SEATTLE — Lisa loves laundry.
"I find it very zen, very relaxing," she said.
The Seattle resident loves it so much that she can’t believe she gets paid to do it.
"It’s fun for me."
Lisa is a certified washer with Loopie, an app-based service created for people to do other people’s laundry. This gig can be a real learning experience.
"A lot more people seem to go without underwear than I would have guessed," she said.
Seattle’s John Vincent Lee got the idea for Loopie about five years ago, while still employed as a restaurant worker coordinating takeout orders with various apps including Uber Eats, DoorDash, and GrubHub.
"It was incredible to see the adoption of the various food delivery applications," Lee said.
Lee figured that if we’re okay with strangers bringing us food, driving us around, and lending us their homes, why not let our underwear join the gig economy, too? His idea makes washing clothes easier than ordering a pizza.
"Customers can download the Loopie Laundry app and place an order for their laundry to be picked up from their doorstep, washed, dried, folded, and brought back within 24 hours," Lee said.
The Loopie app connects busy people or businesses with enthusiastic washers who get to clean up in more ways than one.
"Our washers can make money without ever having to leave their house," Lee said.
"I always get to say, ‘No, I’m too busy,’" Lisa said. "Unless there’s a really good reason, I always say yes to whatever load comes along."
All the laundry gets picked up and dropped off by professional drivers, so customers can simply set their dirty stuff aside and let the laundry fairies take care of the rest.
"It’s something we don’t have to think about, which is really, really nice," said Katrina Rising, owner of Cake Skincare in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Loopie has already expanded to nine major markets around the country. As long as there are clothes that need washing, this Seattle startup has the potential to keep on growing.
"This is the kind of business I could see working in every major and minor city in this country," Lee said. "I’m still excited to see what we can do."
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