Feb. 15, 2005

Laundry 101 Saves Students from the Spin Cycle

By Matt Lindsay

When GW students returned for the spring semester and got started on that first load of laundry, they discovered several new additions to the University laundry facilities.

While students were away on winter break, GW worked with its residential hall laundry provider, Caldwell Gregory, to replace 219 washing machines in GW laundry facilities with new top-of-the-line Maytag Neptune “high efficiency” washers. The University and Caldwell Gregory also replaced 56 dryers that were five years or older and spent a total of $50,000 on electrical, plumbing, painting, duct work, and other maintenance work in the laundry rooms.

“These new washers will save students energy, time, and money, and actually clean clothes better than traditional washers,” said Nancy Haaga, director of GW’s Auxiliary and Institutional Services. “Above and beyond that, they are better for the environment because they use less water and energy than a conventional washing machine.”

GW expects to save more than 5.5 million gallons of water each year because each Neptune washer uses 18 gallons less water per wash than a conventional washer. The University estimates it will save $50,000 a year on water and electric costs by installing the new washing machines.

Students will save time and money because the new washers use only 1/4 cup of regular detergent and hold approximately 1/3 more clothing than traditional top-load washers. There is no price increase for washers or dryers in the GW laundry facilities. The Neptune washers clean clothes better because water shoots through the clothes (versus agitation in a traditional machine) and removes dirt more effectively. Students should never need to run the dryers a second time to ensure clothes are dry because the new washers spin the clothes at speeds much higher than traditional machines and extract more moisture from the clothes so that they are less wet when they come out of the wash.

There are several differences between the new Neptune washers and the machines they replace. The Neptune requires less regular detergent, although the use of a high-efficiency detergent is recommended, but not required. Another major change in the new washers is that once a machine starts there is only about 30 seconds before the door locks. Students cannot continue to add clothes after the door locks and the door will stay locked until approximately 30 seconds after the cycle completes.

To acquaint students with the new machines, GW presented “Laundry 101” courses in the Marvin Center, posted signs in each laundry room, and distributed flyers through students’ mailboxes. New signs informing customers on the updated washing and drying instructions were installed in each laundry room. Phone number contact information also is provided if there is a need to report problems with the laundry equipment.

GW joins the Penn State University system, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, University of Delaware, College of William & Mary, Carnegie Mellon University, and other universities that have made the switch to more environmentally friendly laundry equipment.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu