A laundry list of luxuries. (Service Spotlight).

Laundry day: a dreaded phrase if ever there was one among renters. For generations, laundry day has equated to hours spent in the basement, surrounded by cinderblock walls and dozens of lurching, clanging machines. Laundry rooms often were hot and steamy or cold and damp with few places to sit and little to do to help pass the time.

Flash forward: picture an above-ground laundry room with full-size windows that overlook a swimming pool, fitness area, or scenic wooded area. The washers and dryers remain, of course, but that clanging and banging has been replaced with a dull, even soothing, humming sound. Residents now pay by using plastic cards. No longer do they have to carry a pocketful of quarters. Hard, wood benches have been yanked out in favor of comfy couches, a television viewing area, and even desks that offer high-speed Internet connections.

Laundry day? Bring it on.

Energy Efficiency

The first benefit that comes to apartment owners from today's washers and dryers is in the form of the utility bill. Laundry equipment is significantly more energy efficient than its predecessors, meaning lower water, electric, and natural gas bills.

Dick Casey of Alliance Laundry Systems/Speed Queen, said today's machines use much less water and energy than those purchased only five years ago. "They're far more energy friendly," he said.

Mitchell Blatt, President and COO of Coinmach Corporation, agreed. "Both top and frontloading washers are using less water these days," he said. "We're right on the cusp of that. When we are introduced to a machine that uses less water, we generally add it to our inventory."

Fred Restum, Automatic Apartment Laundries, said owners can anticipate saving as much as 10 gallons per machine per load when using new machines compared to older machines.

The latest line of machines breaks down less often. They are wired to send distress calls to repair centers before a major problem occurs. If a belt wears down or a part comes loose, the machine will actually contact repair personnel before anyone who is using it is able to notice a problem.

Advances in technology make it easy for residents to check to see if a machine is available. By simply logging onto a community Web site, residents will see how many machines are in use.

Casey said that type of system is only available to properties that have their own Web sites.

Many machines now are operated by using smart cards. These plastic cards, which are embedded with microchips, are issued to residents, who insert them into the machines. The residents can add to the smart card's balance by using cash or transferring money from an ATM card onto the smart card. In some communities, the same smart card can be used to gain access to parking, business center services, or purchases made in the community's shops.

Surf, Tumble, Dry

Technology has made a big difference in the way apartment residents and owners think about their laundry, but the major transformation of the location of the community laundry room has made doing laundry a more pleasant experience.

"[Because they offer an attractive view] they're becoming places residents want to be," Casey said. "More property owners are realizing that residents spend significant amounts of time doing laundry, and they're making the rooms much nicer."

The laundry room itself is making a resurgance as well, following years of in-unit washers and dryers.

"In-unit machines use more energy," said Blatt. "There's the tendency to throw four, five, or six things in a load. With a laundry room, residents tend to save their laundry until they have enough to make a full load. And because they're paying for it, they tend to conserve resources."

Some apartment laundry rooms feature the same amenities found in the waiting areas of upscale car dealerships--televisions with cable, tables and chain instead of benches, and even desks or counters with either computers already installed or high-speed Internet access ports.

Some residents have the luxury of bringing their laptop to the laundry facility, hooking up to the Internet, and then surf the Web while they wait for their clothes to tumble and dry.

The Move to Front-Loader

Casey said the newly designed front-loading washers are quieter and more efficient than their top-opening counterparts, making them the choice of the owner. Unfortunately, he said, they are not as popular with residents. That could be because they cannot open the door mid-cycle to add or remove clothing as they can with top loaders.

Restum said front-loaders are not particularly popular among elderly residents.

"They want to be able to see the water level," he said. "They like to open the door and check to see how things are going, and they like to add things into the machine once the cycle has started. You cannot do that with a front-loading machine."

Blatt said the problem mainly comes from perception.

"Most elderly residents in the United States have always had front loading machines--it's what they are used to," Blatt said. "Using a top-loading machine represents a change, that's all."

NSC Members Who Provide Laundry Services

Alliance Laundry
Systems/Speed Queen
www.speedqueen.com

Automatic Apartment
Laundries Inc.
www.aalaundries.com

Automatic Laundry Co. Ltd.
www.automaticlaundry.com

Coinmach Corp.
www.coinmach.com

Web Services Co.
www.weblaundry.com

Kim Fernandez is a Freelance Writer for trade and consumer publications who lives in Bethesda, Md. A firmer Managing Editor for Units, she has written about the multifamily housing industry since 1994.