D.C. business washes laundry, delivers it on bikes

Wash Cycle Laundry offers next-day laundry and dry cleaning service with delivery on a bike. (WTOP/Andrew Mollenbeck)
Wash Cycle Laundry does its dirty work from a laundromat in Mt. Pleasant. (WTOP/Andrew Mollenbeck)
Rather than sinking capital into machines, the company uses existing equipment. (WTOP/Andrew Mollenbeck)
The company offers next-day laundry and dry cleaning service with delivery on a bike. (WTOP/Andrew Mollenbeck)
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WASHINGTON — Wash. Dry. Bike.

In laundry vernacular, “cycle” is well established. A company moving into the District has put a spin on that word.

Wash Cycle Laundry provides next-day laundry and dry cleaning service. Its niche is delivery via two wheels.

The company launched in Philadelphia, and just this week it rode — literally, on bikes — into Washington to open its first operation.

“We love the bike culture,” says founder Gabriel Mandujano, referring to the network of bike lanes. “We were just floored when we came here.”

The company’s initial location in D.C. operates from Pan American Laundry in Mt. Pleasant.

The service area, generally, is a three- to four-mile radius from the given laundromat.

“The whole idea is there’s a lot more laundry equipment in the world than people using it,” Mandujano says.

Instead of sinking capital into machines, it uses exiting laundromats at off-peak hours.

Wash Cycle Laundry plans to launch same-day service in D.C. later in the summer.

To date, it has made three hires in D.C., including the person pedaling on delivery runs.

The company’s employment, like its environmental, commitment is strategic.

Mandujano says he tries to create a launching pad for people in entry level positions. About half the total employees come from the workforce development system.

The cost of home delivery laundry service is $1.60 per pound. Commercial bulk rates are lower.

See more information and a service map at http://washcyclelaundry.com/

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