<p>Ok, this is a weird question I know, but I was just curious. I went on an Official Visit to yale and will probably commit there (I am a recruited athlete). I'm not poor or anything, but it sorta surprised me that laundry actually costs extra money. I would have thought something like that would be included in your room and board. Apparently, it's not for a lot of places (excluding Princeton, which I noted when I visited their too).</p>
<p>Would it be weird to hand wash my normal clothes? I know it takes time, but I don't think it will take much more time than running back and forth from the laundry room (plus it would save a lot of money).</p>
<p>Sorry this is a super random question. I just couldn't find that much information about it online, and I've come to suspect that it is considered impractical to hand wash your clothes.</p>
<p>Ummm…this is unusual. How big was the sink? How many pieces of clothing will you be washing per wash because you’ll need space to hang and dry them? Have you ever handwashed clothes before, say a pair of jeans? In CT the middle of winter? I see red, rough hands.</p>
<p>Time is one of the most precious commodities for Yale students. Even more so than money. Why? Any student can get well paying jobs (+$11/hr) in abundance. </p>
<p>My question to you: why spend hours on end handwashing & drying your clothes (BTW: there’s no large sinks I can think of on the Old Campus (where most freshmen live)) when you can spend an hour to earn the equivalent “savings”? This same logic drives me to not raising food crops or hunting/fishing for my food either.</p>
<p>Hand washing your clothes is very impractical. You won’t find a large enough sink in your suite. The time it takes to wash a week’s worth of laundry will be excessive. </p>
<p>Just pay the cost of using a washing machine and dryer. I don’t think you’ll find very many schools where laundry is free.</p>
<p>Washing clothes at home isn’t “free” either. Just ask your mom or dad :). I’m not sure why you would expect free washing machines any more than you would expect free soap or shampoo. In the grand scheme of things (compared to something like buying books) this is penny ante stuff.</p>
<p>You could do some delicates, but like the other post says, no way can you do jeans and stuff, would never dry even if you had a place to wash them. Not sure your roommate would love having clothing hanging everywhere.</p>
<p>I’m going to disagree with most and say, yes, it is perfectly fine to hand wash all of your clothing if you like. It really does not take much time if you do two or three pieces at a time. Scrub and soak your jeans for at least 3 minutes in warm soapy water in the sink, wring them out well, and hang them in your own room over a towel to catch the drips. They will dry just fine in a day or a little more if it is rainy.</p>
<p>You might be able to wash a few things, but not towels, sheets, jeans, sweatshirts, etc. that take a long time to dry. (I guess you could wash them by hand, and then lug them down to the dryer–that would at least cut your costs.) But really, it’s not going to be worth it.</p>
<p>I am not recommending this but google salad spinner laundry POD. It is on Amazon and a You tube video even with this product doing all your laundry by hand would probably not be worth it!</p>
<p>I think there is an assumption going on here that everyone as tons of clothes to wash. I am not speaking for OP, but I knew a young man in college who owned exactly two pairs of jeans and a few T-shirts, and presumably a few pairs of underwear. He never had much laundry to do, so washing it by hand would not be much of a chore at all.</p>
<p>^^Don’t you think that as an athlete, the OP will have lots of clothes to wash. Between practice stuff, uniforms, and regular clothes, there will probably be 2 outfits worn per day.</p>
<p>I just don’t see the need with the generous term jobs available. My son started last year making over $11/hour. He is now in his second year with that employer and has had at least 4 raises and is now making roughly $14/hour. I would think you could earn enough in one hour to pay for a month of laundry costs. ;)</p>
<p>Sinks in dorm/suite bathrooms are small. They won’t be large enough to wash jeans, large towels, etc. Your suite mates will probably be annoyed if the bathroom is turned into a laundry room on a regular basis.</p>
<p>OP specifically referred to hand washing his/her “normal clothes.” Perhaps the athletic department handles washing uniforms and practice clothing. I know some colleges do this.</p>
<p>My freshman uses his debit card in the laundry rooms, and it has cost him $2.50 each time. (That includes the total cost of washing plus drying.) Machines are right there on Old Campus, and there is an app that tells you the availability of machines in each location. He has not found it a big expense nor a huge inconvenience.</p>
<p>At colleges where the laundry is included, you can be sure that it is built into the overall costs and you are paying for it anyway. Only one of the colleges that my son visited included laundry service.</p>
<p>Athletic clothes will need washing in a machine…(odors/bacteria) There is no place for a drying line.</p>
<p>In the grand scheme of things, laundry: sheets, towels, jeans, etc are not expensive.
Delicates can wash well–though you’d need a drying rack AND extra towels.
Depending on the housing–you could get fined for damaging floors with wet laundry.</p>
<p>If you want included laundry, printing etc… Princeton is a better fit.</p>
<p>Yes, all of the Yale athlete’s sports uniforms are washed for them at no cost. In fact, the girls on team told me they throw in a pair of jeans every once in a while as well.
As an athlete, I think it would be difficult to get a steady job. If I was clothes every couple of days, drying them wouldn’t take too much room. For heavier pieces I wouldn’t wash them by hand. And I was planning to buy a collapsible tub to wash them in (slightly bigger than a normal sized bathroom sink). I’ve hand washed and line dried clothes before; if you do a couple at a time it doesn’t take longer than taking a shower, and drying them only takes a night. </p>
<p>Oh and it is also true that for clothes without actual stains on them, all you really need to do is swish em around a bit soak them in soapy water for a while before rinsing.</p>
<p>I think I’ll end up hand washing a few items whenever I have the time, and throw larger things in the wash.</p>
<p>Thank you for the info everyone I know this was a weird question but I appreciate everyone’s answers.</p>
<p>If anyone has anything else to add I’d still love to hear them.</p>
<p>@Bigshott: Your question is too long, and it looks like a question you should ask your guidance counselor. My question is one that actually asks about college experiences, which is why so many people have expressed their opinions, even if it is a stupid or weird question. You’ll find that there are many different types of questions on this forum. </p>
<p>I’m not the oldest member of CC, but being a noob as you called yourself, take a word of advise: hating on other ppls post’s is not the way to introduce yourself or get ppl to answer your question.</p>