Wait a minute. I had totally just taken some girl’s wet clothes out of the washing machine and put them on the dryer. It was my first semester at college, and I thought I’d mastered laundry room etiquette. It was simple. I needed a washer. The girl’s clothes had been sitting in the machine for… who knew how long? An hour? All day? So I took them out, totally not being jealous of their extra small-ness and not-from-Target-ness. The girl continued from the laundry room a couple doors down:
“Like, who would do that? Seriously.Touch my clothes. With their hands.”
I would. I did. It was totally me.
“They should feel really bad.”
I didn’t.
“And fall in a hole and die.”
Nope, still here.
Was I crazy? I really figured everyone did this. I asked around, and pretty much got the same response, that:
a) As long as it’s not mid-cycle, taking wet clothes out of the washer is not weird, and
b) She really did sound gross. My imitation was impeccable.
These conversations reminded me of many laundry room problems. Like whose job is it to clean the lint filter? I often check just in case to find the screen super linty. Nbd, but still.
Also, USC laundry rooms themselves are not only home to annoying people but also insects, unidentifiable moldy things on the floor, and long-forgotten underwear decaying behind the machines. Basically, a world of yuck.
Still, I’ve had many-a-laundry-loads of mine taken out of the washer since that day. It’s honestly nice to know I’m not alone. And if you’re reading this, New-North girl who never said hi to me in the hallway, no hard feelings. I understand you can’t help your grossness.
