Laundry machine technology today delivers peace and quiet to residents.

Located within walking distance to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, River Market Apartments is home to nearly 400 residents. From undergraduate and graduate students, to young professionals and professors, they are drawn to River Market not only for its prime location, but for its sense of community and premiere amenities.

With a fitness center, coffee bar, free parking and more, convenient services are always in reach. Additionally, with six laundry rooms spread throughout the building, a clean load of laundry is just down the hall. So when noisy washing machines began to jeopardize residents' satisfaction, Property Manager Michelle Verhoeven listened.

"Complaints from residents whose units surround the laundry rooms became more and more frequent last fall," says Verhoeven. "It wasn't only the noise that was an issue, but the vibration from the washing machines was so intense that picture frames would actually shake off the walls."

Complaints about the one-and-a-half year old top load machines began to stream in on a weekly basis during fall 2014, including those from resident Aleesha Jules. Jules, a graduate student at Purdue, had moved from a two-bedroom unit to a studio next to one of the laundry rooms a few months prior. She says the vibration not only prevented her from decorating the walls as she pleased, but from getting a restful night's sleep.

"I would occasionally wake up at odd hours of the night to noise from people doing laundry," says Jules. "The situation had started to affect my performance at school and work, because my sleep was interrupted."

Verhoeven knew something had to be done, and looked to River Market's laundry service provider, Coinmach Service Corp., for a quieter solution. The recommendation was to install new Speed Queen® front load washers.

"[Our sales representative] told me the new machines are specifically designed to cut down on vibration and noise," adds Verhoeven. "It sounded like the solution to the specific problem we were facing."

This new front load washer is equipped with Dynamic Balancing Technology, which uses a redesigned suspension and advanced sensing logic to manage and redistribute out-of-balance loads. The result is smooth, uninterrupted wash cycles, which also minimize any negative effects the laundry room has on neighboring residents. In fact, this design significantly reduces vibration to deliver 2.5 times less noise, without sacrificing spin speed or cycle times.

"We could lose revenue because residents may go to the local laundromat instead of using our onsite laundry room, or worse, we could lose the resident," Verhoeven says. "It could be the difference between someone renewing the lease or not."

Previously, displeased residents also turned to online review sites to post about the noisy laundry rooms. These negative reviews also could have deterred potential renters from considering River Market, adds Verhoeven.

 

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