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I had two competing startups do my laundry - here's who won

I had two competing startups do my laundry - here's who won

My boyfriend and I hadn't done laundry in awhile, and the laundromat being closed didn't help. We pull together our dirty clothes on a Saturday afternoon (the typical laundry day for us), but soon realize we're out of luck when it comes to on-demand laundry.

I had two competing startups do my laundry - here's who won

When I sign up for Rinse, I'm not given the option for a Saturday pick-up. The earliest it can do is on Sunday, and its pick-up window is from 8 to 10 p.m. By picking up on a Sunday night, my clothes won't come back to me until Wednesday. Three days feels like a long time when my laundry is normally done in a few hours and because I have to wait an extra day before I can send them off. Rinse does let me choose between scented or hypo-allergenic detergent, whether they should use fabric softener, and how much starch they should use for laundered and pressed items.

When I sign up for Rinse, I

Washio is a little bit more flexible both with pick-up times and preferences. They have time slots available all day Sunday, and it also promises to turn my clothes around a day earlier than Rinse. Each of the time windows is an assigned 30 minutes. I also get the same assortment of detergent options.

Washio is a little bit more flexible both with pick-up times and preferences. They have time slots available all day Sunday, and it also promises to turn my clothes around a day earlier than Rinse. Each of the time windows is an assigned 30 minutes. I also get the same assortment of detergent options.

The only sorting I need to do before sending off my clothes is separating my dry cleaning from the wash and fold items. The items that I'm sending to be washed do need to be dryer safe, so some of my shirts don't make it into the batch.

The only sorting I need to do before sending off my clothes is separating my dry cleaning from the wash and fold items. The items that I

On your first order, Washio and Rinse bring you their own bags. Washio's are sturdier and look like a box with a laundry tie on top, while Rinse is just a black drawstring bag. Each service charges wash and fold by the pound, but since my scale is broken, I'm just eyeballing it. It makes it hard to estimate the cost, but I'll find out when the bill comes how much it weighed.

On your first order, Washio and Rinse bring you their own bags. Washio

I get a text 45 minutes before my Rinse courier arrives. By the time he's here, I have my clothes ready to go. My boyfriend flips over our laundry bin into the black laundry bag they provide. My two pieces of dry cleaning are slipped into a separate white bag. All in, it takes about 30 seconds to hand over my laundry.

I get a text 45 minutes before my Rinse courier arrives. By the time he

My Rinse courier also gives me a hook for my door so they can hang future deliveries. Because of where I live, that basically guarantees my clothes would e stolen, but for people who do have secure doorways, it's a convenient option.

My Rinse courier also gives me a hook for my door so they can hang future deliveries. Because of where I live, that basically guarantees my clothes would e stolen, but for people who do have secure doorways, it

Washio also sends a text, but you can track their movements in the app. When the Washio "ninja" (as they're called) arrives, I hand over my Washio bag of laundry and the coat I'm sending out for dry cleaning. Unlike Rinse, my Washio ninja doesn't put it in a separate bag, but just walks out carrying it.

Washio also sends a text, but you can track their movements in the app. When the Washio "ninja" (as they

In return for my order, my ninja gives me a cookie from a bakery in Oakland. It's delicious, and I forget to take a photo before it's gone. But let's get back to laundry. Once you're laundry is sent out, there's nothing you can do until delivery day.

In return for my order, my ninja gives me a cookie from a bakery in Oakland. It

Rinse does send me an order summary, which includes photos of my objects for dry cleaning. I didn't notice originally, but the blazer I sent out is listed as a 'coat' on the summary. This will become a problem later, but at the time, it's nice to see the my clothes and have some record of sending it off.

Rinse does send me an order summary, which includes photos of my objects for dry cleaning. I didn

Washio is the first to return my clothes, but not after running late. Since we have evening events, we set the drop-off time for between 11 to 11:30 p.m. At 11:25, we get a text saying our Ninja is running later by 20 minutes. There's no traffic at this hour, so it's frustrating that the company blew the delivery window. The revised estimate is close, and the clothes arrive at 11:45. (Although there's no cookie with delivery).

Washio is the first to return my clothes, but not after running late. Since we have evening events, we set the drop-off time for between 11 to 11:30 p.m. At 11:25, we get a text saying our Ninja is running later by 20 minutes. There

The next night, Rinse drops off the remainder of my clothes and sends me the receipt. The first thing I notice is that my dress wasn't dry-cleaned. Labeled a high-risk item, it was returned to me without being washed, although I'm annoyed I wasn't told sooner that it wouldn't be cleaned.

The next night, Rinse drops off the remainder of my clothes and sends me the receipt. The first thing I notice is that my dress wasn

It doesn't matter too much because my clothes are back. Let's take a look at each startup's laundry skills.

It doesn

The best part is the folding. From each company, my clothes return in bags with everything folded. Underwear and socks are sorted into the small bag with larger items in the other one.

The best part is the folding. From each company, my clothes return in bags with everything folded. Underwear and socks are sorted into the small bag with larger items in the other one.

One great part of Washio is that it will match up your sock pairs and roll them into a ball. With Rinse, socks aren't folded or matched into pairs, although they were loosely grouped by color in the bag. That's a win for Washio in my book.

One great part of Washio is that it will match up your sock pairs and roll them into a ball. With Rinse, socks aren

I also noticed Rinse's bag of laundry was stacked higher and tied tighter. The end result was some very slight wrinkling of my shirt (seen below on the right compared to Washio's on the left) but it wasn't enough that I wouldn't use the service again.

I also noticed Rinse

Then, there's the price difference. Let's start with Washio: The dry cleaning prices don't run too much higher than in my neighborhood. Where Washio gets you is the $30 delivery minimum and the new $6 delivery fee (which is waved on orders more than $150). That means each order sets you back at least $36 to start. In my case, the cost for Wash and Fold had also been bumped up to $1.95 a pound in San Francisco. The 22 pounds of laundry I sent in ended up running me $42.90. With my delivery fee and dry cleaning factored in, that's a $58 bill.

Then, there

Rinse is a much cheaper option for the Wash and Fold part. At only $1.50 per pound, the 25 pounds I sent came in at $37.50 — cheaper than Washio and without the delivery fee. I text Rinse about the blazer being miscategorized as a coat, and they respond a few minutes later and correct the price. It's fast and easy. My total with dry cleaning is much cheaper than Washio at $45.50 even though I had more laundry.

Rinse is a much cheaper option for the Wash and Fold part. At only $1.50 per pound, the 25 pounds I sent came in at $37.50 — cheaper than Washio and without the delivery fee. I text Rinse about the blazer being miscategorized as a coat, and they respond a few minutes later and correct the price. It

The real question here: Is all this folded laundry worth it? For my budget, no. Even though I had two coupons for each service (thank you venture capital), the costs were still much higher than the price of going to the laundromat, which normally runs me around $25 for this much clothing. If I could afford the convenience, I'd pay the little bit extra to go with Washio. I thought my clothes returned to me marginally neater, but the real perk was the flexibility in the 30-minute time windows and faster turn around for my clothes. While I'll be sad to return to my laundromat ways, its new washing machines take far fewer quarters than a startup.

The real question here: Is all this folded laundry worth it? For my budget, no. Even though I had two coupons for each service (thank you venture capital), the costs were still much higher than the price of going to the laundromat, which normally runs me around $25 for this much clothing. If I could afford the convenience, I

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