Standard Coin Laundry Fees?

I haven’t looked up a “standard rate”, but when I was apartment hunting in a Philadelphia suburb, most laundry machines were $1.50 per load, per machine, which would come out to $3 per load. I’d say at least 3 different apt. complexes had this rate. To top it off, most of them had few machines available, like one washer dryer set for a group 6 or so units. So, not only was it very pricey to do laundry, it would have been inconvenient because I would probably have to wait for them to be available.

Fortunately, I found an apt. building with a very nice laundry set-up, and charged 75 cents per load, per machine, so I could wash and dry a load for $1.50. I’ve been living there for a year.

You mention that the machines in your building are tiny, which seems more unfair that you should be charged as much as (if it were standard) a full-size commercial washer/dryer.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many ways to solve increase of costs for landlords without affecting tenants. You might be able to try something that I’ve done to reduce the amount of clothes I had in the dryer – since your washer is so small, could you do a load that consisted only of clothes that you could dry on hangers? Like shirts or pants that you could hang up around the apt. overnight and they would be dry by morning. Granted, you might have to do a little more ironing, but might save a little money in time.

My building has two washers & two dryers. The washing machines cost $1 per load, and the dryer adds 15 minute increments with every $.25 you put in. I usually spend $4.50 to wash all my clothes, as I don’t machine dry my jeans because they’ll shrink.
Good luck :/

I can’t imagine there is a standard fee. The machine owners will charge what they believe they can get. I would buy an apartment washing machine and hang everything to dry on a folding dryer if I lived in an apartment, if at all possible. I would not like having to use a laundry room.

If you think it is too much, go somewhere else. If enough people go elsewhere, the prices will come back down.

support capitalism.

The machines at the apartments I know about are $1.50 per wash load and $.50 per ½ hour.

The Landlord is getting what he can. You might see if there is any sort of price control in your jurisdiction. I would go to a public laundrymat and look for some sort of licensing or regulatory certificate and inquire with that office. But there is probably no such limit. I would take DrBill’s advice and boycott those machines, and maybe get some of your fellow tennants to do the same !!! Could you “jerry rig” an apt machine in your unit, and line dry everything? You probably could find a used one at a good price.