Alright, maybe somebody in a six-unit prewar has cracked this. Building in Flatbush swapped the good ol’ coin slides on the basement washer/dryer for some app called WashLinx or LaundryLink or whatever. Since the change, one washer has been showing as 'in use' on the app almost every evening—except the machine is empty, door closed, nothing inside. You can’t start it because the app thinks it’s mid-cycle. Super is a nice guy but he just shrugs and says 'call the number,' and the number is a voicemail box. We have two washers for six units, so losing one at 8pm hurts. Anybody else fighting this? Do I have to pull the plug myself? I just want clean sheets without babysitting an app.

Wait, this is a thing now? I just moved into my first place in Crown Heights and we still have a coin machine but the super said they're thinking about switching to cards or an app. I assumed the app would be easier because no quarters. But now I'm nervous. So the app charges you before the machine starts? Can you get a refund if it says in use? Also, why does the app think it’s in use if it's not? Sorry if these are dumb questions, I’ve only ever used the laundromat down the block.

I got stuck with the same nonsense at my old place in Mott Haven. Best quick fix I found: force quit the app, turn off wifi, open it on data, and pull down to refresh the machine list. It doesn't always work but it clears the ghost 'in use' maybe once out of three times. If that fails, and the basement outlet isn't locked, unplug the machine for a minute. But don't get caught because some supers lose their mind over that.

My building in Washington Heights went through this exact conversion two years ago. The new machines have a little control board that phones home to the vendor's server; the 'in use' status is usually set locally by the door lock/cycle state, but it can get stuck if the machine loses signal mid-cycle or if a previous user canceled a cycle on the phone after the door had already locked. The app then refuses to send a start command because the server and the board disagree. A few things that have actually worked in our building:

• Machine-level reboot. If you can safely reach the plug or the super will do it, have them cut power for 60 seconds. That forces a re-sync. Sometimes it takes two resets.
• Start a different machine first. I know that sounds dumb, but our app occasionally clears the stuck washer after you start a dryer or the other washer. It seems to push a refresh to all boards on the account.
• Look for a physical 'door unlocked' error. One time our ghost washer wasn't empty—it had a single sock stuck against the gasket, so the sensor thought the door wasn't sealed.
• Get the building to open a vendor ticket, not a management ticket. The super usually can't fix this; the vendor can clear the state remotely if they actually answer. Ours answered after three days.

The bigger caveat: if the washer is just flat-out broken and the app uses 'in use' as a generic error, no amount of refreshing will fix it. That's a management issue.

Same circus in the WV. Our app shows both dryers as 'offline' half the week, and the super tells us to submit a ticket through the app that can't even load. Honestly I stopped trying. When the basement is down I just use the wash-and-fold on Hudson, drop off in the morning, pick up on the way home. Cost more but I stopped wanting to fight a QR code.

Question from someone looking at buildings: should I just avoid places that say 'laundry on site' if it's this app stuff? I saw one in Dyker Heights that had a sign about 'smart laundry' and I thought it was a plus. Is the card system better? My cousin has a card you load at the bodega and says it never glitches. Sorry you're dealing with this!

Update: So the super let me unplug the one washer after dinner. It did the little reset chirp and it showed available for maybe 40 minutes. Then it went back to 'in use' before I could even get my load in. Missed it. To whoever said the sock thing—I looked, nothing in the gasket, just wet lint. At this point I'm leaving a note on the machine. If it doesn't free up tonight, I'm using the other washer after 11 and hanging my stuff on a rack.

Thanks for the tips! I didn't realize you can unplug the machine yourself. Are they usually just plugged into a normal outlet? Also what happens if the app charges you but the machine never starts? Do you go to the management company or the app people? I got burned once with a broken MetroCard machine and nobody wanted to give my money back. Just trying to figure out who actually handles the refund.

The refund part is where it gets fun: app says contact management, management says contact app, and your money sits in limbo. This is the same energy as the earlier thread "Parking ticket for 'blocking a driveway' in Windsor Terrace when the DOB curb cut map shows nothing at that address?" — Parking ticket for 'blocking a driveway' in Windsor Terrace when the DOB curb cut map shows nothing at that address? — where one city office tells you the curb cut doesn't exist and another still wants the fine. For the app, I'd at least email the building and cc the app support so there's a paper trail. In my old place a neighbor disputed it through her bank and won, but that's a last resort because the building manager got salty.

To answer big_city_beth: In most prewar basements I've seen, the machine is on a standard three-prong outlet. But don't unplug anything if the room is locked, if there's water on the floor, or if your lease says the basement is off-limits. You don't want to be the person blamed for a broken machine or a tripped circuit.

On refunds: check the app's transaction history first. Some apps don't actually settle the charge until the machine reports a completed cycle; if the machine never starts, you may only see a pending hold that drops off in a few days. If it posts, write the management company with the date, machine number, and a screenshot. Put the vendor's support email on the same thread. In our building, the property manager eventually refunded two people after we sent a group email because the vendor claimed the charges never hit their system. That paper trail matters.

For DykerNewbie: card readers are usually less glitchy than app-only setups because the card balance is stored on the card or on a local terminal, not just in a phone account. But cards can also go stale if the building switches vendors. When you tour a building, ask one question: 'If the laundry payment system is down, what happens?' If the broker laughs or says 'the super handles it,' that's not an answer. A good answer is 'here's the number to the vendor and the machines also take coins' or 'there's a key to reset it.' No backup path means you'll be dragging laundry to the laundromat whenever the board loses signal.

One more caveat: app-only machines are often sold to landlords as 'no coin theft,' but the lock-in is real. If the building doesn't enforce a service response time, a broken machine can sit for weeks because the landlord assumes you'll just use the other one or go out.

This. The backup path is the whole thing. My old building had the same app but kept the coin slot active, and the super had a key to override. New place doesn't. Now I just plan on the laundromat if I need something washed before work. Saves the headache.

Quick update: I showed this thread to my cousin and she said her card system actually has a little button on the back of the machine to clear the 'busy' message. I didn't even know that. Maybe the app one has a hidden reset button too? Anyway, thank you. I'm going to ask the building about a backup if the app is down. Better to know before signing.

Closing the loop: The super finally got the vendor on the phone and they cleared the machine from their end. Something about a lost handshake between the board and the app. It worked for three days now, but I'm still not getting rid of my laundry cart. For future flatmates: always ask if there's a non-app fallback before you sign. If there isn't, at least know where the plug is. And don't leave a wet load in the only working washer.