German Laundry Pt. 1

Sometimes it’s the simplest things that we take for granted. Laundry at school is not difficult. I take my clothes down the hallway to the laundry room, put my clothes in the washing machine, put the detergent and softener in the drawer, close the drawer and door. Press the on button then turn the knob to the program I need and press start. Then I come back when the wash is complete and put the clothing articles in the dryer, clean the lint trap, turn the dial to the desired program, turn the machine on, and come back when the time displayed is up to get the clothes out to take back to my room to put away. 
The process is similar for me in Germany but it seems so much more difficult and involved. 
The laundry facility is down the block and across the street from my apartment. There are 4 different brands of washers and one dryer in my laundry basement. I think that they belong to the different people living in that building, but I can’t remember if there is a specific washer that I am supposed to use. I have been told to not use the dryer for anything that I value because it shrinks everything due to the high heat. The machines there are front load washers but about half the size of the ones that I use in the states. Each machine has different program wording, too. I have used google translate for most everything that I need translated but when I used the camera for google translate on those machines, it is not clear which of the many programs I should use for each type of laundry articles that I had. I had to watch a YouTube video to help me get started. I decided to do sheets and towels first so I could also use the dryer for them. There were 12 different wash cycles I could choose. I chose a program that looked like middle range water temperature. I placed the articles in the machine, closed the door, poured my detergent into the area that I use at home, then pressed on and then start. The machine indicated my wash would be complete in 1:42. I did not think it would take more than an hour to wash my laundry. I then placed my light colors clothes in another washer and my dark articles in a third machine. Each machine was a little different and each gave a different time for completion. I set my phone timer and returned 1:30 later.