What's the point of washing machines?

[Lord Jesus III]

If you have to manually unequip/re-equip your clothes, how is it worth the effort as opposed to just washing them in the sink?

[Frogging101]

You can put the clothes in the washing machine and go do something else. You can even put them in there before going to sleep and they'll be dry by the time you wake up (though unrealistic tbh)

[Lord Jesus III]

I don't know, it's still (ironically) easier to wash them in the kitchen sink or in a pond.

Almost feel like I'm missing something. Is everyone just installing them for the aesthetic?

[Puppers]

I usually just grab the dryers as im usually playing with friends and i make my friend do our laundry. I hope we get clothes lines or something later on.

[Dryden]

From what I remember, washing machines use less water than a sink. There is also a trait that makes cleaning bloody clothes by hand somewhat less appealing.

Besides that, I like to play my characters with a bit of realism. Nobody is going to wash their clothes by hand.. it’s a rather labour intensive activity.

[Lord Jesus III]

Originally posted by Dryden:

Besides that, I like to play my characters with a bit of realism. Nobody is going to wash their clothes by hand.. it’s a rather labour intensive activity.

That's why it's ironic that hand washing is easier haha. Washing machines should have the same "Wash all clothing" prompt as sinks, even if it is a tiny bit less immersive than manually throwing your clothes in. Every. Single. Time.

I also like to favorite my clothes so I don't lose them, so it's tedious having to unfavorite them, throw them in, wait, take them out, then favorite them again.

[Frogging101]

Personally, I don't find it effortful to shift click select my clothes, throw them in the washer, then select them all again and wear them.

[Kaldrak]

Washing machines are great for collecting large amounts of different clothes and cleaning them while you're wearing/doing something else.

[BurlsoL]

Originally posted by Kaldrak:

Washing machines are great for collecting large amounts of different clothes and cleaning them while you're wearing/doing something else.

Essentially this. With washer and dryer you can essentially keep a rotating stock of clothes to swap out with as things get bloody/dirty.

[DerFinneAT]

We also roll with the washer/dryer combo and a closet with 2 or 3 spare sets of clothing for each of us.

Depending on my days activity and how dirty my clothes became I just swap out of the dirty ones into some cozy new ones, put the dirty ones in the waher/dryer, and if full turn it on when I come home in the evening.

Then I just go on with my cooking, reading, workout evening routine, and put the now clean dry cloths into the closet again the next morning before leaving base.

So long story short - just changing clothes and pushing a button is still much faster than sink-washing + I don't have to run around in wet clothes in winter.

[Japzzi]

I knew that the virus turned people into Zombies but not into peasants!

It might be the apocalypse but man, some of us still try to live in the modern age.

[Λ E O N]

Originally posted by Kaldrak:

Washing machines are great for collecting large amounts of different clothes and cleaning them while you're wearing/doing something else.

Pretty much this is why washing machines are good for, if you're looting clothes from zombies and have a good amount of them, just throw them into the washing machine while you do any other task.

For the daily "clean yourself" including your equipped gear I prefer to use the sink or a water barrel. I always play on winter and using hardcore extreme cold temperatures mod, so I usually clean my clothes before bed time to give it time to dry out, not a good idea to go outside with all the clothes wet in a deadly cold winter.

[Shady Allie]

It would mainly be a role play thing I suppose.

A benefit to a washing machine is ability to multitask other base chores, river or sink washing locks you into that chore. if you need to do something else at a river, you stop washing and will need to come back to finish.

Setting up a clothes washing station in my base is low priority and many times I don't live long enough to see that happen. When i do set one up, only dump in bloody loot and wait till its full. turn on and walk away for other base stuff.

[kaylo7]

Washing machines are 100%, unequivocally better than washing by hand. For one, how many layers are you wearing? I wear as much as temperature allows, which is generally a LOT of clothes. Hand washing takes like 10 water per article of clothing. Washing machine is a flat 10 water for everything you stuff in it. Saves a lot of water when utilities are shut off.

Second, soap is fairly rare and washing really bloody/dirty clothes without it takes a LONG time. If you do a looting run and come back filthy, you could spend well over an hour washing everything by hand. Do that 10-12 days in a row, and you've lost an entire day of productivity.

Just shift-select and drag stuff into the washer right before you sleep, and when you wake up shift-select, right click and select "wear" when you wake up. Easy-peasy and saves time for more important things like not dying.

[Shady Allie]

Originally posted by kaylo7:

Washing machines are 100%, unequivocally better than washing by hand....and stuff...

I for one, am now going out to get me a washing machine and dryer, even though the river is right there.

[Lost Latios]

I find the dryer to be unnecessary. The washer is a great way to clean cloths in bulk, but the dryer is just a matter of washing it ahead of time before you need to wear it. Considering how quickly clothing dries off, I'd probably sooner put a storage box next to the washer then a dryer.