Laundry Room

Overlooking the Laundry Room

Nothing says "I'm living the college life" more than carrying a dirty load of clothes down seven floors in the dorms and just praying that there is an open washer and dryer. The laundry room is something people use every day and it is so overlooked. Here in Elwell Hall at Bloomsburg University, where hundreds of students access this space, we tend to see it as just an ordinary room, but what isn't observed is the atmosphere: The crowded nights, the industrial look, the environment, and the small details that are even more overlooked. The facility is not meant to be a comfortable or social place, yet it is there to act efficiently. It may only be washers, dryers, clothes, and pipes but it serves its purpose and no more.  

First Steps 

(A user doing laundry)

Stepping into the Elwell laundry room, there is not much but the first details that stand out are the cold and industrial feeling you are hit with. The walls, the lights, the ceiling are also amongst the first things that are noticed in every room, especially this one. The walls are a bright white color while the ceiling has countless pipes that allow the area to operate properly. Pipes are all different colors, some insulated and some not, most of them being connected to the countless machines. There is no decoration on the walls except for the pipes but mostly the ceilings that are exposed for easy access. Logan Coone, a frequent user of the laundry room, emphasized “it gives off a cold industrial vibe and something you would expect in a horror movie scene." In this room and seeing all this going on, the first thing that is felt is just a cold sensation. The exposed pipes and basic decoration are a prime example of what an industrial building would be like. To add to this, bright white LEDs illuminate the space. There is absolutely no natural light, meaning that the windows in this area are non-existent. These lights and lack of windows add to the cold sensation and make this facility feel exposed and confined, however, it also feels like a very clean space. It is clear that from the pipes everywhere to the lighting, rather than feeling like a cozy space, the Elwell laundry room serves its purpose and is functional.

(Instructions and Rules)

While we focus on how the room feels, let's take a look at its functionality. It is filled with machines lined and stacked row by row. The large number of washers and dryers are ultimately what serves the rooms’ intention. When you walk in through the industrially thick doors you see rows and rows of washers and columns of stacked dryers. Each machine has its own instructions (see figure 2) and is made so simple and easy to use. Without these instructions, there will be chaos amongst the space and with an entire dorm hall that is very likely. Overall, the room is meant to be a place of productivity and order.  Rows of machines can be found all around the perimeter stacked on each other. In addition to the rows of machines, there are a few bonus units: Three extra-large dryers and a huge fan in the entrance, which add so much more functionality to the room. The fan keeps the room cool and air circulating, as having constantly being used, body heat will rise and so will the temperature, the fan solves this. The extra-large dryers help cut the drying time in half and allows for more clothing to be fit inside the barrel. These bonus machines make doing laundry much more efficient. Everything in this room has a goal and that is made clear by the way it is set up and ran. While it can get chaotic, by taking heed to the instructions, this room makes as efficient as a small laundromat can be. 

                                                             Unnoticed

(Alternate View of Laundry Room)

Everyone focuses on how the machines dominate and complete this room but so many little features are overlooked. For example, the lonely socks, the left behind detergent, the lint can, and the list goes on. Users don't realize these minute details but so much can be observed from the miscellaneous objects. It shows the character of the new, still teenage freshman using the laundry room and the little elements that construct it. Not to mention the lonely yet comfy chair sitting on top of the square table. It has been there since day one and nobody seems to take action towards it, yet nobody cares that it is there. Not much can be observed from the chair sitting on top of the table, but it just shows how everyone is there to get laundry done and they don't really care about how it is set up. These intricate details add lots of character to the room and make it feel less like a mechanical area and shows that this is a high traffic area. 

Getting Busy

By far the busiest time of day has got to be the evening right around seven o'clock. It is not an exaggeration to say that none of the 50 washers or dryers are available. One student carried down a hamper full of clothes 7 flights of stairs this past Sunday evening and had to wait 20 minutes in a line to get an open washer. This line was 5-7 people long and they were all visually disappointed, however friendly and helpful when interacted with. Logan Coone stated, "any nighttime around 7-9 is the worst time to go because I always have to wait." This shows that there even though the room is not physically packed with people, the silence is filled by the clothes occupying the machines. Coone has another huge problem with the laundry room that he cannot stand and that is when no dryers are available. He frustratingly said, “I get laundry done any way because I throw people’s shit out of the way." Coone admitted he hates it when other people do that to him. This has become a problem in Elwell Hall where people remove others clothes and it is clear by hearing some of the users of the laundry room speak. Clearly nobody likes it when it is done to them, but everyone does it anyways. Laundry is something that hopefully everyone does, probably don't like it, and to add to it, it can be very frustrating and difficult when no machines are available. 

Owen Minzer, another frequent user, spoke to the janitor monitoring the room. "It's crazy, all these machines and not one is open."

"Well," she replied, "the issue is nobody sets a timer for when their laundry is done."

"I know this sounds unethical," Minzer asked, "but am I allowed to throw other users' laundry on top of the machine?"

The janitor took a second and smirked with a subtle side-eye. "It's not my laundry."

Minzer proceeded. 

Taking a look at the bigger picture of Bloomsburg's Elwell Hall Laundry room, it is way more than just a facility with a few machines in it. There is much more to it like the engineered efficiency, the frustrated users, every little detail observed from top to bottom, and standing out, the industrial feel. Everything has it purpose; The pipes keep the machines flowing, the machines are strategically placed to maximize the space given, the instructions give users an easy time, and even the uncomfortable feel of this room seems to have its function. All in all, the laundry room may not be the most exciting place to be on campus but its constant use every day shows how a small mindless hub can be a huge part in everyone's everyday life.