so currently i live in a house with a couple (A & D), me, and my quasi-boyfriend. 4 people... we split the rent 4 ways... utility bills 4 ways, etc.

the last couple months our water/electric bill hasn't been as cheap as we anticipated... given that we never use the heat, the house is relatively small, nobody is hardly ever home to have lights on, etc.

the thing is that our roommates A & D literally run the washer/dryer 10-12 hours/day, 5-6 days/week. no joke... "A" admitted to me once that when they do their laundry they lay the dry clothes out on the bed, when they go to bed the just push the clothes on the floor... now the clothes are "dirty" again, so a few days later they get put in the wash again, dried again, on the bed, repeat cycle...

the washer/dryer belongs to them, but me & B are paying for a lot of electricity/water that we don't use. we do laundry once every couple weeks... mostly because they're ALWAYS using the washer/dryer.

we want to tell them that they need to start paying a bigger portion of the water/electric.... is that fair? how much more should they pay??? i've been researching energy consumption in the home and besides the fridge, the washer/dryer consume the most energy. opinions? i don't know what to do... this is driving me crazy.

 

I would just sit them down and explain it to them just how you did on here..

It also depends on how much the bill is..

I mean, if its $100.. I would say they pay like $65-$70 of that..

 

They should certainly pay more! So, have they only started using the washer extensively the last couple months? If so, you can compare the increase in water/electricity between the months when they didn't use the washer like dirty hobos, and the last few months.. and make them pay close to, or all of the difference. Thats the easiest way to calculate.

 

I'm waiting for Scot to post a picture of your behind before replying.

 

But, at the same time, you know by bringing this up it has the capability to bring tension into the household. for me, i avoid conflict with my roommates even though they overdo it with the ac and heater, are not as clean, and never turn their pc's or any lights off. the reason why is that you must pick your battles very, Very carefully, especially with those you have to live with. By being as nonchalant as possible at the crib it helps keep my private life private, as they are less apt to complain about shit that happens at the house when they are elsewhere. this may not be a big deal for you, but here that happens a lot. i chill with one female who didn't like the way her roommate kept the house, so, since they disagreed over that, all of each others business about who came over etc. was told because negative feelings tend to cause commotion and behind the back talk occurs about stuff thats not even related.

but yea, you're entitled to be annoyed. I hate when clothes randomly get left in the washing machine.

 

Clothes can go randomly missing too, then there would be less laundry to do...

You might as well discuss it in a friendly and frank manner - tell them you're concerned over the water usage and ask them to try and only do two washes a week first, and see how that goes.

 

Unless your water/electric bill is obscenely high because of them, I'd say forget about it. This is just part of living with roommates--once you start nitpicking about things like electricity and water, then they'll start nitpicking about other things that you use more than they do. It's just going to create tension in the household. I've been through a similar situation before, and learned that upsetting my roommmates was not worth the few extra dollars I saved per month...

 

i know what you guys mean about choosing your battles very carefully, and not causing tension in the household... believe me, i hold A LOT of things in, for exactly that reason.

but we're not talking a few extra dollars here... this is like EXTREME laundry washing. i'm not exaggerating when i say that the washer/dryer is running 12 hours/day, 6 days/week. do you know how much laundry that is!? i don't get it!!!

oh, i also came home yesterday evening from a trip out of town... they weren't expecting me to be home that early. i walked in the kitchen to find that they had made themselves a hearty meal entirely out of mine and B's groceries. main course, sides, and all. i wondered why they looked at me funny when i walked in...

but i'm not going to say anything about that... i just want them to stop doing so much god damn laundry!

 

how expensive is Eugene OR?

 

move out.