Mold. Flooded laundry rooms. Broken machines. That’s the Yale laundry experience using the CSC machines. 

Every week, thousands of Yale students do laundry in their residential colleges.  Doing laundry may seem simple, but too often, students encounter issues with the operation and payments for laundry services. The laundry rooms are also unsanitary, with mold and rust coating both washers and dryers. There are significant issues in the operation of laundry machines on all student living space on campus, from residential colleges to Old Campus. 

And it’s frustratingly unclear who is supposed to fix these issues. Currently, Yale subcontracts the operations of its machines to CSC Serviceworks. Yale and CSC signed a multi-year contract recently, the contents of which are not available to the public. Additionally, facilities and the residential colleges also play a role in laundry management. The machines and their operations are subcontracted to CSC, but the maintenance of these rooms are the responsibility of facilities and residential colleges. This creates a dynamic where CSC, Yale Facilities, and residential colleges all deflect blame on issues with laundry operations. Students are expected to know who is at fault before lodging a complaint, which in practice leads to few students ever placing complaints. The result of this decentralized system is inaction or unacceptable delays in services.

The laundry rooms are a public health hazard. Most students aren’t aware of the mold contamination in laundry machines when they make their weekly trip to the laundry room. Dryers don’t get rid of mold, nor do they prevent its spread in these rooms. During the fall and the spring, students with allergies are particularly susceptible to the health hazards of mold. 

Even the payment process of laundry is a significant issue. Students are sometimes charged for laundry, but the washer or dryer doesn’t activate. Other times cards haven’t worked and they have had to use quarters in the machines. Consequently, many students report being overcharged or the machines simply not working. And even if the payment is successful, students have to remember which machines ‘actually’ work or else money is wasted.

Yale cannot ignore the financial inequality that exists on campus. The expenses are most draining to those on financial aid. At first glance the costs may seem minor. Over time, however, detergent, cycles and additional costs lead to hundreds of dollars a semester of additional and unaccounted costs. 

Significant changes need to be made to Yale’s laundry system.  Other universities have already proven that free laundry and centralized maintenance is a superior alternative. It’s past time for Yale to catch-up with its peers and ensure free and clean laundry for all. 

This statement was unanimously endorsed by the Yale College Council.

EZANA TEDLA is a sophomore in Jonathan Edwards. He is a senator in the Yale College Council. Contact him at ezana.tedla@yale.edu