Even before COVID-19 hit, laundry was one of the most dreaded household chores for a renter — lugging clothes up and down stairs and having to keep an eye on your belongings for a couple hours is no picnic. But now during the pandemic, renters have had to deal with the added worry of sitting in common spaces and avoiding contact with too many other people just while trying to get clean clothes.
Clothing care delivery company Rinse aims to help renters navigate laundry in this new landscape with the launch of “Rinse for Rentals,” an add-on amenity that will provide building tenants with door-to-door laundry and dry cleaning through its app.
The service provides completely contactless pickup and delivery of laundry to residents, and can be included in a renter’s lease or simply added to a building’s amenities for an exclusive price. Exact pricing will vary, depending on the building and its agreement with tenants.
“As a company devoted to removing customer friction from clothing care, we knew that renters already faced particular challenges when it comes to their laundry,” Ajay Prakash, CEO of Rinse, said in a statement. “With Rinse for Rentals, not only are we able to remove those points of friction for renters, but we’re also able to help property managers attract renters in a competitive market.”
Although the pandemic has seen many people move out of densely populated urban centers to suburbs and rural areas, particularly now as more workers have the ability to work remotely, Rinse believes making city living easier on tenants through perks like Rinse for Rentals could entice them to stay put. A statement from the company noted that a recent survey conducted by Zillow found that concessions like a free month of rent, a reduced security deposit or free parking caused 49 percent of Gen Z renters to return to the market.
“Our tenants enjoy local amenities and conveniences,” Alissa Shaheen, a property manager at Mosso San Francisco, said in a statement. “Having your laundry cleaned and delivered to your door isn’t just a perk, but a huge time saver and time is a valuable commodity, now more than ever.”
Rinse was founded in 2013 and services customers in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C. In November, the company acquired Dryv, a Chicago-based dry cleaning and laundry provider.
