This weekend I decided to do the dreaded task of laundry. As I went down to Stevenson basement to the laundry room I was grateful to see open washers. When I came back down, I noticed that my clothes were soaking wet. This has happened a few times. Now, I obviously know that clothes are supposed to be wet when coming out of the washer; however, these were so wet that I had to put them over the sink and squeeze out so much excess water I could have made a pitcher of ice water. I could have put the laundry through another spin cycle, but that would have cost me an additional $1.75 and I am not going to waste more money for a washer that might not do its job correctly the second time. 

I appreciate the fact that we only have to pay $1.75 for washing and drying is free. My main problem is that this is not the first time these washers have left my clothes soaking wet. I know that I can just put the clothes in the dryer for longer, but that wastes a lot of my time when I could be doing stuff with my friends. I usually set a timer on my phone to remind me to get my laundry out as soon as possible so I can get through my busy day and also not tie up the dryer when someone else may be waiting to use it. When I have soaking wet clothes, that makes my drying time from one hour to two hours at least, which makes me not a happy Kate. 

I would think that with all the money students spend on laundry at Eastern that we could get functioning washers and dryers that work properly. Heck, we just need new washers and dryers in general. I can tell by looking at them that they have seen better days. Even when I lived in Andrews, I had problems with the washers and dryers there as well. I know upgrading washers and dryers does not sound that exciting, but I am telling you it would make a world of difference to me. First, my clothes would not be soaking wet, and dryers would dry in a reasonable amount of time. Also, I have two more important points to make. The first is why is the charge for washing an odd number? Like, I prefer $1.50 over $1.75 because it seems neater and reduces the amount of change left over on my card. The second request is more of a PSA: please clean out the lint traps in the dryer. If you do not know what that is, you are in dire need of help. 

Kate Rehwinkel is a senior management major. She can be reached at kerehwinkel@eiu.edu