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This is an American cultural quirk more than anything. Even most tiny New York apartment kitchens would have space for a front-loading washing machine. Maybe yo
by TillE 10y ago
This is an American cultural quirk more than anything. Even most tiny New York apartment kitchens would have space for a front-loading washing machine. Maybe you need to knock out a cabinet. It's a fair trade.
And you don't need a dryer. No, really. You just get a drying rack and hang stuff up for 24-48 hours, and it's fine. Use a fan to circulate the air if it's absolutely necessary. It's usually not. This is how 99% of Europe works, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean.
- jordanb 10y agoMany New York apartments ban in-unit washing machines in the lease: the old plumbing can't handle it.
- barrkel 10y agoModern front-loading washing machines are designed to use less and less water for eco reasons. I wouldn't be surprised if this regulation is no longer required with the same restrictiveness. A bigger problem is vibration from spinning. Depending on the structure (e.g. wood frame), that can be felt throughout a multi-story building.
- rahimnathwani 10y agoEh? The plumbing just needs to deliver water to the machine, and drain soapy water away. Which part can old plumbing not handle?
- ygra 10y agoThanks for the explanation. German here and I've used a laundromat maybe thrice in my life, for washing stuff that didn't fit in the washing machine at the time. Around here those places are also hard to find because there's effectively no market for them when everyone has a washing machine. (And judging from the prices someone else quoted above I guess a 600 € washing machine that lasts a decade or more isn't a bad investment when you're otherwise paying 100 $ a month for cleaning services.)
- hocuspocus 10y agoIn most of Europe it rarely takes that long. 12 hours is usually more than enough. It might be a bit worse in New York but definitely not in California given the dry weather.