Some Bethel residents have noticed that there are only three working public washing machines in town. The other two are out of order. The employees at AC Quickstop Laundromat have noticed too. They apologized for any inconvenience and said that they’re doing everything they can to keep them running. They also talked about needing a bigger laundromat.
Supervisor Julianne Ephamka explained that there’s a pattern to keeping the machines going.
“We had somebody come out and fix it a few months back,” said Ephamka. “Do a few fix ups, and all of the washers were running at one point. But they started acting up again.”
Maintenance depends on higher management from Alaska Commercial Company sending maintenance teams from out of town, which is difficult in winter months. But a lot of the issues are recurring.
“Mainly, it says it's uneven flow,” said Ephamka. “Which means it might just be the water pressure, or the washers will go out of order which is, most of the time, people are overfilling their washers and we have to tell them they have to take something out.”
Some customers do admit to squeezing too much into washers since the time is coveted and a single washing and drying cycle costs $12. As for the water pressure, the City of Bethel said that they checked after learning about the laundromat’s pressure concern and reported normal results.
But assistant manager Tod Soper said that the repair worker said it’s 50/50 between water pressure and filters, which get dirty quickly. AC Quickstop changes the water filters internally monthly, and Soper can personally confirm that the water pressure changes regularly at the laundromat.
“Well we checked, though our filters are changed every month. And we have also a kinetic water filter system. The problem we have over here at the store with our wired washers is, and I've noticed it because I live upstairs in the apartments too, the water pressure goes low. The washers have to work harder, and then they end up to overheat, and then we have to shut them down. Now I'm not saying it's anybody's fault that the water pressure goes up and down, but the water pressure goes up and down often,” said Soper.
Still, though two of the five machines are currently out of order, many are drawn to Bethel for the AC Quickstop.
“All the villages come here to wash their clothes because we're the only laundromat in town,” said Soper.
Many villages don’t have public laundromats anymore. Some attribute it to improved access to water, so more people have their own machines at home. But not everyone is so fortunate, and personal machines still break down.
Soper said, “More and more people come in here every couple of months since I've been here, and they're washing their clothes more and more because their washers are breaking down for whatever reason.”
Eunice Schaefer took a 40-minute boat ride with her partner and niece from Kwethluk and headed straight for AC Quickstop for the afternoon.
"Unill we're finished with our laundry. And then we're gonna head back,” Schaefer explained.
They came to do laundry to get clothes ready for the first day of school.
“I have three school-aged children and four small children that are in my care. So seven,” said Schaefer.
This isn’t Schaefer’s first trip to Bethel for laundry. They don’t have public machines in Kwethluk, and her own dryer broke.
Someone pointed her towards the best dryers at AC Quickstop, and they got started on load after load. And they came prepared with snacks and a hot thermos of coffee.
“We would have brought more laundry,” Schaefer said. “But the last time we came there was a really long line and we were here all day. So we took a chance and we got a couple of good size bags and came. And luckily no one's here. So we're regretting not bringing a lot of clothes. But I'm thankful for the laundromat here because it helps us to be prepared for school and whatever else we may need.”
It was raining, so Schafer's group was worried about bringing all the dry clothes back on the boat. Still, since there wasn’t a line, Schaefer considered coming back the next day with more laundry.
