By Gail Marsh
Picture it: A small group of RVers stand inside the campground laundry room. They huddle around a washer with its lid raised. One RVer peeks inside the washing machine and shakes his head. Other RVers, in turn, either frown, humph in frustration, or sit down to read a book. What’s going on? It’s the RV laundry conundrum! (Read my laundry tips here.)
What to do?
This unfortunate scenario is one played out in almost every campground at one time or another. Perhaps it’s happened to you, as well. You arrive at the campground “wash house” only to find all three washing machines and dryers sitting idle. Before you pat yourself on the back for getting to the machines ahead of your fellow campers, take a look inside the machines. Every washer is full of clean, wet clothes. This is the RV laundry conundrum! What’s an RVer to do?
Choices
Having faced this RV laundry challenge myself, I see only two options for handling the situation: Leave everything as is and wait for the clothing’s owner to retrieve them; or take the clothes out of the washer and place them on the folding table. The problem is that not every camper agrees with these choices.
A recent RV online conversation addressed this issue. Here’s what folks said:
Hands off! Wait and see
R.J. was vehement: “I’m not touching anyone else’s property! And they better not touch mine either.”
“Getting into another RVer’s property could get you in trouble. I say, ‘hands off,’” Hank posted.
“I just wait for 15-20 minutes. You know how it is. People lose track of time. They might be dealing with their kids or pets. Give folks a break! Relax! You’re on vacation, right?” That’s how Pam feels about the RV laundry conundrum.
Gia V. agrees. “It doesn’t hurt to wait for a little while. I always bring along a book, so I don’t mind the wait.”
Take clothes out
Dee offered, “I swear some RVers leave their laundry in the machines for days! That’s rude! I stay with my clothes until everything’s done. If others can’t be bothered, they shouldn’t mind me moving their clean, wet clothes to the folding table.”
Carl agrees: “There’s usually a sign: ‘Stay with your clothes.’ If you ignore the rules, I’m moving your duds! You can count on that.”
Your turn
What do you think? Vote in the poll and then tell us what prompted your vote in the comments below.
How do you feel about the RV laundry conundrum? If you need a washing machine or dryer, but it’s full of clothes, what do you do?
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RVT1215
After 10 minutes…
Wet ones just get moved. If damp in the dryer and I have plenty of coins I might give them another dry. If not I remove them.
If they are in the dryer and dry I fluff them out and lay them neatly on the table.
Use a timer so you are back on time!
I believe in the “leave no footprint” concept in RV camping as well as where it originated from… protecting the wilderness. In RV parks it is protecting society from increasing chaos where people feel their existence is never a crimp on other’s lives.
Mind your laundry or find it wet on a table (sure a couple minutes but many abuse that rule regularly) when you return. It’s the same as unwanted noise throughout a campground, and I don’t mean the occasional squeal of an excited child. I mean loud TVs, stereos, drunken laughter past quiet hours, loud barking dogs anytime, and a host of all the other seemingly minor wanker moves that may seem OK, but annoy others.
Leave no footprint!
I’ll wait a short period of time if they are a no show out they come. And have had many apologies for they not being there to remove the clothes themself. But, look stuff happens and people get side tracked.
Another reason to have our own onboard washer/dryer
Yep! Years ago we got sick and tired of campground and other laundromats. It is SO-O-O nice to do a little laundry right in our own MH in the evening.
Yes we have a washer and dryer in our Motorhome. Love it.
Read Steinbeck’s Travels With Charlie.
As several have said, I will wait 10 minutes or so, if no one returns, wet clothing is put on a table. I generally haven’t had to deal with a dryer issue, I’m not sure what I would do – probably place them neatly on the table. Whether or not there is a sign, if anyone uses a laundromat, they know the rules.
‘Leave for a little bit’. But this past winter, it was obvious it was well past ‘a little bit’. The mildew smell was obvious. We winter in a long-stay RV park and there are several guests whose jobs require them to be gone on overnight (or longer) intervals. One such individual put his clothes in the washer, got a semi-emergency call about an out-of-town project, and left forgetting about the washer.
If I was the inconsiderate person who left a washer or dryer done and full, I would hope that the next person would unload it and put my stuff in a basket or on a table so they could get on with their day. Sometimes we all need a little kick in the butt to be responsible.
Most laundromats have signs, Do NOT leave clothes/machines unattended. If I need a machine, especially a large one which generally they are only a few, and the clothes owner is not in the building I will remove their clothes immediately and store them either in a basket or on a shelf. It is VERY rude to hold up any machine because of your lack of consideration for others that DO stay with their clothes. You are not the ONLY one using the machines. Use some common sense people and get rid of your arrogance.
They can be removed after an unreasonable time period. BUT, you have to think about the liability of touching other peoples property.
“Look what you did to my clothes”
Maybe contact the campground staff and let them deal with the problem.
I have seen where an Rv’er had started several loads of laundry then returned to his coach. His wash loads finished but he didn’t return for well after they were done. This was a problem for others who sought to get their laundry done
I am in the camp of waiting for a few minutes, but would remove and place possibly in a dryer. Unfortunately I have had 2 really bad experiences so I no longer leave my laundry unattended for any amount of time. I once had an entire load stolen… underwear and all. That was when I decided to babysit my loads. The second time I had gone to restroom. This was less than a 5 minutes stop and when I returned a woman had dumped everything on the floor!!! Had to rewash everything. Now I read a book or phone, go to restroom before starting and NEVER leave unattended.
Agree with Rolling Coal. If you have your own W&D onboard, this entire problem goes away. If you don’t – then it is your problem — can’t help you.
I personally don’t understand why people need to leave their laundry unattended. Wait till your laundry is done. Bring folding chair, if chairs are not provided along with a book, a tablet, a travel journal etc..
This happened while we were in a rv park in Alaska. After waiting about 10 minutes, went to the rv park management. They came and moved the clothes out so we could use the appliances.
Thank you for the question, RV Travel! If in the washer, then I will await the owner’s return. Mine are not wet and theirs are, so I will delay starting my laundry until one or more washers are free. If in the dryer, then different story. First remove theirs and insert mine. Second begin folding their public/non-underwear clothes. If they still have not returned, then I will move onto their socks (presuming that “everyone” puts matching socks together and then folds down the tops together to keep them together). If still not back, will pile “unmentionables” atop the folded clothes and put it all on a back edge of the folding table. Once my clothes are dry, I will fold them and leave.
Have a great day and safe travels!
I’ll wait 5 minutes or so before removing them. Laundromats even have signs up telling you that if you remove somebodies laundry from a machine, to leave it in a cart close to the machine it was in.