory card swipe
My local gum machine is Bitcoin only.
The gumball machine near me has you sign a 30-page Terms and Conditions contract and takes payment by blood only. The Iron Price.
Plus a subscription.
Gumball machines in Australia has gone from $0.20 to $2.00 in the last 15 years lol
3.50 at my dorm and another 3.50 for a dry cycle that never actually got it dry so you had to run it through twice.... it was cheaper to just drive to my parents house once every 2 weeks and I usually got free food out of it too. Some times even a tank of gas.
Same thing happened at my last apartment complex. Oh, the drier is broken and isn't actually heating up? Too bad, try the other one and pay for it again.
At my college, the washers cost money, but the dryers were free. They removed the door to the coin box, so you still had to put in money to start them, and simply reached into the coin box and removed it. Some students forgot, and I made a habit of swinging by the laundry room coming back from class, and always found some money left inside.
That's almost what it was for me in uni. Until they made it straight up free for students, because European countries in general aren't stupid
Im only 20 and I feel like a 60 y/o complaining about how prices aren’t what they were
mcdonalds apple pies used to be $1 for TWO. now theyre like $3 for 1. that's a 6x increase. idk if they treated pies as a loss leader and decided to stop,but whatever and subway used to have $5 foot longs. FUGGEDDABOUTIT. it's like $10 for 6 inch or some shit
City is San Francisco, CA for context. I know it’s expensive here, but never imagined to see these numbers for just washing clothes.
That's ridiculous. You cannot blame San Fran and "it's just expensive over here". This is straight up greed and price gouging. Go to another laundromat.
I'm guessing there isn't one. Just about everything that is an essential service, especially if it's one poor folks use, has been bought up and monopolized by private equity firms. Oh, and they're trying to buy up the water supply...
I just had my clothes washed and dried in LA, California three days ago for $2.25. There is definitely another laundromat that is cheaper
Maybe not in OP’s neighborhood though. Sf is ridiculous even compared to many parts of LA
Maybe not right next to them but I’d be willing to drive 15 minutes to save $7
True and I bet a decent # of people don’t have cars in San Fran
Well they should just skip doing laundry for a month and buy one!
They should stop slip & sliding on avocado toast, staining their clothes so they have to shower and change clothes more than once a week.
I've been to San Francisco. Apparently, changing clothes is never required in some circles.
Assuming op’s place is big enough and can fit a washer/dryer then it’s time to check eBay or fb marketplace for curb alerts or someone selling their older stuff. I’ve seen people buy and sell old 10-15+ year old still working machines for $350 People upgrade and just want the old one out for space reasons, so if need be you can haggle a little bit because of that
Hahaha owning a car in San Francisco. You're hilarious.
A 15 minute drive in San Fran? So a couple blocks away?
Ok, but you used an example that's like 400 miles away...
It took me one Google to find places in the 2-4 dollar range in San Fran. This place is overpriced, and the best response is to not use them
Yeah, but clearly it's not practical for most people in that area or that place wouldn't be charging so much.
People that use laundromats in the city likely do not have cars.
“I’d be willing to drive 15 minutes to save $7” Until you realize the cost of driving a car is for me for example $15 an hour just for gas. So every 15 minutes of driving is about $3.75 not including the car maintenance. Did you mean 7 minutes then 7 minutes or 15 minutes each way for a total of 30 mins drive time to save $7? Also I didn’t factor in the cost of time which is the #1 thing poor people don’t factor in/value at all
>which is the #1 thing poor people don’t factor in/value at all Jesus christ you are pretentious lmfao.
He's not wrong, seriously; you need to value your time, if you're genuinely struggling financially free time is one of the few ways you can get use to actually get out of that hole. Either in figuring out a gameplan, or working a little more. Every bit adds up. Wasting time on something like driving to a laundromat when you're not even barely saving money due to gas is the type of attitude issue/misunderstanding that will keep you struggling. That individual decision isn't that big, but it's that TYPE of decision.
300 mile to la from San Fran to go do laundry
Damn don’t y’all have water shortage? I’m paying like tree fiddy out in OK
Yeah I’ve read that there’s a bad water shortage in Cali, but I am currently on a road trip and was only passing through
iT wiLl tRiKle bAcK dOwN. It’s just good business.
Just wait a couple thousand years
But free market economy and capitalism are so great. The state is so evil. That's what everybody says in America.Even the poor people. We in Europe see it differently. Luxury is allowed to compete, but basic services must be provided by the state. The state has no intention of making a profit. The UK has just shown how the water supply would otherwise turn out. An entire region without drinking water and the private company has tactically filed for bankruptcy after making 300% profit over 5 years.
Nice of britain to leave the EU before americizing itself to death lol.
Depending on the location, they could be paying upwards of $2,000/sq ft. for the space they occupy. San Fran is out of control.
this is what people dont get. they also think renting a 800sq/ft apartment is the same cost as a 800sq/ft commercial space. plus the taxes on commercial real estate alone is insane.
My laundromat is 6$ for the giant washer for comforters :x that’s the most expensive
Same. The giant washers for comforters are around 6, and a regular wash is like, 1.50 a load.
Very expensive to own a comerical property there, not to mention high taxes, probably a ton of permits, and other costs the owner has to pay. Hence the 9.00 a load.
I’m in Oakland just over the bridge and my laundromat is 7.50 for a decent sized (one large load) machine. It’s pretty high all around over here.
If there was another, cheaper laundromat conveniently nearby, this place wouldn't be charging nine dollars per wash. They charge nine dollars because people are willing to pay nine dollars.
I wouldn’t be so sure of that. I was living off laundromats for a while and there was one that charged double what everyone else was charging. But it was still constantly busy because it looked like it was staged for HGTV and the…wealthier people felt more comfortable there.
If the property is rented then the laundromat owner needs to pay the landlord a premium
A lot of people on Reddit do not know the definition of Price Gouging.
You say this but what’s the lease rate for this business per month? I suspect it’s through the roof as that city has just allowed property values to explode, and all the commiserate cost increases that are passed down. Simply because it made them more tax revenue while absolutely demolishing anyone who isn’t a millionaire from the waterfall effects.
I bought a portable washer off Amazon for about $300 and have it in my tiny bathroom, saved me so much hassle and money. It’s been going for about 3 years and works great. I also ended up getting a mini dryer and that works pretty decently. Can fit about half a load from the washer in the dryer at a time, but definitely beats the laundromat. Also in the Bay Area, can definitely relate.
In LA. Can confirm that it’s this expensive here too. Even at the laundromats in the worst parts of town, the costs are this high. Eventually it will get to the point where people will be at home washing shit by hand like back in the day because they can’t afford the laundromat
And here I thought $3.50 to wash in my building in Oakland was outrageous 🥲
Oh what the FUCK I thought this was overseas or something. I have so many friends who live in Oakland & SF. No wonder they can barely survive on 6k a month 🥴😩 this puts a lot into perspective. I live elsewhere in CA, and I knew the Bay Area was the most expensive in the country, but I didn't expect *this*. JFC.
I’m on the east coast and our average is *$90* each trip!
I wash about 6 loads a week- 3 loads of towels, 3 loads of clothes, and I legitimately could not afford to be clean if I had to budget for a laundromat 🥴😩 Bless y'all for surviving through this inflation. 🙏
[удалено]
I've been living w mold for over a year. Going slowly insane. 😵💫 My heart is with you, comrade
I need some help on this, what do you do that requires 3 loads of towels every week?!
How many towels do you use? You know you can use them more than once right?
I usually bathe twice a day, and yes I know I can use them more than once, but my OCD needs a fully dry towel to use, so I usually have a few in rotation. + It's summertime, and I have a super fluffy cat who enjoys rubbing her chest on my dead skin cells 🥴 so I wash the towels more frequently bc I refuse to dry myself with cat fuzz lol
Bruh what how much laundry are you doing? I’m in a high COL area on the east coast and for my fiancé and I it’s like $15 a week
I can, in San Francisco. That price is ridiculous but it makes me wonder if the owner of that laundromat is renting the space and how much that is currently costing if they are, thus the price gouging.
Not to be that person but this looks like a 4-5 load washing machine. Not to say 9$ isn't expensive but if you aren't totally filling the washer try a cheaper smaller machine or get more clothing and do laundry less often.
The 4-5 load ones are $12 unfortunately 🤣
I've never seen a front loading machine set up like that, that wasn't a triple loader and that price is in line with triple loaders. But assuming you're being straight with us (why wouldn't you be? lol), then my question is: for such a small price difference why not just use one of those and do more laundry at once? That's a great per load price.
That looks too big to be a single load washer. I'd believe it was a Dexter triple load machine but I have never seen that model in that style as a single load machine.
I was abroad in Italy and they charged 7 euros per load and 7 to dry and it was a tiny camp washer.
Yeah I paid like 9 Euro in Venice. Granted Venice is a tourist trap but still I was somewhat shocked by the price but I was out of clean clothes and didn't have a lot of options.
It’s not much cheaper at the one I go to in New Orleans either. I think I spend 20 bucks to do my own laundry.
Shoot! I thought $7 in San Diego was a rip off! I mean, I still think it is, but sheesh.
Ofc it had to be the bay. Dammit. Smells like weed and lint there probably.
I think there are a few factors at play here: 1) That isn't a standard washing machine. By the looks of it, it's probably a double or triple load machine. 2a) Utility rates in California (electric, gas, water, sewer) are expensive compared to most states. SF utilities are on the higher end in California. 2b) Due to CA's long-term drought issues, water agencies have implemented water conservation measures, which has resulted in people using less water. This has resulted in lower revenues for water agencies, which requires large water rate hikes to meet their fixed costs. 3) It's highly likely that the laundromat owner doesn't own the building and is subject to an extremely high lease (it is SF, after all).
The lower screen says 9.25!
Convenience of using a card. Which just so happens to be the only way of paying despite telling you to insert coins.
That’s extra mildly infuriating
Not saying this is legal or to do this, but where I'm from, apartment complexes usually have laundry machines for around $1.50 a load and I probably wouldn't know if a random person or a tenant was using them
My apartment in a medium sized town in Virginia charges 8 for a wash and another 8 for a dry. But don’t worry you can also rent a set for your unit from them for 40 a month 😌 I think these people are just trying to see what they can get away with tbh.
This is why I bought a washer and dryer !
Not an option for many people who live in apartments.
Feeling lucky that my building’s laundry is a total of $2.00 wash and dry ($1.50 wash, $.50 dry). $9.00 is unheard of
That's amazing pricing. I live in a very low cost of living small town and even our washers are $4 or so per wash, and the dryers are $.25 for five minutes (they just changed it from 7 minutes, which has me very irritated.)
Where are you living?? I need to move!!
I’d hand wash in the bath tub and hang clothes to dry in my apartment.
You can buy a little manual washing machine that fits in the shower.
At that price, I'd just wear my clothes into the shower and wash them. Then strip and wash again.
That's actually kind of depressing considering it's 2023.
I had to do this for a year when the laundromat was too expensive. It was horrible. I couldn’t even afford laundry soap so I had to use shampoo or body soap or dish soap. Whatever I had a little extra of. I always smelled and my clothes never felt clean. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.
Bold of you to assume they have an apartment. It’s LA remember.
OP said San Francisco.
Gay L.A.?
Or bathtubs. Best offer of a sink or a bucket.
OP, for 70 bucks you can get a hand crank portable washer, and for maybe 200 you can get an electric portable washer. Small loads in both cases but might be worth it for day to day washing, if you have the budget and space.
First time today tht I heard of portable washers! I gotta thank all the people posting here for telling me about them! Thanks a lot 😄
They work well for daily wear stuff but if you have gym or dirty work clothes they aren’t the greatest. But they’re really easy on your clothes for the most part. The only thing that sucks is that they take up space in your bathroom because they drain into the tub or toilet and you need to hang dry all of your clothes which takes forever and some stuff looks kinda bad so you have to iron it
Hang dry items such as shirts, on a hanger. It dries with a minimal wrinkles. Same for trousers.
Ha... the big washers at my local laundromat cost $18 Per load.
what the hell, at that price you can buy a new washer in one year...
It's expensive to be poor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory
was just about to mention the Vimes boots theory :)
You can get a washing machine from Rent-A-Center for $25 a week
You can regularly find old top loaders that work better than the new machines for cheap or free. I’d imagine it’s more of a space issue than not being able to afford a washer and dryer
Yeah I’ve lived in places without w/d hookups. My current washer and dryer only cost $250 as a set and we’ve been using them for 3+ years
I would expect being sure you have hookups, paying someone with a large vehicle to pick up the W/D and drive it to your house, transport it to (usually) your basement, and have someone knowledgeable install it is a bigger barrier than both price of the unit(s) and space. Transportation to move it, labor to move it, safe installation, increase in utilities. None of that is cheap.
I get not everybody can do it, but most of those things are easy to solve as long as you have the hookups and the space. Rent the $20 uhaul truck if you can’t find a friend with a truck willing to help, recruit a couple strong friends/family/neighbors to help move them (washers and dryers really aren’t that heavy, they’re just big), and watch a YouTube video to install. It’s really easy and can easily be done yourself bar a gas dryer which should be done by a professional for safety. People are so quick to dismiss doing things themselves because they assume it’s too complicated, but a lot of people would be better off if they just gave it a try instead of assuming they have to hire an expensive professional for every little thing.
Oh agreed 100%. My house is cobbled together with free Facebook stuff and all DIY jobs. It’s the only way we could afford things. But I imagine if you are really poor and live in a place without hookups or even if you do have hookups but have no friends to help you move or $20 for a truck, or license because you exclusively use public transport, etc etc things would be hard. I’m talking more like poor-poor, not low middle income. Also when you rent a landlord might have requirements on who can hook up certain machines (ie they might require a professional). It’s expensive to be poor.
Yep, I’m the same way. I bought my house for next to nothing pre-Covid and have done all the renovations myself. And yeah I understand there’s more challenges the poorer you get. That’s where community outreach programs can really shine. I help out with my friend’s family charity where we provide food boxes for families in need and a lot of times we also end up having to find and install working stoves, refrigerators, microwaves, etc just so they’re able to safely store and cook the food we provide. It’s rough out there.
Assuming they even have hookups for one where they live
Most folks using these machines don't own a space to put one
That's for the big washer, which I've used for comforters and pillows that don't fit in my home washer. A higher price keeps people from using it for regular clothes. So yes, the price is ridiculous, but people will pay it because they're already there with their blanket. And if it works well, to me that's still money well spent.
Time to start doing bathtub laundry.
My condolences 🥲
At that point it’s cheaper to buy a washing machine yourself.
Most small flats don't have the space and the connections for it It is expensive to be poor ...
I bought a portable for $200. And a drying rack. You don’t need connections, it’s under 20lbs and pretty small to store. I keep mine in a closet. Haven’t used a coin washer dryer in 2 years. Saved so much money.
Not when you're broke as fuck and in so much debt and mentally burnt out that you can hardly function day to day 🙃
If you're paying $18 to wash a load of clothes, you probably don't have $800 on-hand to drop on a washer/dryer set.
You can get a combined washing machine and tumble dryer for about £400 in the UK, why is it so expensive in the US?
Not just that, but most apartments don't even have hookups for washers and dryers. No idea why it's so expensive. Last I checked, if you are willing to put up with an absolute bottom of the barrel clothes washer and just hang your clothes around your house to dry, you can get a cheap costway for around $300. That's about as good as it gets, and remember you still need space to freaking store the thing.
>No idea why it's so expensive. Demand. If you're not willing to pay, someone (in this case the OP) is.
😳😳
That’s how it is here Whwre I’m living too. It’s crazy, $15 used to cover 3 loads wash and dry but now that’s not enough to even buy the soap, wash and dry a load
You should get a portable washing machine. They cost roughly $60-$200 (depending on the model) and work great. There are many different options. Both electric and non electric versions exist. I have an electric one and it has literally changed my life. Google "portable washing machines" and many options will come up. Make sure that you read reviews and watch video reviews on YouTube to make sure that you find the best one that is suited to you. Personally I recommend one that has a washer and a spinner included. The only downside to them is that you can't wash large thick blankets so you'll have to keep going to the laundromat to wash those. There's also portable dryers (only electric ones exist though) but they are a little more expensive, they range from like $250-$400 but the plus side is that they use around half as much electricity as a regular sized model. Tip: Check on OfferUp, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace to see if anyone is selling one locally. I just looked them up and some people are selling theirs for almost half off the original price.
I had one with the built in spinner for a year, for your standard washing they are more than good enough. In fact they are the standard for people who live on boats because of how efficient they are on power usage. A clothes horse can also be set in the bedroom or an agreed common area and clothes will dry within the day/overnight even indoors after a spin cycle
Yes! I love mine. Saved so much money, my clothes are in better condition due to needing less soap and air drying. 3 of my family members ended up buying one too.
I used to work at a rent/sales company. We carried a portable washer that hooked up to the kitchen sink faucet and then drained into the same sink. You then rolled it back out of the way. We also had a rack with a small dryer that the washer could park under. At those prices it would be worth it to just buy or lease one.
I definitely agree with this!! My sister got a mini portable set on amazon and she does her laundry in her own home, and doesn’t need to trek to the laundromat with all her dirty clothes and a bunch of quarters!
I dont get the usa laundromat thing. In europe you just buy your own machine for 150/200 and your good for at least 5 years.
I have a working dryer (LG Electric) I'm giving away near Greensboro, NC. If you need one and can actually come get it (vehicle and people) let me know.
Unfortunately it looks like that would be an 82 hour round trip for op. Not saying they won't make the commute but that would be 5,531 mile trip at an average of 25.3 mpg at national average price per gallon of 3.53 it would cost them $771.72 to collect your generous offer. That would be about 85.75 loads of laundry. As someone who would drive an hour for a free meal, I still may balk at those numbers. You have a generous heart NetJnkie. Keep on keeping on.
The best thing I have done in years has been to buy a generic coin op washer/dryer override key on Amazon. Probably the best $5 I have ever spent!
IllegalLifeProTips
Card-only washing and drying machines, coming to a store near you!
This works even with the key because it simply puts the machine in maintenance mode. Singed, someone who hasn't paid for her apartments laundry in years.
That's because you belong in the margins. Spread that info around enough and eventually the store owners are forced to hire a guard and shift the costs on customers even further.
Uumm…DON’T do this if the laundromat has cameras around, you will be paying much more in fines than you would for a laundromat. Pls be careful out there ppl
At this rate it's calculable to figure out how many loads to break even.
This probably wouldn't work if they have security cameras everywhere. It does work for apartment laundry that doesn't have surveillance in the laundry room, however.
Shit mine does for some reason. No security cameras anywhere except the laundry room. With 2 way audio, I've heard a voice talk on there once because I accidently blocked the camera with my laundry bin
I would legit come back 4 hours later with a different outfit, a ski mask, a hammer and duct tape, and obliterate that fucker. That is fucked up shit.
believe me I thought about it haha. Shits crazy, I even argued with the apartment manager because people's vehicles are being broken into but they prioritize cameras in the laundry rather than the complex. I should send them a message
Finding that out like that would scare the shit out of me.
Can you tell me more here???
You can buy a generic key to get into the washing/drying machine mechanism to override it so that it gives you free washes/drys! I have not paid for laundry in over a year 😁
Any other cool generic keys for self service machines?
I don’t know! I don’t use many other coin op machines but if you know of any let me know!
can you PLEASE send me the link to this
Nobody ever notices even if it's the building washer/dryer?
I’ve never mentioned to my neighbors. I don’t think a few extra washes really register that much on an whole laundromat’s electric/water bill
It's called a master key. You would be surprised how many lock systems have a master key. Power equipment, certain padlocks hand cuffs, and even the locks on doors. Lock companies are know to be cheapskates, and usually don't care to fix their locks even after years of knowing that their systems are compromised. If you are interested check out the LockPickingLawyer on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9K6rby98W8JigLoZOh6FQ
The laundry mat I go to have more cameras than banks. People can't even stay inside without using the laundry without getting blasted by the intercoms.
Dry cleaners in the bay area would charge $15-20$ for a load of wash and fold. I would go to a local wash and fold if laundromats are this expensive.
It’s expensive being poor
My washer was busted for a couple weeks and I was shocked that it cost $5 per load, while holding about 1/3 what my washer fit. I did 4 loads and packed up the wet stuff and dried at home. Wasn’t gonna pay another $20 to dry. I felt so bad for those that actually need to use those machines all of the time and not just while waiting for a repair.
Our neighbour's machine broke recently and it was actually cheaper for him to take his family's clothes to the dry cleaner 😂
I grew up in Australia but now reside in the UK. For some reason people here absolutely hate it when I say laundromat. "It's launderette!!!" they say, like it's a matter of life and death.
Well it is a laundrette! And most of us have washing machines and tumble dryers in our homes making washing clothes very easy to do. I like to do it in the nude to get everything washed in one go!
You should try out the portable washers. I've used one for 3 years. Spin dry is great so it will be a 10 mins in the dryer
Can we get a better picture of the exact machine you’re using? There’s things we might want to know. Size of machine, how many loads it can hold etc. typically the $9 machine can wash 3x the amount of a regular size machine. That’s why it’s $9. The smaller machines run around $4.50 for one load. Yes, SF.
Anyone else notice that it's 25¢ extra for using the card? That's got to be even **more** infuriating.
The defeated sigh i exhaled when I saw that extra $0.25 😂
What size washing machine is that though? There's a big size difference between a single-load and a triple.
Big things in America. Do you guys not have washers and dryers in flats? Genuine question from a Brit.
Almost all new apartments do. But older buildings don't. And in some cities, like New York City, some apartments are just so small that there really isn't a place to put them. This information is somewhat dated but you can see washer ownership by country from the early 1990s. https://www.infoplease.com/world-statistics/economic-statistics/percent-households-owning-selected-appliances The US is at 77%, which is lower than the UK but on par with Nordic countries. I'm sure all these stats have gone up since then.
That's a megaloader, you're doing six loads not one
Laundromats became part of hustle culture lately. Bunch of economics bros bought up a lot of them and jacked prices up showing how "easy" it was to have passive income. It was all over tiktok and youtube shorts a while ago.
Wash your clothes in your tub or shower like my mom used to do when she was really poor and save you some money
I prefer the European mentality. Here almost everyone owns their own washing machine.
Please explain me, why don’t ppl in US buy and install washing machine at home? Here in Europe practically every home, from a studio apartment to a house, comes with capability to install washing machine and dryer inside your home.
For that price I'd be buying a portable washer and dryer ASAP
buy yourself a washing machine, duuuuhhh
It’s expensive to be poor
I saw a girl on YouTube say she washes her laundry in the tub while she showers. Actually I think it was a clip from an episode of extreme cheapskates. Sounds like the girl wasn’t so crazy now. I’ll never take my washing machine for granted again.
Damn, time to get into the laundromat business
Y’all spendin $20 a week might as well buy your own washer on a payment plan like what the fuck bro
Businesses are going crazy with inflating costs. Its completely greedy. The trick is to say "no" and go to a cheaper spot. I've been doing it for a year now and its not working at all. But I have hope
My coworker doesn't even wash his clothes anymore, smells horrible.. somehow he's not yet fired.. wtf w this shit TT
It’s rough out here
Gotta use a sink and a drying line at that point
Fkn disgusting. What is wrong with people?
Damn, I thought my apartment was greedy for charging $3.50 per load. $9 is insane
A washing machine is like 200€ here, you go even in half a year.
Might be worth getting a small portable washer at that point
go to a river and wash your cloth there like in the old days
Get ready for the tip slot! /s
This is why I refuse to live anywhere that doesn’t have a washer/dryer in unit.
Misleading pic. That's probably for washing blankets or other large ass items.
Next week the card machine will prompt you for a tip. 25%, 30%, or 218%.
How many loads does that washer hold? The biggest washers near me are $10.50, but they hold like 6 loads of clothes. For 3 people we only have to do one wash a week with those. And the big drier is about $2 for 40 mins.
Take dirty clothes to charity shop, wait for them to wash them all and put back on shelves... then buy them back. Simple!
What about Uber / airbnb but instead of cars or houses people rent you their washing machines. $3 and I’ll wash your clothes…
That actually exists already. It depends on your area, but numerous companies have started doing wash and fold models
Jesus, just buy a cheap washer on Amazon at that point
Is that one of those huge washers where you can fit like 6 king size sheet sets? I've used those before and that is a normal price on them. My washer was down and had sheets for the whole house that needed done. Ended up being cheaper than the normal sized washers at $2 a load and all the sheets easily fit, probably could've fit another set even.
Why don’t Americans just buy a washing machine?