Washing Machines

Today I had a nice nap and I studied, so I needed a break. I thought to myself it was time to wash my sheets and blankets again, so I went down to B1 (Basement) to do some laundry. While in the laundry room, I thought back to when I first came to Gonzaga. I have always lived a pretty sheltered life, which meant that at age 20 I didn't know how to do laundry. T_T
What was worse was that all the directions were in Korean and I was overwhelmed by the English translation. If it wasn't for my friend, I would have never been able to do my laundry alone. I can now proudly say I can do laundry, well, at least in Gonzaga I can!!!!

So, because of this I thought I should do a little post on how to use the Gonzaga Dormitory Laundry Room and a little "etiquette" you should be aware of.

*I personally recommend that you go to Grand Mart to go buy Detergent, Fabric Softener, etc. In the long un it ill be cheaper than buying the little packets of detergent in B1 next to the Coin Machine. Grand Mart always has sales so you will be able to find cheap deals on softener and detergent. If you need to know how to get to Grand Mart, refer to my previous post on Grand Mart.*





So first off, you need to have 500 Won coins to do your laundry. If you don't have them, don't worry, there is a Coin Changer in B1 next to the Male Laundry Room. The only thing is that the Coin Machine will only accept 1,000 Won bills in order to exchange it for coins.





LETS PROCEED TO THE LAUNDRY ROOM NOW. THIS IS HOW THE INSIDE OF THE LAUNDRY MACHINE LOOKS LIKE.



FROM WHAT I UNDERSTOOD WHEN I WENT TO GRAND MART, THERE ARE 2 TYPES OF DETERGENT. IT DEPENDS ON HOW THE LAUNDRY MACHINE IS. I WAS TOLD TO USE THE ONE BELOW. THERE IS ONE LIKE IT IN BLUE. DON'T REALLY KNOW THE DIFFERENCE, BUT WHAT I HAVE BEEN USING SEEMS TO WORK.

ON THE TOP OF THE MACHINE, TO THE RIGHT, YOU WILL SEE THE COIN THING WHERE YOU INSERT THE COINS. ON YOUR LEFT WILL BE WHERE YOU DISPENSE YOUR DETERGENT, FABRIC SOFTENER, ETC.
AS YOU CAN SEE BELOW, THE TOP IS FOR DETERGENT AND THE BOTTOM FOR SOFTENER. WHERE IT SAYS DO NOT USE, WHEN YOU OPEN THE LID, IT WILL SAY BLEACH, BUT DON'T PUT ANYTHING IN THERE. IF YOU HAVE SOME TYPE OF BLEACH FOR YOUR WHITE CLOTHES, PUT IT IN THE DETERGENT SIDE.







ON THE TOP OF THE MACHINE YOU WILL ALSO SEE SOME BUTTONS. THEY INDICATE "COLORS,"BRIGHT COLORS," AND "WHITES," ETC.



THERE WILL ALSO BE SIGN ON THE WALL THAT EXPLAIN HOW TO US ETHE MACHINES. THEY ARE IN ENGLISH AND KOREAN. DON'T GET TO OVERWHELMED BY ALL THE KOREAN ON THE WALL AND NOT NOTICE THAT THERE WAS AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION LIKE I DID. I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THE ENGLISH!!!!!









OKAY, NOW THAT I HAVE SHOWED YOU WHAT TO EXPECT, HERE IS MY ATTEMPT TO TEACH YOU HOW TO DO LAUNDRY. YOU MIGHT THINK, "I ALREADY NOW HOW TO DO LAUNDRY!!! HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW???" IF SO THEN JUST STOP READING THIS. I AM GOING OVER THIS BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DO LAUNDRY AND I WAS EMBARRASSED AT THE FACT THAT I WAS 20 AND HAD NO CLUE HOW TO DO LAUNDRY, YET ALONE USING KOREAN MACHINES. I WAS LUCKY THAT I HAD MY FRIEND WITH ME AND SHE TAUGHT ME. YOU MAY BE COMING TO SOGANG ALONE AND IT CAN BE EMBARRASSING TO ASK FOR HELP ON SOMETHING SO SIMPLE.

I HAD HEARD FROM PEOPLE THAT YOU SHOULD WASH YOUR COLORS, WHITES, AND DARKS SEPARATELY. I DID THAT AT SOGANG FOR A WHILE, BUT IT WAS ANNOYING TO BE TAKING CARE OF 3 MACHINES. I WAS EVENTUALLY ENLIGHTENED BY A FRIEND AND WAS TAUGHT THAT YOU CAN JUST PUT YOUR COLORS AND DARKS TOGETHER.
SO GO AHEAD AND PUT THE DARK AND COLORS IN THE MACHINE. PUT IN YOUR FABRIC SOFTENER AND DETERGENT INTO THE MACHINE. THEN PUT YOUR 2 500 WON COINS INTO THE COIN SLOT. PRESS THE COIN SLOT FORWARD. YOU WILL THEN HAVE TO PRESS ONE OF THE BUTTONS. PUSH THE ONE THAT SAYS "COLORS." IT WILL TAKE APPROXIMATELY 45 MINUTES FOR THE CLOTHES TO WASH. IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT

YOU REPEAT THE SAME PROCESS FOR YOUR WHITES. I USE SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR MY WHITES THOUGH. NOT REALLY SURE WHAT IT'S CALLED OR IS. ALL I KNOW IS THAT IT KEEPS YOUR WHITES WHITE. IT WAS RECOMMENDED BY THE NICE KOREAN LADY AT GRAND MART. YOU MAY WANT TO BUY ONE OF THESE.




I HOPE THIS HELPED. IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT DETERGENT TO USE BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW KOREAN AND I WAS SCARED OF BUYING THE RIGHT THING. I WAS LUCKY THAT MY FRIEND KNEW A BIT OF KOREAN, SO SHE WENT WITH ME AND WE SPOKE TO A NICE KOREAN LADY AT GRAND MART THAT TOLD US WHAT TO USE. IF YOU ARE SHY LIKE ME OR SCARED OF ASKING FOR HELP, USE WHAT I USE. GUIDE YOURSELF BY MY PICTURES. I GUARANTEE IT WILL WORK AND IT WILL NOT RUIN YOUR PRECIOUS CLOTHES.

TO END MY POST, HERE IS A LITTLE LAUNDRY ROOM "ETIQUETTE." THE LAUNDRY ROOM IS USUALLY REALLY BUSY ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. EXPECT A LOT OF GIRLS SWARMING INTO THE LAUNDRY ROOM TRYING TO GET A MACHINE. ONE THING YOU SHOULD KNOW IS THAT IF YOU AREN'T KEEPING TABS ON YOUR MACHINE, IF THE MACHINE IS DONE WASHING YOUR CLOTHES AND YOU AREN'T THERE TO GET YOUR CLOTHES OUT, SOMEONE ELSE WILL!!!!! DO NOT BE ALARMED OR MAD WHEN YOU GO TO THE LAUNDRY ROOM TO PICK UP YOUR CLOTHES AND YOU FIND THAT THEY ARE BEING TAKEN OUT BY SOMEONE ELSE OR THEY ARE STACKED EITHER ON TOP OF THE MACHINE OR THE TABLE. THE LAUNDRY ROOM CAN BECOME VERY BUSY AND PEOPLE ARE ON A SCHEDULE. I USED TO WAIT UP TO LIKE 15 MINUTES WAITING FOR THE PERSON TO COME GET THERE STUFF. I DIDN'T WANT TO BE RUDE AND JUST TAKE OUT THEIR COTHES. I WAS SO WRONG!!!!! WHILE I WAITED ONCE, SOME GIRL CAME IN AND JUST TOOK OUT THE STUFF INSIDE THE MACHINE I WAS WAITING FOR AND PUT IT ON TOP OF THE MACHINE. I WAS IN UTTER SHOCK THAT I DIDN'T EVEN PROTEST AT THE FACT THAT THIS GIRL BASICALLY CUT IN FRONT OF ME. I WAS ONLY TRYING TO BE POLITE, BUT THAT WON'T GET YOU ANYWHERE IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM. IF A MACHINE IS AT 0 MINUTES AND THERE ARE WET CLOTHES INSIDE, TAKE THEM OUT AND PUT THEM ON TOP OF THE MACHINE AND PROCEED TO USE THE MACHINE. DON'T WORRY ABOUT BEING POLITE. EVERYONE IS USED TO IT SO PEOPLE DON' TAKE OFFENSE AT THE FACT THAT YOU GRABBED THEIR CLOTHES AND PUT THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE. THAT'S JUST HOW THE SYSTEM AT GONZAGA WORKS. ^_^