I have no idea if it is only in Sweden that people who live in apartment building share a laundry room with the other or not. A couple of days ago I read an article in the newspaper about how the laundry room is a big source of conflict amongst Swedes. I thought it was so funny because I recognised so many of the situations myself.

Forgotten fuzz in the machines or on the floor, people taking your washing times or detergent sticky surfaces. All these things are common and seem to be what get’s Swedes’ nickers in a twist. Conflicts are not at all uncommon, maybe because people don’t like having to deal with other peoples dirt and messes.

Believe it or not, studies have been made of how many people have ever fought in the common laundry room. The magazine Hem & Hyra (home & rent literally translated) published their results, showing that 20% of the participants actually had quarrelled with their neighbours in the laundry room.

Sometimes there are clearly written down rules about how to behave regarding the washing. However, conflicts still arise since a lot of things are actually unspoken rules and Know it alls and lazy bums have quite different interpretations of the rules.

To sum the article I read up the writer gave some good tips on how to control your temper when in the common laundry room. I thought I’d share some of them with you guys.

How to handle the following problems:

Your washing time has been stolen: Take a deep breath. Find out what has happened. In some apartment complexes you are allowed to take somebody’s time if they don’t show up within a certain period. If the rules aren’t clear then contact the landlord.

The laundry room is uncleaned: All renters are obliged to clean up after themselves. It is however the landlords responsibility to do an overall cleaning and make sure everything is in working order. It is therefore better to contact your landlord if you have a problem with the cleaning.

Fuzz in the tumble dryer: This is one of the things that the renters themselves have to clean up once they are done. Clean it out yourself, but should it reoccur contact your landlord about this as well.

Stolen clothes: Report this to the police. Sometimes you can be reimbursed by your insurance company. Make sure to use any locks on doors, machines and dryers if there are any.

Have you ever experienced similar to this? Does this seem like a silly thing to get upset over? Share other tips on how to deal with frustrating situations in the common laundry room!