How to use a Coin Operated Washer and Dryer Without Paying
I am sure a lot of you live in a house or apartment with coin operated washers and dryers. I just found out a way to use them without paying, so I thought I'd share:
(I copy/pasted from a site because they worded it well)
step 1: Obtain the materials
All you need for this hack are ordinary plastic coffee shop stir sticks. I find that the thinner they are the easier they are to use. Thinner can also mean that they break easier, so if you are worried about leaving evidence behind (i.e. only to have your grumpy landlord to find out), then try to find slightly thicker ones.
In the end, you will need as many stir sticks as you will need coins, so a wash of $0.50 requires 2 sticks, as long as there are two 25c slots for quarters. It is important that the sticks fit within the slots, otherwise your instructable promptly ends here.
step 2: Moment of truth
Now that you have your sticks, stare the washing machine down until all worries are pushed aside. First experiment with the metal coin inserter mechanism where you normally place coins on. When it is empty, push it in until it stops (about half way).
Hold it in position while you grab your stir sticks. Slowly pull the tray back no more than 1cm and hold it there. One at a time, insert a stir stick into each slot at a 30-35 degree angle and push it in until it fits snugly into its position. (I find that it works best when its less than 45-degrees).
Once each stick is each coin slot, push the tray in a little bit more so that it's almost all the way in, and hold it there.
This is the tricky part. You will need to gently push the sticks further into the slot, still keeping them at 30-35 degrees. At first, it may seem like they don't go in further, but with practice and some adjustments, you will find that they can ease another 0.5cm or so deeper. Do this for each stick.
step 3: Paydirt
Once you are convinced that ALL sticks are sticking out 35 degrees from the horizontal (without having to hold them), start to push the tray all the way in. If you did the previous step properly, you should be able to push it as if it has coins, meaning it should go all the way in (farther than if you had no coins on it).
The stir sticks shouldn't break, but be sure to pull the tray out quickly so that you can salvage the sticks.
Hopefully at this point the washing machine is promptly filling up with water
SOURCE: http://www.instructables.com/id/Free-Laundry-Hack/
Hehehe, I did 4 loads of laundry today using this method, and it was really easy to do. This an awesome skill to have.
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