Laundrette's tumble dryer burned my washing

Ian_Skinflint

I used my local laundrette the other day to dry a load of sheets. This is something I do regularly - wash at home, and if the weather isn't playing ball, go to the laundrette to do the drying.

I put the same sized load in as I usually do, and the same number of coins for the machine. However, when the cycle finished and I opened the door, there was a faint smell of burning and the sheets were too hot to touch by hand. When I'd managed to pull them from the machine, it was clear that they had singed to the point that they had discoloured.

I called who I thought was the owner of the laundrette, and they visited to look at the affected machine and my damaged sheets, but told me that they weren't actually the owner, and were only authorised to give compensation of £30 towards the damage.

I told the owner's proxy that this wouldn't be acceptable because to replace the sheets as new (they are very nearly new as it is) would cost close to £150, and his response was that the owner would say that I shouldn't have put more than one coin in the machine at a time, and that he would look at the CCTV to see how long the sheets had been in for.

My response was that a) the need to not put more than one coin it at a time should be listed on signs if it's important, b) the length of the cycle shouldn't affect the temperature of the machine, and on with cottons in on a cotton setting, even a prolonged cycle shouldn't cause burning, and c) the fact that 5 out of 10 machines in the place always seem to have "out of order" signs on them show that the owner needs to replace his machines or maintain them better.

On that last point I was told that, when the guy I was talking to had last mentioned this to the owner, he'd told him that "new machines are expensive". This set alarm bells ringing that this person might not be a model business owner, so I'm fully expecting to have to fight to get my damages covered.

Assuming that I do have to fight, what are my rights and how should I approach things? I know that if it comes to it I can take the small claims court approach, but is this worthwhile for such a small amount? From what I can tell I'd need to pay £25 + 5% upfront, and perhaps more if a court hearing is needed. I'd really rather it didn't have to go this far, so do I have options short of that fairly drastic step?

RoonilWazlib_2

Why does more than one coin affect it? I didn't understand that bit - was it a longer cycle than it needed to be?


If you cant resolve it with the trader ask them if they are willing to enter mediation - this could be an alternative to court


Textile Services Association or Dry-cleaning Arbitration Service might be able to mediate.

peachyprice

RoonilWazlib wrote: »

Why does more than one coin affect it? I didn't understand that bit - was it a longer cycle than it needed to be?

One coin buys X amount of minutes, no doubt the owners will say OP should have checked how dry the laundry was before adding more coins.

McKneff

How many is a 'load' of sheets

meer53

I think it was your job to ensure the sheets were taken out before they burned, didn't you check them whilst they were drying ?

pinkshoes

The size of the load is irrelevant.

What were the sheets made of? (Cotton or polycotton?)

How damp were they when you put them in?

Did the machine have temperature settings?

This is going to be a difficult one to prove, as it would have been advised to check on the dryness after one token ran out.

Oakdene

McKneff wrote: »

How many is a 'load' of sheets

For £150 there must have been at least 5!!

Ian_Skinflint

RoonilWazlib wrote: »

Why does more than one coin affect it? I didn't understand that bit - was it a longer cycle than it needed to be?


If you cant resolve it with the trader ask them if they are willing to enter mediation - this could be an alternative to court


Textile Services Association or Dry-cleaning Arbitration Service might be able to mediate.

It was more than one coin because each coin gives roughly five minutes of drying time, so for two sets of sheets I put in enough for a 20 minute cycle.

Do they need to be registered with either of those services to enter arbitration, or is it open to anyone?

Ian_Skinflint

McKneff wrote: »

How many is a 'load' of sheets

2 complete sets from king size beds, so 2 fitted sheets, 2 flat sheets, 2 duvet covers, 8 pillowcases. A sizable load, more than can fit in my washing machine in one go.

meer53 wrote: »

I think it was your job to ensure the sheets were taken out before they burned, didn't you check them whilst they were drying ?

pinkshoes wrote: »

What were the sheets made of? (Cotton or polycotton?)

How damp were they when you put them in?

Did the machine have temperature settings?

This is going to be a difficult one to prove, as it would have been advised to check on the dryness after one token ran out.

The sheets were 100% cotton, and half an hour or so out of the washing machine before putting them in the dryer, so very damp.

The machine had temperature settings, and I used the high/cotton setting. I didn't check the clothes before the cycle was finished, because I've used those machines regularly and know how long a cycle is needed to dry things properly. To my mind, the cotton setting shouldn't be able to damage cotton even once the moisture is gone, so that plus the general state of repair in that place makes me suspect the machine is on the blink, and probably hasn't been serviced for some time.

photome

I am not an expert on dryers but if anything is left in a dryer too long , ie they are dry and still tumbling on the same constant heat setting they are at risk of burning IMO and should be constantly checked

again that is only my opinion

angryparcel

Ian_Skinflint wrote: »

To my mind, the cotton setting shouldn't be able to damage cotton even once the moisture is gone

It will as once the cotton is dry then it will just heat up and heat up until eventually it would ignite.