Students throughout SUNY Cortland campus have been dealing with laundry problems all semester. But why?
In the past few weeks, the washers and dryers in the residence halls have been constantly breaking, leaving dorms with 1-2 washers and dryers for all residents. This has left many students agitated, and wondering why this keeps happening.
This laundry issue is occurring in several dorms. In Fitzgerald Hall recently, there was only one working washer. Many students were camping out in the laundry room, with their clothes ready, so they could get the only working washer next.
“I find our laundry situation so frustrating,” said one of the residents of Fitzgerald Hall.
Students have been left waiting for several hours to wash clothes, considering that each washing cycle takes about 35 minutes. Currently, the residence hall has 2 working washers, which seems to be a big improvement for students.
“I don’t want to be spending what little free time I have waiting in the laundry room for one of two machines to be available,” said one of the residents.
Overfilling the washers with detergent could be one the reasons why they keep breaking, which can cause them to flood. The floors in the laundry room are constantly wet because of this flooding. For both washers and dryers, putting too many clothes in the machine can also break them.
Residents are strongly encouraged to fill out a work order form when they notice a machine is broken. The request form can be found in this link. This will ensure that all Housing Staff is aware of the problem with the machine so they can work on getting it fixed as efficiently as possible.
Many students are wondering when the machines will be fixed. SUNY Cortland hires an outside contractor to fix the washers and dryers that are broken. The nearest location for these contractors is in Buffalo, which is why it’s been taking a while for them to get one to campus. But, according to emails sent out by Housing Staff, the machines will be fixed soon.
All the staff have been working hard to solve this problem for students and to keep the laundry room and all spaces in the dorms clean and safe.
What can residents do about this laundry problem? Here are some helpful laundry trips for keeping the space both tidy and usable:
- Don’t use too much detergent in the washing machines
- Don’t overfill the washers or dryers with clothes
- Clean out the lint trap when you’re using the dryer
- Set timers on your phone so other people can use the machines
- Submit a work order if something is broken
SUNY Cortland has also provided serval resources to residents to help with maintenance and how to use the machines.
Though the situation is frustrating for students, they remain optimistic that a solution will come soon. “Hopefully the laundry machines will be fixed, so I can use them at my leisure,” said one of Fitzgerald’s residents.