Three weeks ago washer went down. NBD. It’s a ten dollar part and maybe a half hour of labor to fix l. Part is back ordered three weeks so I’m using a laundromat mean time. To make matters worse, a high limit switch on my dryer went out so now I’m washing AND drying at the laundromat until replacement parts arrive.
Yall, it’s twenty five cents for 2.5 minutes of drying time regardless of dryer size.
It’s five dollars, eight dollars, or ten dollars per wash, depending on load size.
One x $5 wash
Two x $8 washes
One x $10 wash
$11 bucks for dryers
That’s fucking insane. A brand new 4.1 cu ft washer is $499 @ a big box store. The matching dryer is $499 also.
Twenty-three trips or thereabouts, to the laundromat and I could have bought my very own washer and dryer. The outsized effect this has on the poorest of us is absurd.
Yeah, but you can buy 5 laundry keys for like 10 bucks.
https://www.amazon.com/laundry-key/s?k=laundry+key
What does this get you access to? The coin box? Or can you generally just get free use?
Depends on the model.
https://michael.orlitzky.com/articles/csc_serviceworks_laundry_machine_coin_bypass.xhtml
Honestly, it’s been years since I’ve done something like that and nowadays everything is connected to the Internet and is monitored.
So you do wanna make sure to do some research into manuals and whatnot of your specific model you’re trying to get into to make sure you’re not gonna get yourself in trouble.
Last time I did this in the rental I lived in it didn’t open the box, it opened the control panel for the unit. Which I would then just use to flip the mechanical switch that told the machine that coins were inserted.
Coin slot boxes aren’t universal, they’re keyed to the box, so you’d need to know the key code to have a key custom made.
The maintenance panels on the units though typically are universal, so you can just pop the maintenance panel open and then you have full access to the machine. All but the most modern ones are very easy to flip on when you have access.
How do I figure out which keys I need?
@Maeve@kbin.earth as well. Research, research, research. Look for model numbers, and writing that may be on the identifier tags. Find manuals. Look up the exact models on eBay and you may be able to find pictures of the interior to get an idea of which keysets will fit your model and then narrow it down. You’ll notice some of those 5 for $10 keys are actually for a series of locks rather than just 5 of the same kind. Sometimes the locks will have their key number etched on the lock somewhere (rarely on the outside, but you’d be surprised). This all applies to much more than just laundry keys btw; access control panels, security systems, fire panels, gate keypads all have easy to get keys for them. Often times you can find “maintenance” keyrings full of popular keys being sold on eBay, which is another great place for buying laundry keys. Lol, Idk if it’s still a thing but cop car keys used to be a popular item.
Edit: I just remembered, they sell cheap phone endoscope cameras nowadays that might be used to look inside of things to find numbers. Again applies to more than laundry, just a good tool to have for this sort of work.
I have quite the assortment of heavy equipment keys, come the apocalypse I’ll still be able to push dirt around. A buddy of mine used to be an equipment service guy and when he left a national equipment rental place he gave me his key rings. Sooooo many good keys. I’ve been able to start up jobsite lights, move skid steers, use the class 8 lift-all for moving shit around, etc.
In addition to my keyring from when I did low voltage life safety work, I also have a keyring given to me by a golf kart mechanic. No idea how useful they’ll be after the fall but you never know. I’ve unfortunately lost my cheat sheet of security system installer codes.
Oh that’s fascinating, thanks!
Welcome! Good luck, and be safe!
How are you getting the lock number?