Sixth College Dryers “Explode”; Burn Student Clothing

Sixth College students have been experiencing dryer “explosions” throughout the month of February as a result of a lack of maintenance on the dryer machines.

Connor Otto, a Sixth College Bioengineering major and UC San Diego club volleyball player, posted pictures on ”UCSD Memes for Sleep Deprived Tritons” of a dryer malfunction that resulted in the damage of hoodies, jackets, shirts, a jersey, and other clothing items equivalent to approximately $800 worth of clothing.

“The whole situation is a hassle,” said Otto. “It’s annoying that the issue was pretty avoidable if maintenance had been performed on the belt, but it is what it is.”

Otto explained that he met with a Housing Dining Hospitality (HDH) maintenance staff member who stated that the belt in the dryer he was using broke, causing the dryer to stop spinning. This led to all of the heat being concentrated into one area of the dryer. The clothes then caught on fire, melting plastic within the machine to Otto’s clothes and to the machine itself; as a result of the heat and pressure build-up, the dryer door blew open.  

Elizabeth Peek, a Probability and Statistics major from Sixth, said that her comforter, bed sheets, Snuggie, and two fleece blankets caught on fire while in a Sixth laundry room dryer, causing approximately $110 in damages. She said she has yet to learn of the cause of the fire from a technician.

“I’m irritated that given all the money I pay to live on campus and the high cost of washing and drying, my items get burned,” Peek said. “I would think that with all the grants and money the students are charged, that it would be reasonable to have functional washers and dryers.”

The Triton reached out to HDH and the university for comment, but received no response.

As a result of the incidents, both Otto and Peek said they will be receiving compensation from the washer and dryer company contracted out with HDH, WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems, equal to the cost of the items damaged.

HDH is hosting a forum for students to “interact with HDH management, express concerns, suggest policy changes, and be heard” tonight from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Revelle Formal Lounge.

Matthew Rom-Toribio is a staff writer at The Triton.