Originally Posted by
zkzkz
It doesn't take that long to do laundry in a good machine. The wash cycle on
https://www.revolution-laundry.com/e...line-help/faq/ machines is about 30 minutes, and dry cycles are paid in 15 minute increments so I'm betting it takes just over 15 minutes to dry a small load so another 30 minutes. An hour sitting waiting in a terminal versus an hour sitting waiting in a terminal and clean laundry at the same time seems like a great use of time. I think the main users would actually be people on long connections though. Often people end up with long connections because that's just the way the schedule runs, not because they want them.
if it's a small load, just handwash in your hotel bathroom & dry overnight
if it's a decent enough load, it'll mostly be in my checked bag, not carry-on
I actually think it could be cost effective despite the stupid airport economics because these kinds of machines could be placed in low value out of the way places. The kinds of places they put toilets, utility closets, and storage rooms around corners behind retail shops or in basements. I could easily imagine having a bank of machines in the Heathrow tunnels if the fire marshals would allow it and I can't imagine any retail outlet paying rent for that space..
good/high-heat dryers need to be vented, so you cant just stick it anywhere
usually they would be gas-powered too (quicker than electric), and running large gas pipes isn't easy/cheap, especially at an airport
(there are ventless models, but they take significantly longer to work, which won't make sense in this setting)
just too niche i'd say