new baby, no W/D

it's not just weird. You'd better hand wash them.

Not a big deal. Need elevator access. If you have a babysitter/nanny, they will often agree to do baby laundry too.

That trip to the laundry room might be a nice break for you or your wife.

UWSer is right, elevator access is important.

Hold out for washer/dryer. They will become a necessity!

I guess you haven't read that David Sedaris xmas letter about...the baby in the w/d...

What is the problem wish using a common w/d for baby clothes?

If it's a nice well-maintained building, no big deal at all. In our last rental, the laundry room was very well-kept and clean. Most tenants were single and sent their laundry out.

There's health concern

such as?

I don't think it's a big deal as long as you know what you are doing (I didn't!). Before the nanny, 2 loads a day; after she took over, 2 loads a week. It's a fine art, to feed and change babies without having to repaint the nursery.

Let's just assume that everyone in your building is very well-behaved and do not have pets. But harsh detergent left over will cause allergic reaction.

dewyagi, you're average commercial machine will remove all detergents during the cycle. i have a very allergic child and this was NEVER an issue.

after i decided to give up the housekeeper, i found that my laundry costs decreased by at least 50%, doing the same amount of laundry. she had been pocketing half the money i gave her for the machines.

best is w/d in your apt but realize limited here. hand washing is great but unrealistic. met some terrif bldg moms in the laundry room. use whatever free and clear product moves you - folks tend to use way too much detergent.

I wouldn't stress about detergent residue until you have the baby - yes newborn skin is more sensitive than adult skin, but many babies don't even need special detergent for their clothes, so to worry about detergent residue in a "common" washer dryer sounds overly paranoid to me. As far as having a washer and dryer in the apartment with a baby, I will say it's a really incredible luxury that will make your life so much easier as a new parent. I've had one for the entire time with my now two year old, when my son was a newborn and I went to 'new mommy' meetups it was the number one thing every new mom wished she had (except more sleep). You will not believe the volume of clothes you will go through, and not only is the baby spewing bodily fluids on its clothes, but it will spit up on your clothes, too - so it's not just the baby's laundry needs that go up. As a mom my advice is to get the washer and dryer in the apartment if you can afford it, it's now an apartment deal breaker for me; once you have it you never ever want to go back to the 'elevator to communal' situation.

aboutready - Lucky you.
Like romary said - folks tend to use way too much detergent.
Maybe it is only the problem with some very young families.

If you don't use your dishwasher that often, I don't see why can't you substitute it with a washer? One of my friend did that.

I don't have kids but I understand that a lot of people who do don't feel comfortable leaving them alone even for the time it takes to go downstairs to the laundry. I had a friend, a single mom, who was like that and laundry was a horrendous chore that involved schlepping not only the clothes but a baby/toddler to the basement. I don't know if she was being unreasonably paranoid about leaving the child alone but if not, it sounds like something that should be avoided if at all possible.

dewyagi, did you actually indicate that you had an allergy problem? if so, i understand your issues having an allergic child. but most people won't have that. even with an allergic child, the odds that they have a detergent allergy that is so great that the residue affedts them is small.

but if this is true with your child, my sympathies. i've been there with other allergies. it's not easy.

I have had two newborns with common washers without issue.

No getting around it, laundry sucks. Doing laundry every day, every night having the thing going is a PITA. Laundry seems to always be there.

On the other hand, doing the laundry in the basement is a PITA b/c you have to haul everything down there. But, it is kind of like pulling off a bandaid. 6 loads all at once. Done.

I'm crazy about washing my sheets, rugs, towels, etc. a lot. In that sense, bulk laundry facilities is a plus.

By the 3rd child, you're changing their clothes once every 24 hours, not any more frequently :) It all depends on how much laundry you generate - I am accustomed to "eau de spitup" at home, don't feel the need to change after a little baby spitup.

We have kids/friends with kids ... have only heard of one baby have such sensitive skin that common w/d's were a problem (the issue btw is that fabric softener says in machines long after "that" cycle). We also didn't have a spitter-upper and I have to say, we did laundry a lot less than people seemed to suggest that we would!

Siggy98, congrats on the soon to be new arrival. I would say that if you are renting or buying, you should have the w/d in your apartment. It will not only save a tremendous amount of money not putting all those dollars in the machines, the time saved will give you time to do other things. If you have some laundry that you need to do but have to run out somewhere, with a machine in the apartment you could do the laundry while you are out instead of slepping to the basement later on.

actually, liz, i missed your comment. for some of us doing the laundry, even with the kids, is doing something, during he younger years. if you get my point. it's good to be forced out of the apartment, even (especially) if you're carting the little one around.

having said that, i had the most horrid two weeks where the husband was on the road, the daughter contracted the flu twice (in a two week period at the age of two, damn that mommy and me program). and i won't tell you what linens i was using at the end of that time, it's too embarrassing.

Siggy - lucky that you have laundry in the building. With baby #1, for the first 14 months of her life, I would toss her in the carrier, throw a bag of her laundry over my shoulder (we did and still do send ours out), walk two blocks to the nearest laundromat then schlepp it back home up two flights of stairs. Talk about a PITA!!! But, it was actually doable. Moving to a building with an elevator and laundry in the basement felt luxurious! Now with two kiddos under 2 I make myself do laundry 1x week. How long you can go depends on how much clothing, etc you have for kiddo and really, how much the little one spits up (I never realized how much #1 did until #2 came along; she almost never spits up). It may depend on the baby. Agree that kiddo doesn't need to be changed unless, say, he/she soaked through a shirt. If wife is breastfeeding (sorry to be so graphic folks), you're going to encounter runny and colorful stool (not sure if this is the case with formula...never used it). Even with the best of diapers there will be leaks so what you need to do is get a spray bottle of baby stain remover (i've used Dreft even though the laundry detergent i use is free and clear) and spray and rub out the stain as soon as it happens. let item dry then toss it in with the rest of the dirty wash. Large messes can be problematic, but nothing that can't be remedied by old fashioned hand washing in the tub until laundry day. Luckily, they don't happen that often.
Agree that public washers shouldn't be a problem with your little ones sensitive skin. Again, i've only used public washers with my girls and i always use free and clear detergent; i've never had a problem.
As for taking the kids with you, it's a pain, but I'm just not comfortable leaving the kiddos a dozen flights away from me, even if they are sleeping. I usually do laundry on weekends, but if I'm having a really good week I'll try to do a load on Friday, with them in tow, to minimize weekend chores and maximize time spent with hubby. A baby carrier is an essential item for the no nanny, no housekeeper, hands-on mommy.
Can you tell I'm one :). Who the hell talks this much about laundry. Apologies to all.
Good luck!

btw - with 2 kids, i only have 2 loads of wash 1x/week. not bad at all.

What about cloth diapers?

If you have a W/D in your unit, cloth diapers would be great. Not an option for those w/o.

My mother used to take the cloth diapers to the laundromat.

Why can't moms do that today?

A washer/dryer in your apt is the ultimate luxury in NYC. If you have the option, get it!!!!

Think of the germs in common w/d units!! I always sprayed them with antibacterial cleaners before using them. Now I have a w/d in my apt. and would never do without it again.

On cruise ships (that have w/d) they disinfect them every night...this doesn't happen in most buildings.

NYCMatt....are you kidding!! Cloth diapers! The comparison is men (mostly elederly) still using handkerchiefs for blowing their noses instead of tissues!

Matt: I'm going to eek you out here. I used cloth diapers in a bldg with shared machines. Just threw cloth diapers in with the regular wash. Not a big deal. As for runny bf-ed poo, I guess it depends on your kids' digestive systems. I am the ultimate lazy laundry person, never had a problem with poo stains. It comes out pretty easily.

Prada, cloth diapers are all the rage. And I'm a woman under 40 who uses handkerchiefs instead of tissues. You know, reduce, re-use, recycle.

Almost forgot, we use cloth napkins everyday, too. And we aren't alone.

Prada, what is the name of the antibacterial cleaner that you sprayed into the building w/d before you used them? Sometimes when I look into the washing machines before loading my clothes into them, they really don't look that sanitary. I use the machines, but would love to disinfect them before using them for my own clothes. Agree that an in-unit W/D is the ultimate luxury in NYC apartments and a must-have for me when I buy an apartment.

with little ones, having one of those under the counter washer/dryers is fantastic. for all of those times of leaky diapers, spit up/throw up all over the bed, etc. it will not do your stuff fast, but the kids stuff once every 2/3 days will make it much easier.

this whole discussion is creating some anxiety in an area where i never had any before..next time im in a laundry ill be on the look-out for baby poop residue....

"I use the machines, but would love to disinfect them before using them for my own clothes."

It's expensive and time-consuming, but you could run an empty cycle with a cup of bleach in each washer before you start the laundry.

NYCMatt.....You could just wash your whites with bleach as your first wash and then the machine is basically disinfected.

lobster....I used either Fantastik or one of the Seventh Generation sprays that have oxygen peroxide as the disinfectant.

lookingforhome...hope you use alot of bleach in your laundry.

Better not to have a W/D, so you're justified in sending it out.

"Better not to have a W/D, so you're justified in sending it out."

So that the illegal aliens can mix in your laundry with other people's??

No thank you.

Matt..are you referring to undocumented workers?

just do not get the whole send your laundry out thing - height of laziness to moi, siblings do it, i just don't roll that way and would rather go all in on the unit in the building's basement and yes I bleach to a fair thee well. as uws mom said rip the bandaid off and git it done.

I have a w/d in my apt and I love it. and I don't have any babies!!! It's definitely a huge perk I'll say that. hold out for the w/d!

"Matt..are you referring to undocumented workers?"

No. Illegal aliens. You know, like from Mexico.