USD upgrades residential laundry rooms

Juliana Fulop | Contributor | USD Vista

New machines leaving clothes fresh and clean.

Upgraded laundry rooms at the University of San Diego were a pleasant surprise this semester. The new machines no longer require a wash card and allow students to receive alerts when their laundry is done.

Founders, Camino, Missions Crossroads, San Buenaventura, Manchester, Maher, and Vista Apartments received new laundry machines from the Torero Store. Each building was updated on different days to avoid leaving students living in on-campus housing with bags of dirty laundry.

First-year dorms Founders and Camino Hall have access to only one laundry room in each building. This is stressful for first-years including Katie Lapomarda, as doing laundry at home is a breeze. Lapomarda,  a resident in Founders Hall and a player on USD Women’s Soccer Team, found the old machines quite annoying.

“They were really loud,” Lapomarda said. “I would walk down the hall and it sounded like someone threw shoes in all the machines. I started to notice that the machines had an odd smell, almost moldy. It was pretty annoying especially since I wash my soccer uniform all the time.”

Lapomarda explained that she likes the new machines, despite laundry being a struggle at times.

“They are definitely more efficient, but it’s hard when you have to block out time in your day to do laundry because you don’t want to leave your clothes in there or have someone take them out and lose stuff,” Lapomarda said. “Normally my mom just took care of it.”

Upperclassmen residential halls San Buenaventura, Palomar, and Borrego Hall all have their own laundry rooms. Students including sophomore Mina de Guia were excited about this switch. De Guia had experienced bad luck with the old machines, and she was pleased about the new features the machines have to offer.

“I like the fact that you don’t need a laundry card, as it was really frustrating to pay $20 upfront when you weren’t sure if you were going to use it all,” de Guia said.

De Guia mentioned that an uneven amount of money was often left on the wash card, and there was not enough for a full laundry cycle.

“Using a debit or credit card is much easier, and the machines are brand new so I think they’re pretty nice,” de Guia said.

Many seemed to be under the impression that Facilities Management would have held the responsibility of upgrading  laundry rooms, but some were surprised when they discovered the Torero Store handled the service.

James Thrailkill, Director of the Laundry Services, was unavailable for comment.

Barbara Baurnann, Crossroads Supervisor, provided information regarding the laundry service.

Baurnann explained the typical process to replace on-campus laundry machines.

“We usually switch out machines whenever we notice that new ones are needed,” Baurnann said. “I wouldn’t say yearly as we have had some break and need to be replaced within a year.”

Baurnann also mentioned that Missions Crossroads gave first-years access to San Buenaventura machines when Crossroads was closed for the day during the machine replacement.

“We coded freshmen’s cards just for the laundry room, not the dorms,” Baurnaan said. “They were allowed three hours on the card which gave them enough time to do their laundry.”

The USD Torero Store offers dry cleaning and wash-n-fold services on campus. This service is provided by California Suds, an eco-friendly local company who will sort, wash, and dry clothes. They also use fabric softeners and high-quality laundry detergent to guarantee a quality laundering service for students.

Sophomore Liliana Grbavac, found the laundry services quite appealing. However, she was a little skeptical.

“It definitely sounds convenient and easy, but I’m really cautious of my clothes and I’d be worried something would happen to them like they all get bleached,” Grbavac said. “I know that probably wouldn’t happen so maybe one day I’ll try it out.”

The laundry schedule for drop off is on Tuesdays and pick up is on Wednesdays. From 5 p.m. – 6 p.m., the Valley location is open. Maher Hall/West Campus is open from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m., and Tu Mercado at 7 p.m.

While doing laundry at college may be tough, the new machines create an easier environment to do laundry successfully without frustration. Hopefully these machines will last throughout the semester.