Laundry Day?

[IndyJones]

In In Theory, Keiko commented about putting O'Brien's socks in the "cleaning processor".

Cleaning processor. Dynamite writing, that.

 

[USS Triumphant]

In In Theory, Keiko commented about putting O'Brien's socks in the "cleaning processor".

Cleaning processor. Dynamite writing, that.

The ONE time anyone mentions doing laundry, it's an Asian woman. There's something there....

Nah. Nevermind.

 

[Shawnster]

Given that replicators did not exist in ENT or TOS, those Enterprises must have had a standard laundry however, just like in ST6, we saw the galley on the EntA.

TOS Enterprise must have had something that worked like a replicator for clothing. Either that or they carried around WWII era Nazi uniforms "just in case" they ran into someone with a similar fashion sense.

 

[TorontoTrekker]

Given that replicators did not exist in ENT or TOS, those Enterprises must have had a standard laundry however, just like in ST6, we saw the galley on the EntA.

Also, in ST6, during the search for the gravity boots used by the assassins, a cupboard full of uniforms is emptied and the uniforms piled onto a table. So clearly, at least in Kirk's time (and earlier) uniforms must have been cleaned, rather than replicated. It doesn't make any sense for there to be a cupboard full of them if they can be replicated whenever a fresh one is needed.

 

[RandyS]

In The Cost of Living, Worf complained to Troi about Alexander: "Before being allowed to play, he was to put his soiled clothing in the garment reprocessor." That does sound like de-materializing and re-materializing to me ("reprocessing").

However...

In In Theory, Keiko commented about putting O'Brien's socks in the "cleaning processor". It seemed to me at the time that was basically a space age washing machine. So perhaps you could put anything in there and it would come out clean.

It's one of those Great Mysteries...

Except that socks would go into the Bajoran wormhole, never to be seen again.......

 

[vulcan redshirt]

Nah, one of the socks would disappear....

 

[scotpens]

TOS Enterprise must have had something that worked like a replicator for clothing. Either that or they carried around WWII era Nazi uniforms "just in case" they ran into someone with a similar fashion sense.

In "Patterns of Force," Kirk tells Uhura, "Patch historical computer into uniform section. I want McCoy outfitted as a Gestapo doctor Nazi Germany, old Earth date 1944. Make him a colonel."

The TOS Enterprise wouldn't need replicators for that -- just a computer that interfaces with a row of very fast sewing machines.

 

[Armored Saint]

No, the missing socks are in fact sent to the mirror universe. They're too busy trying to kill their mates to take the time to buy that.

 

[Timewalker]

My daughter asked an interesting if somewhat trivial question at lunch today: Starting with TNG, when a crewperson takes off their clothes, I think the assumption is that they stick them in a dematerialization bin, and then replicate a new set for the next time they get dressed. (If I recall correctly, this assumption is backed up by at least one time when the replicators being on the fritz resulted in someone's uniform being the wrong size or similar.) And they probably do the same thing with their bedclothes and all sorts of other things. Well, alright, that seems logical, but what if a crewperson has a *unique* item such as a quilted blanket that has been in their family several generations, or a sweater knitted by an aunt, or whatever: how do they get them cleaned?

Do crew quarters have washer/dryers and we've just never seen them? Is there a secret laundry section of the ship that isn't on any of the schematics I've seen? Will hanging up the item in the shower and using the sonic function that I'm only presuming it has get items clean? Would they go to an open cargo hold and use the cargo replicators to replicate a washing machine and dryer to use, and then put THAT in the dematerializer each time? Would they use a scan of the item from when it was clean, and ask the transporter operators to beam away everything that wasn't in that scan? (Is this part of what O'Brien does with his time? )

This reminds me of a quote from The Flintstones. Wilma is toting a basket full of dirty clothes and complaining, "Wash day. If there's anything I hate, more than anything else in the whole world, it's doing the laundry."

I can easily imagine O'Brien thinking similar thoughts.


In the case of TNG-era ships that are not out in the middle of nowhere and have no pressing need to conserve energy, it's probably quite normal for the crew to replicate new uniforms on a regular basis. It seems wasteful to us, because it seems like the ultimate throwaway society (even if the discarded stuff actually does get recycled somehow). But on the other hand, it's certainly efficient. There are times when I'd love to just replicate new clothes and bedding, especially when living in an apartment building where the manager won't allow people to dry clothes outside on the balcony.

For a ship in Voyager's situation, their uniform-replicating probably depended to some extent on whether or not they could spare the energy to allow people to just replicate stuff new every day, rations or not.

I've been wondering what prevents anything from being stored as a replicator file. Including antiques and such.

Would a replicated antique truly be antique?

No, it would just be a copy.


Laundry in the Star Trek universe works in mysterious ways:

 

[Greg Cox]

I think Picard is one of those guys that talks the talk but walks his own walk. It's the only plausible explanation for why he is such a vocal proponent of 24th century values but buries himself in Victorian-era fantasies.

And hard-boiled detective stories.

 

[The Old Mixer]

You guys just wanted to see the picture again, right? Happy to oblige.

http://www.trekbbs.com/threads/rules-a-short-guide-to-posting-on-the-bbs.282269/

Resurrecting dead threads. If you find a thread that has not had a post in it in over a year, don't post in it. Start a new thread instead. You can, if necessary, link back to the old thread if something crucial is in the thread.