there are two laundramats in t or c, nm. i travel new mexico, and stopped in this one today. about 6 washers were out of order so i had to wait. all washers are the same- 'double load' front loaders. i loaded up three washers, put in my $2.25, selected HOT, and pushed play. the timer started at 17 minutes i believe, which i thought was a short time for a wash. then i stood transfixed as the rimer counted down but my laundry was spinning around DRY in there for 3, 4, 5, 6 minutes before i saw any sign of moisture. i literally stood and watched for 10 minutes and could see clearly that the clothes were barely damp- whatever little bit of water was being put into the machine was being totally soaked up by my clothes. not only that, the glass doors were totally cold.
there was no one working there so i called the phone number and spoke with a very nice lady who tried to explain that front loaders use 1/4 the water of top loaders. i told her i have used front loaders at different laundramats all over new mexico for two years now and my clothes always get wet and i always see water in the machine. she said no none has complained before.
when the machines turned off, everything, including a thick fluffy blanket, was barely damp. literally. the bedding i washed to get the slight doggy smell out of still smelled like my dog when i took the stuff out.
one upside- everything dried in 15-20 minutes flat, even though the dryers were barely warm on high heat.
i have been to laundramats where pushing 'hot' gave you cold water anyway, but i have never been to one that didn't even have enough water to get your clothes wet. seriously, like a couple drops of water even splashed the inside of the glass door the whole wash.
unbelievable. read more