Wouldn't common laundry machines that somehow don't become gross be much more efficient in terms of space and resources?

I know they are trying to do vibrating dryers which don't become as gross, but washing machines are the main problem in terms of cleanliness, but I'm not sure if there are any new advances on that front.

When I lived in an apartment without laundry services, I found it was cheaper to just pay a laundry service for pickup and drop-off at my front door. I paid about $50 a month, when an in unit washer dryer would cost a lot more.

I also looked into a washer dryer unit that I could plug into my sink. They are really common in Europe but not in the United States. The problem is that American voltage is too low to run a dryer without a dedicated outlet.

With the way that batteries are going, you could probably make a dryer that has a battery in it so it doesn't need a dedicated high voltage and high amperage plug. Because all dryers need counterweights, the battery really won't add weight to the dryer.

Without technology changes, you can still get an apartment washer dryer unit. Most appliance store should be able to special order one for you. The problem is that they will take all night to dry your clothing, because you are stuck with the limited voltage and amperage that comes out of the standard American wall outlet.

I don't understand how $50 a month can be cheaper than having your own machine. A machine should pay for itself in less than a year.

It's not just the voltage / amperage. Even if you buy a really expensive over-under that plugs into a 220 the lack of an output vent slows down drying dramatically.

Dryers are only vented in the United States. Most of the world uses condenser dryers that don't require venting. They also use less energy.

They also take significantly longer to dry your clothes.

Unfortunately laundry services also use machines of variable quality/cleanliness, so not help there for me at least.

I'd like a similar service or product. My issue with a shared solution like a common area W/D besides grossness is that I need to remove my clothes from the machines within a few minutes of cycle completeness or I risk ticking off my neighbors. I push off laundry unless I'm sure I have a 1.5 hour block to be able to tend to each load. When I had an in unit W/D that wouldn't be necessary and laundry would be a chore I managed throughout the day.

How is this use case not covered by apartments with in suite laundry?

They wouldn't use the service, I'm not sure what you are asking.

Why not use a laundromat, then?

What do you think a laundromat is?

A business devoted to maintaining clean, high-quality clothes-washing facilities. The degree to which they succeed varies.

If your criteria are specifically a single-household-only washer and dryer setup, and not just avoiding poorly-maintained central facilities, then my suggestion will not suffice.

In my experience, laundromats do not have a ton of competition outside of a dense urban center. In a region where hundreds of thousands live, and in a town 40000, there are 2 laundromats, both very unkept and with old and gross laundry machines. Business is there to make money and squeeze as much out of every machine. Talking to these people, they rarely replace a machine if its dirty or doesn't do a good job, only if its broken/unfixable. I think your view comes from a very rosy world which rarely is replicated in practice.