Go for a spin (cycle)

September 22, 2011 7:51 PM

As many students living in residence already know, there have been some changes to the on-campus laundry facilities. They now feature a new payment option – your school ID card, which is now outfitted with a fancy new chip like one you’d find on a debit card.

This is great since we usually carry this card everywhere we go, but it can be a pain if you lose it, as the balance is tied to the specific card and not your account.

“Because it’s a company that runs the card technology for us, when you load money at that kiosk, it’s going straight into that chip,” says Noreen Nunn, director of residence services. Nunn was part of the group that made this change possible. The new system works in a way similar to gift cards, in that you need the actual card to find out how much is on it. However, if you happen to lose your card, all is not lost, because if you find it again, they can check the balance and transfer that over to your new card.

Controversially, in addition to the new payment system, there has also been a rate hike – from $1 to $1.50 for a washer or dryer cycle.

According to Nunn, the rate hike is not a cost recovery issue. Instead, it’s the rate that the group leading the project saw fit to charge.

To put it into perspective, using similar technology at Mount Allison University costs $1.25, and actual laundromats charge about $2.00. So, $1.50 seems pretty standard.

Overall, most people seem pleased with the switch. Erin McNulty, a second year science student, says “They’re great. Your clothes actually come out clean and the dryers actually dry. I mean, the price sucks, but everything is going up in price now…That’s life.”

The capacities of the machines are incredible! And this is coming from a serial machine over-loader, so you can take my word for it. So, they are bigger, they dry your clothes the first time, and they cost a bit more, but only in the short term, if you factor in that you had to “dry” your clothes a few times before they were actually dry last year.

No one enjoys the horror of grabbing your favourite workout shirt or your lucky business shirt and finding it’s still soaking wet. Are dry clothes worth the extra cost? I think so. Now we can have our sweats and wear them too!