Part of Seattle University dorm residents’ weekly routine is dragging a basket of clothes down the hall or down to the basement laundry room to make sure they’re fresh and stylish for class. However, the cost of washing clothes (and dressing fly) can quickly add up.
One wash cycle costs between $1.25 and $1.75 on campus based on the intensity of the wash, and one drying cycle costs $1.00. This means a complete load of laundry costs an average of $2.50. Over a quarter or even the full school year, this cost quickly adds up for students who do laundry once a week.
Although $2.50 might not seem like much at first, many students claim that when added to the everyday costs of living on campus, it becomes noticeable. Laundry money comes directly out of students’ pockets, so at two loads a week over a 10-week quarter, laundry can cost already budget-conscious students around $50 per term.
For students like Kyra Holland, a second-year nursing major living in Bellarmine Hall, the cost is a major part of their weekly expenses. They said the cost of laundry discourages them from washing their clothes because they don’t want to spend the money on it. Holland also voiced frustration that the app for Bellarmine’s laundry machines has a minimum deposit of 10 dollars.
“I don’t understand why we have to pay for laundry,” Holland said, later adding, “I think we pay too much money to go here and have to pay for laundry.”
In response to student concerns, the Residence Hall Association (RHA) and the Student Government of Seattle University (SGSU) collaborated on a project to assist students with the costs of living on campus. Together, the two organizations helped people pay for multiple loads of laundry by giving them gift cards for laundry. The program’s goal was to give students who frequently use the resident hall machines a temporary financial break.
Sheridan Wang, the president of RHA, said the collaboration between SGSU and RHA began with discussions about the financial challenges that students encounter on a daily basis. Even though housing, meal plans and tuition are frequently the highest costs, students’ finances can still be impacted by smaller, regular costs like laundry. The two aimed to solve a weekly issue that many students face.
“We talked about some of the pressing issues in the residence halls, and laundry, and the price of laundry came up,” Wang said. “We thought it would be a helpful way to support residents.”
They distributed about $10 each in laundry credits to students who attended their event hosted in the Student Center Feb 10, through the Hainsworth app, the platform required to connect to and pay for all Seattle U washing machines. According to Wang, the event ended up helping many more students than they initially thought.
“I was surprised by the turnout,” Wang said. “There were times when we had a big influx of people.”
Tim Albert, associate director of Housing Services, explained that before Hainsworth, Seattle U had a longtime partnership with an alumnus-run company, to much success. However, after the alumnus passed away, the company was sold between parent companies a few times, which coincided with decreasing performance. Albert shared how this gap in service ultimately led to the selection of Hainsworth as the school’s laundry partner.
“We were basically insisting that they needed to improve service, or we would go with someone else. We decided it was just time to do a request for proposals… We came down to 2 different companies, both of whom had some kind of local office because that was important to us,” Albert said. “With the evaluations, it really could have gone between Hainsworth and the other company. They were both pretty good.”
Usually, housing departments work with these businesses through service agreements that address maintenance, repairs, installation and payment technologies. These services have an impact on how much each load costs, but they also help make sure the equipment remains working and available to residents. Albert said the current laundry prices have not increased in several years and are affordable compared to other universities.
“Laundry prices at Seattle University are actually pretty low compared to other institutions,” Albert said. “Our goal is to make sure the program pays for itself.”
At the University of Washington, students pay a quarterly laundry fee of $36, rather than a metered system.
The cost of a wash or dry cycle might depend on a number of factors, including water use, power, machine maintenance and service agreements. Due to these aspects, the total cost that students pay includes not only the act of washing clothes but also the services and facilities required to maintain laundry rooms in different residence halls.
“This isn’t something where we’re trying to make money off students,” Albert said. “We just want to make sure the program runs properly.”
