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It can be heard from the hall, immediate neighbors can hear it running. Suds occasionally come running out under the door. Downstairs and adjacent neighbors often see telltale suds coming up their drains and bathtubs.
All apartments are periodically inspected.
"Our co-op just did the annual apartment inspection and this year the residents were required to open their closet doors. I said "are you looking for washing machines?...she said "YEP, and air conditioners." (We pay by the unit/month but the electricity is free.)
Also the water pressure can drop dramatically in apartments on the same line. That happened in our building and when we asked the super what was going on, he said someone proabably put in washing machine. They found who it was and made them take it out.
Monitor water meter readings. If one apt is using dramatically more water than the others in the building, it could be a good indication that a washing machine could be there.
Interesting rules there. How common is it in NYC to ban washing machines? Does it include dishwashers? Here, in London, I never heard of such restrictions. All people I know have washing machines in their apartments.
On a separate note, I do not think that water meter will show much, unless the machine is used very often. If it is used couple times a week it adds only about 30 gallons of water. Can easily be just an extra bath.
It can be heard from the hall, immediate neighbors can hear it running. Suds occasionally come running out under the door. Downstairs and adjacent neighbors often see telltale suds coming up their drains and bathtubs.
All apartments are periodically inspected.
"Our co-op just did the annual apartment inspection and this year the residents were required to open their closet doors. I said "are you looking for washing machines?...she said "YEP, and air conditioners." (We pay by the unit/month but the electricity is free.)
Wouldn't it be easier to take some photos of the outside of the building on a hot day, zoom in on the photos in Photoshop and then count the a/c's actually in use? Hunting around for them inside of closets seems very inefficient.
On a separate note, I do not think that water meter will show much, unless the machine is used very often. If it is used couple times a week it adds only about 30 gallons of water. Can easily be just an extra bath.
Perhaps Wookey but an average washing machine uses 40-55 gallons per load and a shower 7 gallons per minute. A Water Resource - Water Use Chart So 2 times a week is about 100 gallons = over 400 per month. Now if it wasn't for that blond with the long hair and her 30 minute showers . . .
All things being equal in terms of # of ppl per apt in the bldg, consumption should be pretty equal for washing dishes, showers and flushing. In my 3 unit bldg, 2 apts have washers and dryers and our consumption is noticeably greater than the apt that does not and they have more ppl than do the ones with washers.
I am sure reality is somewhere between our slightly differing opinions. Just offering another opinion to Kefir King's detective M.O. LOL OP should use all of these tools.
Undoubtedly, people who have washing machines use more water on average than people who do not. The problem is that average does no apply to individual cases. Someone likes bathing a lot someone else takes a shower in gym. The water consumption is not conclusive. Your chart had figure of 40-55 gallons per load. It is too much. it is likely so for bog top loading machines with high capacity, but modern front loading machines consume 10-25 gallons.
Even noise if difficult, as good machines with proper installation do not generate that much noise.
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