<p>Thanks for all of the comments. I am generally not a germ-phobic person–the money/bank pens/stair rails/etc. really don’t bother me. I am maybe more careful in the winter with cold and flu germs floating around, but mostly I trust my immune system to handle it. (Gas fumes are another story–I am a little scared about inhaling or ingesting gasoline.) So I do recognize that my aversion to using washing machines that other people have used is at least a little unreasonable. I am going to do it, though, because it just does not make sense to use my own machines. So if you see a crazy person running a mostly empty load of laundry, and then several more, in the same machine–even though there are other machines available–that will be me.</p>
<p>Sounds like a plan!</p>
<p>If you can bear the thought that there might be one or two germs left on your stuff after the wash cycle, remember - I totally believe this - those industrial dryers sterilize everything.</p>
<p>Try to imagine a living thing – a spider, a frog, even a goldfish – surviving a round in a laundromat hot-water wash cycle with detergent and 30 minutes in the full-blast dryer.</p>
<p>Pretty implausible, right? You’re going to end up with a formerly living thing, right? Well, the same goes for the ones that are too small to see. Nothing dangerous is going to live through that. The sheets may not be literally sterile when they come out, but they’ll be very close. Using bleach should put this over the top; there’s a reason they use it as a disinfectant.</p>
<p>And Amesie: we all have our quirks. It took me years not to be worried I had not locked the door, disconnected the iron, etc. It’s some weird vestige of our evolution we should try not to worry about…</p>
<p>What I don’t like about the laundromat is how my wash smells after I have done laundry there. I like particular scents in my detergent and fabric softener and I find my laundry doesn’t smell the same if done at the laundromat. Sometimes I will wash the comforters and blankets there but bring them home to dry, even if it takes longer in my machine.</p>