6. Services in the dormitory

Doing laundry at the dormitory

Since the end of September 2023, a new type of washing machines (and tumble dryers) is available. The company (Miele) installed them and takes care of them, as well as allows us to use an app (for Android, iOS and the web) for renting them. It is no longer needed to pay a visit to the building A reception. They should also be more durable than the ones we had here before and quicker to be fixed.

After registering in the app, you first need to top up your credit by at least CZK 250. Then, you enter a number of any washing machine in the dormitory. You can either go to one of them – washing machines and dryers are located in both buildings on the 2^nd, 5^th, and 10^th floors in rooms (each with 3 washing machines and 1 dryer) directly opposite room xx01 – or you can directly enter e.g., 50271. Finally, confirm the address “Pátkova 3, 17 Listopadu”.

When you want to do your laundry, check which washing machine is available, go to it, make sure it is empty (if someone else’s laundry is inside, please choose another machine¹), select and start the machine in the app, place your laundry and detergent in the washing machine, choose the program, and press the “Start” button on the washing machine. After the washing is finished, you should receive a notification and an email. Come to the machine, press the “Stop” button, and take out your laundry. Don’t forget to leave the washing machine door open to allow ventilation.

You can start the washing machine in the app earlier (for example, if you are not using the app but are starting it from a computer browser) or later. You can borrow multiple washing machines and dryers simultaneously. Please make sure to take your laundry out of the machine as soon as possible after it’s done, especially during busy times.

It is possible to borrow a drying room at reception A as well as an iron and an ironing board. Drying rooms are located in the same rooms as washing machines, just on different floors. Drying rooms tend to be occupied, especially on weekends. That’s why it pays to do laundry on weekdays when many people don’t have time to do laundry. If you have borrowed a laundry room, please be considerate and return it as soon as possible so that others can use it.

Drying rooms and ironing boards are free for two days even without renting an iron or washing machine.

Malfunctions and defects

Sometimes malfunctions appear here. Perhaps your faucet is dripping. Or there is no electricity. Or the dorm phone doesn’t work.

An electronic book of defects will save you from such a difficult situation. You can access this book from the comfort of your own room using the link for reporting defects or the QR code attached to your door.

In emergency situations (massive water leaks, blown fuses, …), it is advisable to call or go to the reception or control room (Velín).

For a broken light bulb, just unscrew the bulb and take it to reception B where they will replace it for you right away. This does not apply to fluorescent lights. These are reported in the electronic book of defects and will be replaced as soon as possible. However, if you can’t change the light bulb yourself, you can also report it in the book of defects. If a staff member has entered your room without you present in it, you should find a little note about it and the reasoning for an entrance. However, sometimes they forget, so do not panic. It is okay.

Reception areas

Reception areas are located on the ground floor of both building A and building B. These are the glass windows you walk past every day. They provide a wide range of services that are slightly different in both buildings. Here’s an overview:

Reception in building A

• Sells baguettes, sandwiches, chilled microwave meals and beer.

• Lends vacuum cleaners, irons, ironing boards, bicycle tire pump, ball pump, ping-pong bats and balls, thermometers, and luggage scale (mechanical).

• Lends keys for drying rooms, the WC on the ground floor, the study room / computer lab in building A, aerobics, ping-pong, the music rehearsal room, the oven room (including baking trays), the gym, and the piano room.

• Phone number: 1211.

Reception in building B

• Lends vacuum cleaners, irons, ironing boards, bicycle tire pumps, sports equipment (see Borrowing sports equipment), and luggage scale (digital).

• Lends keys for the small clubroom, the big clubroom, the ecumenical room, the oven room (excluding baking trays), the gym, and the piano room.

• Phone number: 1421.

There is also a freely accessible dormitory phone at both receptions.

You can pay for food and drink at the reception in building A with student ID card / ISIC at subsidised prices or with a card/cash at full prices. It is also possible to top up your student ID card / ISIC credit by card/cash here. At both receptions, services (borrowing of vacuum cleaner, etc.) can be paid for with cash only.

The receptionists are on duty during nights as well, but there is a night-time quiet rule, so they don’t particularly like to lend vacuum cleaners after 10 p.m. Around 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., there is a shift change, at which time some services may be limited (especially due to counting money in the cash register) which can sometimes take quite a long time. So it’s generally a good idea to account for the delay and come before or after the shift change.

“Velín” (Control room)

This is a room buried underground in the dormitory – if you come from building A into the hallway where the laundry storage room and ping-pong are located, you’ll see iron protective bars on your right. A few metres behind them on the right side is the control room with 24-hour service that you can call, for example, in the event of an emergency.

Don’t call them because of a dripping faucet or peeling plaster – such things are reported in the books of defects. However, if your toilet has a serious leak, pipes have burst, fuses have tripped, etc., contact them immediately. Electronic waste can also be left there.

The control room can be reached via the dormitory phone (1453).

Laundry storage room

The laundry storage room is located underground between buildings A and B. If you borrowed bed linen when you moved in, you can go there to exchange it for clean, washed linen. You can exchange linen “piece for piece”.

In addition to bed linen, curtains can also be changed there, and possibly new brooms, dustpans and brushes, shower curtains, or trash cans can also be obtained. However, they have very few new items, so we would recommend asking for new ones only if your old items are broken or lost. But what they do have in abundance and give out for free are felt pads for “student” type chairs. You will save not only the floor, but also your hearing and the hearing of residents under your room. They also issue sets of bags (paper, glass, plastic) for sorted waste free of charge in the amount of one set per cell.

In the laundry storage room, you can also borrow a moving cart when presenting your dormitory ID card, which comes in handy if you are moving from one place in the dormitory to another. However, there are not many of these carts and lending them is based on the willingness of the ladies in the storage room – so be nice to them.

Accommodation office

This room is a generally useful office that you will come across in your dormitory life, whether you like it or not. They handle things like changing the duration of your stay, moving, room keys when you move in, etc.

You can also visit the accommodation office if you want to get a gym card, sign a parking contract, sign up for the waiting list for single rooms, activate your student ID card / ISIC to open the entrance door to the dormitory or generate a password for the Wi-Fi uk-guests.

The office is located on the ground floor of building A in the corridor just behind the lifts.

Housing assistant

A housing assistant is a person who helps with accommodation, but more in the general sense (it is not an accommodation office), especially useful to foreign newcomers as she/he can assist you e.g. with orientation in the dormitory, when you don’t know where to find washing machine etc. You can write to their mail ha.dorm.17listopad@gmail.com or check the website for more info.

Psychotherapist

The office of the Faculty Counselling Services Coordinator, Veronika Jonáková, is located on the ground floor of building A in the corridor immediately behind the lifts, to the right of the maintenance manager. She mediates psychological and psychotherapeutic assistance primarily to students and employees of Matfyz (Faculty of Mathematics and Physics). She is also the contact person for students with special needs. However, do not be afraid to go to her or contact her if you have a crisis / acute problem and you are not studying at Matfyz. More info on the website.

Printing and scanning at the dormitory

If you need to print or scan something at the dormitory and don’t have your own printer in your room, it is now worse than it was. There was Robocopy, and we are looking forward to replacement in near future. Also there is a printer in the study room / lab on the ground floor of the building A; and now, there is a cable, which works (when you bring papers).

For scanning and black and white printing, you can also use the printer in the library in the building of the Faculty of Humanities (FHS). You need to have a JINONICE account, which you gain in CAS, through which you log in after attaching the student ID card / ISIC to the printer. For printing and copying, you need to have a student ID card / ISIC credit (different from the one in the canteen), which you can top up at the rental desk. The library is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (to 5 p.m. on Friday) during the semester and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during holidays. More information on the website.

You can also print in the computer laboratory LabTF in building T of Matfyz in Troja (V Holešovičkách 747/2, the southernmost building). It is located in the room immediately to the left of the building’s entrance; during weekends, the building is locked, so you will need to knock on the window of the room. In addition to regular printing, you can also use the Prusa MK4 3D printer there at very affordable prices. Printing is paid in cash to the laboratory service. For more information, including opening hours, visit the website.

In the era of smartphones with good cameras, it turns out to be a good option to use a high-quality app for scanning. One of the best free ones is Notebloc (for Android and iOS).

Probably the last option is to ask the dormitory group if anyone happens to have a printer or scanner. Other dormmates tend to be willing and will usually offer you printing for free or for a few crowns or some goodies.

Grill and tool borrowing

If you want to organize a barbecue but don’t have a grill, contact someone from the Dormitory Council. We have a grill, charcoal, and solid and liquid fire starters to lend. Please return it in as clean (or cleaner) condition. We would also appreciate a small donation for charcoal used.

If you need to hammer a nail into the wall, but you have found that it does not go very well into the hard walls of the dormitory, you can also contact us. We have (for those who know how to use them) a drill screwdriver and impact drill to borrow, and possibly even a hammer and extra nails and screws.