Keeping clean comes with a price.
A price that ranges, in this case, somewhere between $2 and $2.50. A price that is doubled when that initial cost only covers the washing machine; additional money is required for the dryer. Each dorm at Williston has a different amount of washers and dryers. Ford Hall, for example, has three washers and three dryers for 50 students. This often results in a situation of high demand with low supply. Each wash takes somewhere around 45 minutes, and each dryer takes around 30 minutes.
Williston uses a laundry app called LaundryConnect which was released in June of 2017. The app allows students to track the time remaining in a wash or dry on their phone, meaning they don’t have to supervise the laundry during the cycle. The app also allows students to see if the washer or dryers are in use so they know if they are accessible.
Deerfield uses the same laundry app as Williston. However, the laundry there only cost five cents per wash and dry. This perhaps is a result of Deerfield’s larger endowment, estimated at $920 million compared to Williston’s $50 million.
Williston also offers a “Campus Laundry” service from E&R Laundry. Established in 1921 and based in Manchester, N.H., the company offers four different plans for Williston students. The four options are named Wash/Dry/Fold, Just the Basics, Look Sharp, and Premium Plan. The prices, in the same order, are $939, $1,099, $1,339, and $1,679. Each plan includes different treatments. The students drop off dirty clothes and reclaim them after they are washed and dried.
Senior Chris Oswitt sees issues with the students’ lack of care for their laundry.
“People need to be aware of how long their stuff is sitting in the machine so they can get it out in a timely manner,” he said, adding that he prefers the loops for use in the Athletic Center.
Chris is referring to the loop system for students to wash dirty athletic gear. Students have to go to the Cage on the bottom floor and check out a loop. Once they have their own loop they can put in undergear, such as athletic shirts, undergarments, jerseys, socks, and sometimes towels. Students drop off these loops in a bin for them to be washed. Later, students can return to find their loop hung up and freshly cleaned. It’s all taken care of by Jason Tirrell — he’s known on campus as JT — Williston’s longtime equipment manager, affectionately dubbed the “King of the Cage.”
Maddox Pemrick, a member of the Williston varsity golf team, feels the durability of the laundry machines are important.
“I think it’s good to have a working laundry machine that rarely break down,” he said. They did it pretty well.” But, Maddox also feels “having one more washer and dryer would be nice.”
Sawyer Berzins, a first year border in Ford Hall from Denver, Colo., struggles to find an efficient time during his academic day to use the machines. His schedule, he explained means he “can’t use it throughout the day because I don’t have a double free so I never have enough time to do it during a free block.”
