Students notice broken machines

Some Tulane students have complained about malfunctioning washers and dryers in their residence halls. Many students said they are unsure as to where they should lodge a complaint.

Students have recently noticed more broken machines, but don’t always know how to report the problem.

There are a total of 108 washing machines and 92 dryers in Tulane residence hall washrooms. Only three washers and two dryers were out of order, and all five were reported by resident advisers. Dining and Auxiliary Services, which manages all washers and dryers for Tulane, notes no current trouble tickets for the washers and dryers.

Senior Resident Adviser Allie Sontag said that the problem is that often students and RAs do not know whom to go to for specific problems that may arise in residence halls.

“Students were all given a sheet of paper listing whom to contact for specific issues in their dorms,” Sontag said.

This “who to call list,” contains specific contact information for facility services, including contact information for issues concerning washing machines and dryers. That listing, however, was Dining Services, which may cause confusion for most who would not relate washing machines to dining.

Claudia Osorino and Ireal Johnson, employees of Dining and Auxiliary Services, both said that they sometimes receive trouble tickets for washers and dryers, but their repair technician comes only once a week. They said he does a good job and has been able to resolve all issues concerning the washers and dryers.

Osorino, Johnson and most RAs said that the problem is that most students mishandle the machines, causing frequent failures.

“Students often overload the machines far beyond the recommended capacity in order to save money,” Osorino said. “This is why they stop working. We will send our repair tech to fix them, but they may break again due to improper handling and just normal wear,”

Warren House RA David Tien said he was not aware of any problems in his building.

“I remember there being washing machine issues in some other dorms I’ve been in, but we are OK here,” Tien said.
The washing machines and dryers in that building were all operable at the time.

Monica Schwarz, a resident of Katherine and William Mayer Residences, said that she and other residents are so accustomed to the washers and dryers not working in their area, that they bypass them and proceed to other facilities to wash their clothes.

“I would put my clothes in the washing machines, but they still came out dirty, so we go to different areas to wash clothes within Mayer or sometimes in other buildings depending on what’s closer and what’s available,” Schwarz said.

Schwarz said she has informed her RA several times about the faulty machines and that he attempted to resolve the issue without success.