New washers and dryers will be available for student use in every residential facility throughout the coming weeks. On Monday, Feb. 24, the first wave of upgraded laundry facilities was installed on campus.
The machines are being introduced in three different phases from Feb. 24 to March 19. The machines will also be accompanied by a mobile app to streamline the experience.
According to a Feb. 21 email from the Office of Residential Life, the first of the three phases of installation will be from Feb. 24 to 26 and will include all residential facilities up the hill except for Burke Hall, Pinchin Hall and Gate House, which will receive the upgraded machines between March 10 and 12. The first wave of installments also covers the Parker Apartments, Bryan Complex and 100 Hamilton Street.
Molly Ogden, director of purchasing at Colgate University, weighed in on what sparked this upgrade to the laundry facilities and why, after years of using the same machines, the team decided a change was necessary.
“The machines being replaced are now 10 years old, and service issues have become more prevalent as the machines have aged. Additionally, the technology on those machines has been retired and replacement parts are becoming hard to source, so an upgrade was necessary to minimize potential interruptions,” Ogden said.
Ogden further explained that although there are no future update initiatives or renovations planned for the laundry service other than the machine overhaul, students will be able to use an app that will make doing their laundry more efficient and manageable.
“The high-efficiency machines will be installed with software to track which machines are in use and when your laundry cycle is completed via the CSC mobile app,” Ogden said.
The CSC mobile app has features that allow students to pay via credit or debit card without swiping a ’Gate Card. If students prefer to pay via ’Gate Card, they can link it to the app and pay digitally instead of using a physical card. By scanning the QR code on the front of the machine when you put laundry in, the app will automatically sync up to the laundry cycle and alert you when it is complete.
Senior Campbell Mecke lives in the Newell Apartments, where upgraded laundry facilities are scheduled to arrive between March 10 and 12. She commented on her excitement about the newer washing and drying models and how it will make the process smoother.
“Doing laundry on campus has always been a bit of an ordeal, so I’m glad to see that with things like the app, it’s getting streamlined a bit and I’ll have an easier experience with it. I also definitely feel like with how old the machines are, sometimes they don’t really work great and I feel like they don’t really do a thorough job at cleaning my clothes,” Mecke said. “With brand new machines, it’ll be exciting to see how much smoother and cleaner everything goes.”
One small change, however, is that though the previous machines charged $1.70 for one cycle, the newer machines now cost $1.80. While the difference is a small amount, some students have voiced concerns over why this change is necessary. Senior Maddie Handley commented further on this change.
“While it is definitely annoying to see the price change, even just a little bit, the newer machines are so much nicer and work so much better, so it’s overall a small price to pay when considering the rest of the upgrades that came with the new machines,” Handley said. “But I do really get that these little extra charges can add up in the grand scheme of things.”
In the email sent out to the student body, Residential Life also included a link to an informational packet from CSC that provides more details about the machines and gives resources for students to contact should they have questions or need technical support.
