We've all been there. You've just finished rushing around all day, barely making it to your classes, trying to wolf down what edible food you could scrounge together in the caf, and most likely bombing that test you've been studying weeks for. All you want to do now is return to your dorm and just crash. You key into your door, ready to throw every last link in your academic chain to the ground in order to catch up on some much-needed rest. As you open the door, however, an odor that makes your heart sink wafts out. All the evidence is there: a smokey haze, a burning smell, and a suspicious lack of dirty clothing in your roommate's laundry basket. You sigh to yourself... They've done it again.
Before starting this semester, I had never heard of anyone "drying" their clothes in the microwave. This year I got a new roommate. For the first week, relations were almost unnervingly awesome. The first rift formed when, after sweating through nearly all our shirts in the sticky August heat, my roommate decided it was time to restock our drawers by washing our clothes. I was planning on going away that weekend, so he offered to do all the laundry. Granted I loaded some money on his laundry card (just because we're roommates doesn't mean we mooch). When I returned that Sunday afternoon, I immediately noticed an odd odor in our room but thought nothing of it. Later that night, I was about to heat up some take out when, to my surprise, I found one of my favorite Captain America socks in the microwave. When my roommate came back from brushing his teeth, I jokingly said, "Were you trying to make sure my sock was dry?" He looked me dead in the eye and replied, "Yes." The odor in the room and dampness of my clothes instantly made sense. Being that we're in the 3rd month of the semester, this has repeated at least a half a dozen times (with just his clothing though). He's a great roommate otherwise, but this issue was something that had to be addressed. I found some people on campus who have had nearly identical experiences and compiled what they had to say about confronting the issue in a kind yet firm way.
1.) Make sure they realize that it's okay to want to dry your clothing in the microwave.
The dorm room is their space too. That being said, your roommate has to feel that the room is their inner sanctum, a place where they can be themselves and relax. While odd, inefficient, inconvenient, and dangerous, you have to let them know that it's alright to want to dry clothing in the microwave. Let them show you how they dry the clothes and explain to you why they feel so drawn to it. Doing this will set you up for step 2.
2.) Take time to show them that cooking clothing in the microwave doesn't dry them.
Although they need to feel comfortable with their own desires, you need to feel comfortable in the room too. In order for that to happen, your roommate will eventually have to stop drying their clothing in the microwave. Next time your roommate dries their clothes in the microwave, take a piece of their clothing and ask them, "Does this feel drier than my clothing that I just dried in the dryer?" If you are close enough to them, they will be able to confide in you that, no, the clothing in the microwave is not dry at all. Their admittance of this is key. If your roommate does not realize that a microwave does not dry clothing, it will be more difficult to change their behavior.
3.) If all else fails, ditch the 'wave.
While the first two steps have worked in every case I've discovered, there may be a particularly set-in-their-ways roommate who will not give in. If this is the case, you need to stop enabling their drying of their clothing in the microwave. The best way I have come up with is to unplug the microwave and run a lock through the prongs so that it can no longer be plugged in unless the lock is unlocked. Your roommate must know that this is for the good of the school, their clothing, and most importantly, your relationship! If this is not clarified, hard feelings may form.
After carrying out the first two steps with my roommate, the year has been great! We now can have people over on a whim without vetting them for asthma (the fumes from the drying clothes made the air not all that suitable). My roommate has actually thanked me for showing him the error of his ways! Apparently, his chronic chafing was a result of his always wearing damp clothing. So you see, confronting your roommate can not only benefit you but can also make you dryer and closer than ever before.
God bless!
