- It feels like they are taking advantage of the fact that we are students and vulnerable

- I think it's expensive. I feel like SiO exploits students who live cheaply.

That's what Tora Jarsve (25), a master's student in design and interaction at the University of Oslo, says. This summer she moved into a studio apartment in Sogn student village. Since the apartment does not have a washing machine, she must use the communal laundry. It costs her 20 NOK per wash and 10 kroner per drying round. In addition, she has to pay between 2.50 and 3.50 NOK for washing powder and 0.50 kroner for fabric softener which is not possible to bring yourself.

- We need to wash clothes, so they can push prices, since we have no other alternatives, Jarsve stated.

In SiO's family homes, you can bring your own washing machine or you can use the communal laundry. In addition, there are some homes that have their own washing machines in Vestgrensa and Pilestredet Park.

Jarsve finds it unfair that those who have an apartment with their own washing machine do not have to pay as much to wash their clothes as she and several other students do.

Dirty clothes and high prices

To protect the environment, Jarsve collects dirty clothes between each wash. When she then washes, she needs three machines: one for cooking, one for wool and one for everyday clothes.

- In addition, I have to distinguish colours, so there will be a few rounds of laundry. With 20 kroner per wash, it quickly becomes a lot of money, she says.

The prices are not the only thing at SiO's communal laundry that bothers Jarsve. She has also noticed that her clothes do not look clean, even after a cooking wash.

- A cooking wash, which usually takes three hours, takes one hour here. My clothes look dirty, says Jarsve.

Since it is not possible to reserve a machine for longer than 1.5 hours, the machine only has fast wash programs. The longest program lasts one hour.

- White socks do not look clean and t-shirts in light colours are still stained. As a student, I cannot buy new clothes all the time either, she says.

- I think it is poorly designed. It feels like they are taking advantage of the fact that we are students and vulnerable, she says.

150 NOK monthly

Solveig Tjetland (24) has lived in a SiO apartment in Kringsjå student village for half a year. Tjetland says that she washes a lot of clothes, especially now when she wears a facemask every day, which must be washed. After checking on it, she sees that in a month she can spend up to 150 NOK on washing her clothes.

- It's my entire training subscription, or three dinners, says Tjetland, who studies architecture at the School of Architecture and Design in Oslo (AHO).

Chechnya believes it is unlikely that a round with the washing machine will cost SiO anything close to 20 NOK in electricity.

- I understand that they charge, but 20 NOK is a lot to ask from us, she says.

Chechnya wants SiO to offer residents a certain number of free washes a month, so that they can have their basic need covered.

- Then you can pay extra, if you need to wash something beyond that. I do not think SiO should profit from our laundry, and I do not think they need to charge 20 NOK per wash, she says.

Director of Housing in SiO, Gunn Kirsti Løkka, writes in an e-mail to Universitas that the prices of laundry in the communal laundries have not been adjusted up since 2012.

- What do you think about students spending up to 150 NOK a month on laundry? Do you need to have the prices on this level?

- Compared to a commercial laundromat, SiO's laundries are an offer to residents where SiO itself does not make a profit, but must ensure that the income covers the costs of operation, Løkka answers.

- The machines are energy efficient

Chechnya also points out that her clothes do not always look clean, and explains that you can only choose degrees and what type of program you want, not adjust time. She would prefer to be able to wash her clothes for normal times, and not only a quick wash.

- That white socks do not turn white after washing irritates me, she says.

According to Løkka, the reason why the programs are shorter than on ordinary machines is that these are professional machines which receive pre-heated water and therefore do not spend time on heating it.

- The machines are also energy efficient so that they do not take in unnecessary amounts of water. Important tips for getting clean clothes are not to have too full machines, as well as to do stain removal in advance on difficult stains, she writes.