Washing clothes causes a stink for students

by WHITNEY DANIEL
reporter

Students often learn to recycle their dirty wardrobe when they find themselves without clean clothes or quarters. Washing clothes can be expensive and inconvenient for many college students.

The American Sales Co., headquartered in Newton, Iowa, supplies Marshall residence halls with washing machines and dryers that charge $1.60 to $2 per load of laundry.

"A percentage of the money goes to the American Sales Co., and a percentage goes back into the residence hall for maintenance and repairs," Winston Baker, director of residence services, said.

Jill Cox, a sophomore psychology major from Princeton, said, "I do all my laundry here. I wash my colors separate from my whites, and it can get pretty expensive."

There are some ways for students living in residence halls to save money on laundry.

"If you put money on your ID card, you can save about 60 cents a load," Joe Nebel, a freshman sports management and marketing major from Brentwood, Tenn., said.

Other students choose to wash their clothes at home during a weekend visit or holiday break.

"I go home regularly, so I always wait and take it home," Brandon Burton, a St. Albans sophomore, said.

And still others save money by taking their dirty clothes to a friendÕs house.

"I wash my clothes at Courtyard (University Courtyard Apartments)," Shannon OÕConnor, a Pittsburgh sophomore majoring in business, said. "I never washed clothes before college. I have turned a few clothes pink that were supposed to stay white."

Living off campus can have its advantages when it comes to laundry.

"Having accessibility to a washer and dryer at my house saves me so much time and money," Stacy Tisk, a junior psychology major from Wheeling, said.

However, some students off campus do not have the luxury of having a washer and dryer in their house or apartment.

"Our landlords have a community washer and dryer, but its a pain because they charge a dollar to wash and a dollar to dry," Preston Will, a junior from Culpepper, Va. majoring in sports management and marketing, said.

"It is also a burden to have to bag up our laundry and drag it across the street to get to the machines."

So, whether students live on or off campus, they say they are always going to be looking for ways to save money when doing their laundry.