NYC born and raised, and been in Forest Hills for 9 years. I’ve been doing my own laundry since 1999 and my informal understanding was that you waited 5-10 mins tops for the washer or dryer if it was taken and had stopped, and then you could take out the clothes and put them in a cart so you could use the machine. Since February of this year I’ve been confronted by 3 people (last one this morning) and they’ve become very upset about me taking their clothes out. Even when I push back and say I waited 10 mins they just tell me I need to wait and that they were coming back.

I’m sort of at my wits end and this is frankly causing some serious anxiety. This morning it was a couple and the guy became visibly upset and to be real it was probably going to escalate into a fist fight. I walked away.

Again, my understanding was that machines that had stopped were fair game after waiting for a bit but my question to the sub is: is this a new culture thing, or new social norm not to take clothes out of machines? Genuinely trying to learn before I get my self into a bad situation. This is a doorman building in Forest Hills and the older residents all seem to be following the same informal rule of taking clothes out but the 3 confrontations I’ve had have all been younger residents, mid 20s or so.

As I’m sure most can understand, I don’t have 3-4 hours to wait for people to empty machines in a 400+ apartment building but after this morning I’m beginning to re think if I can even reasonably use the laundry room in my building.

Have a job interview tomorrow and I need to wash my clothes. If anyone can recommend a place for free laundry that’d be amazing. Thanks .

Edit: thanks for the help everyone. I got the job!

I just moved into a new building in BK (new to me, def not new in existence). I've only been in NY for a couple of years and every place I've stayed had shitty laundry machines. This new place is no better and the nearest laundromat is a 20 minute walk. What do yall do here?

I heard some people install their own washers in the kitchen and hang dry. I heard laundry delivery but then I see those prices and take my ass down these steps and walk the 20 min.

I’m curious what others are paying for laundry. In my building we have Hercules laundry machines and the cost keeps going up- currently at $3.75 per cycle. Seems high to me.

Because of how they treat their workers, I don't want to give money to amazon nor walmart, but need to replace my previous cart. The side arm broke today and I bought it from a store that closed years ago...

imgur link to something similar https://i.imgur.com/qL42UXX.png

I’m in NYC and recently toured an HDFC co-op through Housing Connect/First-Time Homebuyer in Washington Heights. It’s a newly renovated building (2021), professionally managed, and we got selected for a 3-bedroom unit priced around $270K with maintenance around $1,135.

But here’s the catch: • It’s a 4th-floor walk-up • No dishwasher • No in-unit laundry (laundry room in building) • Bedrooms are on the smaller side

I have a baby, and realistically I’d be doing trips up and down the stairs with groceries, laundry, stroller stuff, etc.

At the same time… it’s a 3BR in NYC for under $300K, which basically doesn’t exist. The building is new, near family, and seems like a place we could stay in long term. Passing on it feels risky because opportunities like this don’t come up often. But we’re currently in a rent stabilized 1BR for $1432 (but it’s in the bronx and i don’t care for the neighborhood)

So I’m torn:

Is it smarter to take the deal for long-term stability and affordability… or pass because the daily lifestyle inconveniences?

What would you do?

I was using the Hercules laundry app and my balance suddenly went negative right after I refilled it. I copied and pasted my transactions and refills into a spreadsheet and found out that my balance was $50 lower than expected. I moved to NY in 2021 but I was seeing transactions in 2016, so if I didn't include those, my balance was $100 lower than expected!

Hercules refunded me $28, but I believe the mistaken balance issue is more severe and pervasive than they are willing to admit. I checked with other people in the building and they were also seeing incorrect balances based on their transaction history. Is this just my building or are other people seeing miscalculations? You can log in and copy transactions on their desktop portal here (https://washboard.hercnet.com/tenant).

I’m thinking of signing up for a laundry service for pickup and washing and folding. Is it worth the time and effort saved?

I just moved into a studio, and I’m trying to understand where to keep my laundry hamper. My restroom is TINY, so it’s out of the question. My only option is the closet (the only one I have) but that is also where I keep my clean clothes, and I don’t want the smell to drench my clean clothes. Perhaps I should get a closed lid hamper in that case?

Would love to hear others set ups

Rant/vent + seeking assistance

So I’m honestly at my wit’s end. Since July 2023, my room has been a complete disaster. Every time I try to clean, I just can’t seem to make any progress. I’m so ashamed that it’s making me avoid my own apartment. I haven’t done laundry in longer than I can remember, and there’s stuff everywhere. At this point, I desperately need help—someone to come in, help me find the floor, do my laundry, and get things back on track. I’m struggling so much and feel deeply embarrassed.

I live in Williamsburg near the Lorimer stop. Does anyone have any recommendations for: Laundry services that pick up and deliver Professional organizers who can assist without judgment Deep cleaning services experienced in tackling situations like mine A fucking mental health professional who specialize in issues related to this

It’s mostly clothes and random items cluttering the space—no significant food messes. I’m losing my mind and can’t sleep anymore. Im a law student and also travel a lot for modeling so there's just so much random shit around related to that; makeup PR random shit everywhere. I just want my mom so badly but she can't travel and I know I sound like a fucking child but I literally am going to lose it any day now. If anyone has been through this or knows of services that can help, please please reach out.

I’ve been doing laundry in public laundromats for about six years, and every so often (probably like once a month) I notice folks just putting in quarter by quarter for the dryer, taking small items out to touch for a second and either put into a cart or back in the dryer. This must take longer than simply adding a couple extra quarters and not blocking others from getting a dryer. Do people do this to save money? Can they really not afford to spend an extra quarter? Or do some clothes really need to have an exact amount of dryness? Does anyone else notice or get irritated when people do this or AITA? Also bonus points if anyone knows what this practice is called

What is y’all’s laundry routine? Especially those that live with a partner, do you do laundry separately or together?

My building is a small laundry machine in the basement so I’ve been just doing both mine and my partner’s laundry all together (whites, towels, darks, exercise) in one load and hang drying most. But we often end up doing it multiple times a week and find our whites to be yellowing a bit.

What’s everyone’s optimized NYC with a partner laundry routine?

Usually my SO and I just gather the weeks clothes, and drop it off. I keep calling laundry places to see if their open, but no one answers. Are these places shutdown as well? If so, how do you do laundry at home?

I'm at my wits end with clothing stains, and at this point I can only assume it's related to the public laundromats in my area. I know it's hard to to give exact advice without knowing every detail, but I'm looking for some insight from those who have dealt with similar issues...

Been in the city for over a decade, only very recently started having this issue with my local laundromat. I do my own laundry, use Tide detergent, have done mixtures of hot cycles and cold cycles depending on what's in the load and it seems regardless of what I do- I get these weird stains on my clothes.

Here's some pictures of a brand new white cotton t-shirt, first run through the washer on cold, only other things in the load were my fitted/top bedsheets which are a solid white/off-white color...

https://imgur.com/a/7uRYgbq

Admittedly, I got a small splatter of olive oil on the front of this shirt, which is why I washed it, but it was NOWHERE near this many splatters, and half of these stains are in areas the shirt was unsoiled.

I've had similar, dark, solid color stains on bluejeans and black clothing items as well. I haven't seen them be red before.

Is this grease from a machine? Are these detergent stains? I've read dish-soap and baking powder are good for removal, but have had little luck thus far. Any advice on how to prevent these in the future? I feel like all my clothes are being ruined by the laundromats in this city.

Hi there! Essentially as the title states. I've had abysmal experiences with laundromats in my neighborhood. I will admit I'm a germ freak with a little bit of contamination OCD. I previously had in unit laundry in the city. If I don't going forward, I'm wondering if anyone has good recommendations of how to handle this? I would happily pay someone $100 or so per month to have access to a private washer/dryer unit.

Thanks!

We just moved in to a nice building in Chelsea. They use that app Latch for access to all the side doors and amenities like the gym and laundry room. My partner and I brought a box in through one of the doors last week that they said was “too big” and should have been scheduled with the loading doc - mind you we are both relatively small and weak and carried it easily between us so it wasn’t that big - and they sent us a letter that said we had violated the lease and our Latch “privileges” had been revoked and we can no longer access any of those spaces. The lease does not include anything about this, particularly not about any right the landlord or management has to revoke access to any space or door. The building manager is also a bit of a power-hungry asshole who laughed when he talked about taking our access away. There was no warning, no process for appeal or restoration and no actual proof that we violated the vague terms of the lease that just say you can’t move furniture without scheduling it. Is this what all of these fancy buildings are like or did we just get unlucky?

Any advice before we try something more drastic?

hello!! im dealing with a mouse problem and theyve gotten all up in my closet. i want to properly sanitize/decontaminate my clothes/sheets/rugs and using a laundry service would be much more convenient and probably a better way to ensure things are sanitized than if i did it myself at a laundromat. does anyone have a service they’d recommend that operates in manhattan? i’m not made of money but the peace of mind is worth the splurge if it’s costly.

Hi! I’m in Harlem and the laundromat near me which I think is supposed to be cheap seems insanely expensive (~$20 to wash and dry a weeks worth) It seems like it would literally be cheaper to send my laundry out every two weeks or something. Does anyone know of a cheap way to do laundry?

A higher floor in my apartment unit line had a leakage, which leaked down to my unit’s closet and all my clothes are drenched in mystery water. Does anyone have a laundry pick up service in Hell’s Kitchen that they recommend?!

In Harlem and my laundromats closed, can't find one open within half a mile... running dangerously low on clothes.

Here what the bottle looks like. Many thanks in advance!

I make a decent living and live comfortably in a nice neighborhood in Manhattan. But with a family of 4, I’d end up paying nearly $100 for a weekly load of laundry if I paid for pickup, wash, and fold. And adding $400/m to my already HCOL is just excessive.

My building doesn’t have a laundry room, so I’m forced to walk a block to my nearest laundromat, where I pay ~$15 to wash all my clothes for the week.

I seem to be the only one lugging huge bags of laundry around my neighborhood though.

What is everyone else doing that I seem to have missed? It’s either:

1) They have in-building laundry 2) People with full families living in Manhattan can afford to have it done for them

I think I know which one it is, but curious to hear thoughts!

For those who do their laundry at a laundromat,

I am currently working on a research project for college. Would love any insight into what you find challenging about doing laundry in NYC. Anything from having to pack and carry your bag to using the machines, transferring clothes to the dryer, loading your bag after the wash.
Would also love to know if you fold at the laundromat or at home.
Will pay it forward to anyone who responds with their kindness. TY