In Spain, the washing machine is at home. Here, in most Swiss rental buildings, the laundry (buanderie in French, Waschküche in German) is a common basement space shared by all tenants. What seems like a practical solution comes with a system of rules that, if you don't know it, can turn you into the conflicting neighbor without knowing it.
The most basic thing is the schedule. Washing is generally allowed from Monday to Saturday, between 7am and 9pm. Sundays and holidays: prohibited, unless the building regulations say otherwise. In many cases, the manager or landlord assigns each tenant a fixed day and time, at the rate of once every two weeks. If you want to change with someone, you have to manage between neighbors. And if you come back from vacation with more clothes than usual, it's not a regulation problem, it's your problem.
But the schedule is the least of it. What really breeds conflict is cleanliness. The regulations of most buildings specify exactly what condition the premises should be left in after use: clean washer and dryer filters, washed detergent drawer, dry washer interior, scrubbed floor, clean sink, cut off water and electricity. Everything. If you don't, the next neighbor can report you to the manager. And if the regulation is part of the rental contract, repeatedly breaching it can, in extreme cases, lead to a termination of the contract.
The first time you see that rule, it sounds like a joke. But after living it a few months in a building of ten families sharing two washing machines, you understand that someone had to write it. What no one tells you in advance is that there is a good chance that you will be assigned a schedule that does not suit you at all. And that renegotiating it requires more diplomatic tact than a washing machine should.