My usual routine of doing laundry on Sunday has been disturbed by Swiss law. It is strictly forbidden to work on Sundays and to this end, the laundry room is locked all day on Sunday.
This is my favorite washing machine. Its instruction screen is available in 5 languages: German, French, Romansch, Italian and ENGLISH. That makes it 45% incomprehensible as opposed to 100%. The first time I attempted the insanity that is the laundry room I swore with frustration, screamed for fear I had just lost all my points and jumped with my fist in the air shouting "YES!" when the thing finally worked.
Laundry cards cost 20 chf for 43,000 points. Washing is 8,100 points and drying is 3,100. Then, when it's through it gives you some points back depending on the cycle, temperature, etc you've chosen. Much to my surprise, washing and drying comes out to only 2 or 3 chf for me.
That's not to say that doing laundry in Switzerland is altogether cheap. The detergent I like to use is a little steep. ECOVER detergent is 12.90 chf, the fabric softener 6.50 chf and the oxygen bleach 4.80 chf. Once you do the currency conversion, it's about the same price as it is at Huckleberry's, the most expensive grocery store in Spokane.
The dryer has a genius lint trap - it's the ring around the opening. If you don't clean it off, the lint gets stuck to your clothes as you pull them out. I have yet to figure out which cycle is best. At the end it makes the clothes cold again so you have to iron them -- what's the frickin' point? So far, my solution has been to hit the on/off switch and force the door open with ten minutes to go. Mmmm, nice hot clothes, just the way they should be.
This is my favorite washing machine. Its instruction screen is available in 5 languages: German, French, Romansch, Italian and ENGLISH. That makes it 45% incomprehensible as opposed to 100%. The first time I attempted the insanity that is the laundry room I swore with frustration, screamed for fear I had just lost all my points and jumped with my fist in the air shouting "YES!" when the thing finally worked.
Laundry cards cost 20 chf for 43,000 points. Washing is 8,100 points and drying is 3,100. Then, when it's through it gives you some points back depending on the cycle, temperature, etc you've chosen. Much to my surprise, washing and drying comes out to only 2 or 3 chf for me.
That's not to say that doing laundry in Switzerland is altogether cheap. The detergent I like to use is a little steep. ECOVER detergent is 12.90 chf, the fabric softener 6.50 chf and the oxygen bleach 4.80 chf. Once you do the currency conversion, it's about the same price as it is at Huckleberry's, the most expensive grocery store in Spokane.
The dryer has a genius lint trap - it's the ring around the opening. If you don't clean it off, the lint gets stuck to your clothes as you pull them out. I have yet to figure out which cycle is best. At the end it makes the clothes cold again so you have to iron them -- what's the frickin' point? So far, my solution has been to hit the on/off switch and force the door open with ten minutes to go. Mmmm, nice hot clothes, just the way they should be.
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