Our first apartment building had a coin-operated washer and dryer to help cover the cost of water and other utilities it cost to operate. This was our first time having a washer dryer that used quarters, so we had a quick crash-course in where to get quarters.
In this post we’re going to cover all the best places to get your laundry quarters from for your apartment’s washer/dryer.
Table of Contents
Where to get quarters for laundry machines
1. Your bank
Emphasis on YOUR bank. In the event of a coin shortage, some banks are known to deny quarter roll requests from non-members. So first start with your bank to get your quarters.
You may have luck at any bank, but if you have to pick the best choice it would be the bank where you have an account. If you have an account there you may be able to just withdrawal the quarters and not exchange cash for them.
Your bank is the best place especially if you need to get more than $10 worth of quarters. If you just signed a year lease, you know you’ll be going through a lot of quarters, so go ahead and get as much as you can up front so that you won’t have to go back for a long time.
2. Laundromats
People would ask us where to get quarters for laundry machines. We’d mention banks first but our second favorite suggestion was the local laundromat. Laundromats are excellent places to get quarter rolls for your apartment’s laundry machines because they have dozens of… coin operated laundry machines.
As business owners, it’s in the laundromat’s best interest to make it super easy for their customers to turn their cash into quarters for their laundry machines.
Most laundromats will have machines where you can put in bills and it will exchange them for quarters.
3. Your landlord
We can tell you from personal experience that if you have a private landlord (like we were), they have lots of quarters. If our laundry machines got too full of quarters, then they wouldn’t work because the coin slider would be stuck. So we needed to empty the quarters about every 3-6 months.
We’d have almost a gallon Ziplock bag full of quarters. This didn’t happen, but if any of our tenants asked, we would sell them back their quarters.
As Christmas gifts, we would give chocolates in a bag with a few rolls of quarters as a thank you for being great tenants. It was nice to know we saved the a trip to the bank and I know they appreciated it too.
4. Grocery store
Any store with cash registers may do, but we have heard about most people having the best luck getting their quarters from the grocery store.
Let the cashier know that you’d like to buy $10 (or whatever you need) worth of quarters. You may need to purchase something to trigger the cash register opening. Once the register is open though, they should have access to rolls of quarters.
And you can get some grocer shopping done at the same time!
5. Car washes
Another great place to get quarters for your laundry machine is a car wash. They need to have some sort of DIY element where some machines accept quarters like a vacuum cleaner area.
If you see a coin exchange machine you’re all set, but if not, you may need to talk to whoever is operating the cash register.
6. Currency Exchange
Obviously these places deal with all sorts of currency, including coins. Take your bills to a currency exchange and ask them to exchange them for quarters. BAM, you’re all set.
Side tip: NEVER get loans from these people, the interest rates are astronomical.
7. Any place with a cash register
We’ve already mentioned the big ones that you should try first, but the truth is that anyone operating a cash register could have quarter rolls. They may not have enough for you at their cash register, but if you are nice enough they may help you out and ask a manager to get you some rolls from the back.
The more cash registers at the place, the better the odds are that they have enough for you. Here’s a few more bonus ideas:
- Gas stations
- Clothing retailers
- Fast food restaurants
- Walmart
- Bars
- Arcades
- Target
- Casinos
- Pharmacies
- So many more!
How to find a quarter machine near you
If you don’t want to go the bank route, a great way is finding a quarter machine that will turn your dollar bills into quarters.
Use Google to search “quarter machines near me” and you’ll likely find close by laundromats or other businesses that have quarter machines on site.
Bring your cash and leave with enough quarters to operate your apartment’s washer and dryer for as long as you can afford. We suggest getting as much as you can so you don’t need to return for a while.
Over time, we are predicting that new commercial laundry machines will be sold with cashless payment options which would be revolutionary. For now, you’re going to have to deal with the old-school coin-operated washer and dryer to wash your clothes. We hope we were able to give you some direction and tips on finding quarters for your apartment’s laundry machines.
