Most people have had the unfortunate experience of not having a washer and dryer at some point. Apartments in my area tend to charge at least one hundred dollars extra for the units with washer and dryer hookups, and even more if you want a unit with an actual washer and dryer installed already. If you are young and just starting out, this may be hard for you to manage with your current salary. If you have no washer and dryer, the only alternative is the laundromat.
If you can't fit an apartment with a washer and dryer into your budget, then you also probably don't have a car, which means you'll be taking the bus. That is another unwanted fee. Not only does it cost more money, but we have to drag our clothing on the bus (unless you're lucky and have on-site laundry).
Coin operated machines are usually vulnerable to a hack that allows you to get free cycles. It never ceases to surprise me how they still manage to make money off of the machines.
Note: Some machines are different and are not vulnerable to this.
Warnings
- As I have said, this is just for amusement purposes, as this will likely not effect the way the machines are made. With that said, know that you will be caught if you use this trick. Most places have cameras, it would be stupid to try your luck to save mere dollars.
Requirements
- Thin straws, paperclips, or any strong, slightly flexible, cylindrical object (one for every coin needed to operated the machine)
- A machine that you own or have permission to practice on
Step 1 Test for the Vulnerability
To test your machine for the vulnerability
- Push the coin slot in as far as you can, without anything in the slots. Take note of it.
- See if you can fit the straws inside of the coin slot holes.
If this works, your machine is likely vulnerable to this hack.
Step 2 The Hack
- Push the tray in so it is about a dime's length away from as far as it can be pushed and hold it there.
- Insert a straw into each slot at an angle that is less than 45 degrees until they fit snugly into the slots.
- Push the tray in very slowly so that it is almost all of the way in.
- Keeping them at the same angle used to get the sticks in, jiggle the sticks around until they seem to go in a bit deeper (be careful not to break the tool you are using).
- After you get them to go in a bit deeper, they have successfully emulated the effect that a coin being inserted into the slot would have. Push them in the slot and watch in awe as your clothes become clean.
Dear landlords everywhere, make laundry free and inclusive with rent, please?
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14 Comments
My building used to have laundry as a amenity for tenants. There was a room full of laundry machines on the top floor. Not included with the apartments, but readily available.. Was a decent compromise. Unfortunately (probably due to overuse) most of the machines didn't work. Thanks for the tips though!
Yeah, that sounds pretty cool :D. The newer card ones I'm still working on, but I've heard of people hacking those with paper and nickels, or another (altered) plastic card. I'm curious, haha.
will do thi's for ddtank server 6
Tell you what, we operate small efficiency buildings, meaning the units are studio apartments and usually have a single tenant in them.
We have had free washer/dryer in them and what happens is the tenants wash whatever load they want.
Pair of jeans dirt, throw it in. Shirt dirty, throw it in. By itself. This uses a boat load of water (not very environmentally friendly) and runs up the water bill for the building as well as the electricity bill.
The only way to discourage this behavior is to make the tenants pay.
Though I agree with you that the amenities of a washer and dryer should not be a money making operation to generate additional revenue, it forces tenants to think about their washing habits in a responsible matter. If not for the pocketbook of the landlord then at least for the environment.
Electricity and water are not free, even though you may not be paying for it, eventually you will.
The guy above me sucks. Landlords don't give a crap about the environment. We pay our own water and electricity yet we also have to pay to use 30 year old coin operated machines. It's not like we aren't poor enough as college students but now we basically have to pay our water and electricity used for the machines twice over. Fuck landlords.
Sorry you hate logic
> Requirements
> . . .
> . . .
> • A machine that you own or have
> permission to practice on
Heh-heh, well done :)
I've lived in a couple apartment complex's and the washers in both of them were TERRIBLE. Half of 'em didn't work at all. You'd put your money in and it wouldn't come on....and they ran on 5 quarters! So, I didn't feel bad for using a hack on them. The dryers weren't much better either...75 cents a cycle and you had to run it for at least two cycles per load! (depending on what you had in there, sometimes 3 cycles and that wasn't overloading them either). So if you got a washer that worked on the first time, you were spending between $2.75-$3.50 a load....that's providing you get a working washer on your first try. Otherwise add $1.25 for each washer you try! That doesn't include the detergent and the fabric softener. For awhile, I was hacking them for every load but then I started to hack them for the first load to make sure I had a working washing machine and pay for the second and third load and with the dry cycle, I'd pay for the first dry cycle and hack the rest of them. So I was paying $2.00 a load at max and the first load was only 75 cents because I hacked the washer for my first load
I'm pretty desperate at the moment, but not that bad. The washers and dryers on site costs $1 a load and that's a lot cheaper than a laundry mat!
Not everyone in this world treats water the same way. I used to be a plumber and the number one thing in this life that pissed me off was a leak. I have a washer and dryer in my apartment with paid water and I have never washed anything by itself except maybe one thing that was for a special occasion and the same with the dryer. The only way to get landlords to stop taking advantage of you is move the hell out. Let lower class move in and let the place turn into a bigger dive. If people can get something for free that people overcharge for I do not particularly care. And sometimes people wash one thing because they only have 2 changes of clothes because the rent is too high to afford them. Landlords yes they have the world by the shorthairs and are worried about some quarters.
"Not everyone in the world treats water in the same way"
Yes I can agree but I bet you can't agree that "not every landlord treats tenants in the same way" idk...maybe you can. Hopefully you can. I'm a plumber by day myself. Well apprentice plumber so far haha. What I see here is a opportunity for compromise. Some people will take advantage of the free stuff. That's a long proven fact. As a result some people will just wash a shirt or two. That Isnt only a waste of resources but also keeps the machine from being used by people that actually do fuller loads. To me the only viable solution to that is....we won't like it but.....the laundry machine is filmed. The people that constantly are wasteful with said resources get a few warnings first. After that they get their pictures posted on the wall of shame for everyone to see. I mean the consequences could be whatever but you get the point. I'd sign up for that but idk. Some people wouldn't agree to that and I would understand why they wouldn't.
Umm only problem there is that you cant Shane people at a laundry mat. They are like walmart....a magnet for the poor trashy and nasty ass people of the world. Seriously there is no way to shame a low life trashy crack head that has to use the laundry mat.
If you have tattoos, bike sneakers and a smart phone then finding feel bad for you having to use nasty appliances, because you are a nasty dirty person.
Replying to "Mike Rouch"
If you can sit here and type out sentences of judgement of others based on clothing or ect.. that says a lot about your personality, which is rude, hateful, degrading, and judgemental to anyone dealing with any financial difficulties who just happen to have these appearances based on any scenario in their lives.
I have a tattoo, android smart phone, and sneakers my mother let me have. I do not do crack as per lame assumption.
You do not know people as you believe.
Stop judging others based on your negative past experiences.
Anyone try this? Was it successful?
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