[gwbas1c]

When I lived in an apartment without laundry services, I found it was cheaper to just pay a laundry service for pickup and drop-off at my front door. I paid about $50 a month, when an in unit washer dryer would cost a lot more.

I also looked into a washer dryer unit that I could plug into my sink. They are really common in Europe but not in the United States. The problem is that American voltage is too low to run a dryer without a dedicated outlet.

With the way that batteries are going, you could probably make a dryer that has a battery in it so it doesn't need a dedicated high voltage and high amperage plug. Because all dryers need counterweights, the battery really won't add weight to the dryer.

Without technology changes, you can still get an apartment washer dryer unit. Most appliance store should be able to special order one for you. The problem is that they will take all night to dry your clothing, because you are stuck with the limited voltage and amperage that comes out of the standard American wall outlet.

[adrianN]

I don't understand how $50 a month can be cheaper than having your own machine. A machine should pay for itself in less than a year.

[RhodesianHunter]

It's not just the voltage / amperage. Even if you buy a really expensive over-under that plugs into a 220 the lack of an output vent slows down drying dramatically.

[gwbas1c]

Dryers are only vented in the United States. Most of the world uses condenser dryers that don't require venting. They also use less energy.

[RhodesianHunter]

They also take significantly longer to dry your clothes.

[sioux77]

Unfortunately laundry services also use machines of variable quality/cleanliness, so not help there for me at least.