A single use of a washer and dryer cost students $2.50, either in Bama Cash or quarters. Weekly trips to residence hall laundry rooms cost students at least $50 each school year.
Kaitlyn Krejci, a freshman majoring in biology, said she doesn’t think twice about where the money she spends on laundry goes to.
“I just know I have to do laundry,” she said. “The laundry room in my dorm seems like the best option for me.”
Madison Terry, a freshman majoring in fashion retail, said she enjoys the convenience the laundry rooms provide.
“The laundry rooms are great because they’re so close,” Terry said. “I don’t have to drive anywhere or drop off my laundry to get picked up later.”
The residence hall laundry rooms do create obstacles for some. Long waits, forgotten laundry, abused machines and other factors lessen the appeal of the laundry rooms.
“I hate when the washers are all full and I have to wait,” Moriah Camak, a freshman majoring in communicative disorders, said. “And the worst is when other people leave their clothes in a washer or dryer after they’re finished so other people can’t use them.”
To avoid the hassles, some students choose to have on-campus laundry services do their laundry for them. Bama Laundry offers students with a Garment Care Program, including Bundled Service for everyday clothes and Campus Cleaners for clothes requiring more care.
Students can choose a bundle plan based on the weight of their laundry load per week at registration, and each month an amount is summed up and charged to the registered credit card. The 20-pound plan is the most popular bundle plan, according to Bama Laundry.
On average, it costs students about $50 more per semester to use Bama Laundry than to use a residence hall laundry room.
“Basically, I drop my laundry off at one of the Bama Laundry trucks that park outside my dorm three times a week,” Colin Parker, a freshman majoring in physician assistant studies, said.
It normally takes two days for his clothes to be returned to him, Parker said, unless he drops them off on a Friday, in which case they are returned on the following Wednesday.
“I chose to use Bama Laundry so I don’t have to wait for hours in the laundry room while my clothes are being washed,” he said. “The only problem I’ve found with it is that sometimes I need a piece of clothing, but it’ll be at the cleaners where I can’t get to them.”
One of the closest laundromats to campus is Cleansing Tide Laundromat on Hackberry Lane and 15th Street. The laundromat is about a 15-minute walk or five-minute drive from Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Prices to use the washers and dryers range from $1.25 to $5. A drop off service is also available, like that of Bama Laundry. Prices depend on weight and the average student’s weekly load of laundry, about 20 pounds of laundry costs $18.50 to be washed, dried and folded.
Be it the convenience of residence hall laundry rooms or ease of a laundry service, or if students choose to use a laundromat in town instead, there are plenty of laundry options available.
