northernwalker

Until yesterday, I had no idea that laundromats outside Alaska don't come standard with showers.

Just to explain, Alaskan laundromats have, along with laundry facilities, several shower cubicles. Basically, there are four or five little rooms along one wall with shower setup and changing space. They're private, cost about $5, and provide towels. There are also water filling stations for people who live in dry cabins, which are exactly what they sound like- no running water. You fill up your five gallon jugs and haul them out to the car.

Your other alternative is a gym, or, if you're University staff or students, then you have the student rec center and there are showers in several of the campus buildings. The building my dad worked at has a couple of showers downstairs that are used by staff or grad students, and have been very useful when our pump broke down at home (we have running water. Mom was not going for a dry cabin with two babies.) When I worked at one of the campus libraries, our building had a small locker room. One of my coworkers who lived in a dry cabin would come in and shower there each morning.

I live in Maryland at the moment, and apparently this is not a thing. A quickie FB poll agrees. It's interesting to see what we take for granted as normal.