The last three years, the washing machines in the dorms across campus costed $2 per load.  This year a load costs dorm dwellers $2.25.  The increase in cost is based on a necessity with rising charges from Eau Claire water services.  

Peter Rejto, assistant director for budget and physical plant operations at UW-Eau Claire, said the company needs to maintain their infrastructure and the costs are eventually passed on to the consumer.  

Rejto said the increase in cost is reasonable because compared to most off-campus laundromats that charge $2 for washers and additional money for the dryers, dorms are less expensive. Students on the other hand are only charged to use the campus washers and not the dryers.  

He said there are a couple of reasons for this: it is easier to charge just the washers since it adds up to only one charge for the campus and the campus does not want to risk having students overload the machines trying to save money, in the process potentially damaging the machine and their clothing.  

Bill Macozek, hall director of Horan Hall, said he thinks the price increase is reasonable.

“My experience when I had to go to laundromats, dryers certainly were what cost me more than washers did,” he said. “I may have tried to save money on the washers, and typically I had to do more than one cycle in the dryer.”

Macozek thinks a 25 cent increase is not an unreasonable charge.

“Our operations have never been designed to make profit off students,” he said.  “They are designed to provide a service to the students that live here.”

Macozek felt there has been a reasonable effort through the years to understand the clientele, and that they have and are providing a service to the students without being reckless with their finances, which would be purposely operating in the red, but not to put the costs of things onto the students.

Brendon James Overly, a resident assistant in Governors Hall, said an extra 25 cents is worth it as a service.  

“A big reason why the residence halls are awesome is there are a lot of services here for you,” he said.  “The convenience of the café, all the essentials right in your room, on top of that you have all the resources like the laundry rooms and bathrooms.”