Spotlight on Laundry: Can Private and Public Washing Machines Co-Exist?
July 22, 2014 — The co-op board of a 22-unit on Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan was facing a problem. One of the shareholders had petitioned the board to be allowed to install a washer and dryer in his apartment. While the board was sympathetic – the shareholder lived on the sixth floor, the machines were in the basement, and the building had no elevator – a clause in the laundry contract prohibited the board from "encouraging" shareholders to install their own private washing machines and dryers.
What's a board to do?
To say "no" seems inflexible. But to say "yes" opens a Pandora's box of problems. For boards of small buildings, allowing a shareholder to install a washer/dryer can be a minefield. First, there is the loss of revenue; second, there is the additional strain on the pipes. And third, there's the risk of losing the building's laundry contract with the company leasing the machines. Once the company sees usage go down precipitously, it could pull out of the building.
So how does the board get around the conundrum and keep a sixth-floor shareholder happy while maintaining laundry room facilities for everyone else? One possibility may be to purchase the laundry room machines outright. The building could pay off the cost of the machines in a year-and-a-half through regular use of the rooms.
Getting Tubby
In one instance, one East Side co-op found a novel way out of the problem of shareholders desiring their own washers and dryers. The board announced that anyone who wanted a washing machine could have one, but, at the same time, had to install a tub into which the water from the machine would first drain. In this way, the pipes were protected from a sudden onslaught of gallons of water each time someone used a washing machine in an apartment, and shareholders thought twice about carving out space in their homes for an extra tub.
But many managing agents say the best answer is to just say, “No.” Co-ops are generally located in older buildings, and the plumbing that was installed years ago was not meant to sustain added water pressures. And when it comes to a contest between an unhappy shareholder and a broken pipe, the pipe wins every time.
Adapted from "Rinse Request" by Ruth Ford, Habitat July/Aug. 2003
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