A D.C. laundry business began service at AU this semester and may soon accept EagleBuck$, according to part-owner Evan Geronemus, a senior in the Kogod School of Business.
The business, Soapy Joe's, picks up laundry in the lobby of all AU residence halls, including Park Bethesda and on Tenley Campus, as well as at the Berkshire Apartments. Soapy Joe's picks up laundry from 7 to 10 p.m. on Mondays and 12 to 3 p.m. Thursdays, and drops it off the following days at the same times. The service offers color separation, washing, drying, folding and special requests, and includes the option of dry cleaning on Mondays.
"It's as easy as ordering a pizza," Geronemus said. "When students realize how easy it is, the value of it will really show through."
Students can pay for Soapy Joe's service at $1.50 per pound with a minimum of 10 pounds, or they can pre-pay. Soapy Joe's smallest package, 10 pounds per week for 14 weeks, costs $169.98.
Eric Clark, a sophomore in Kogod, said the service "sounds nice, but since I am in college [I] have very little money."
"I could not afford that, and I am very picky with the detergent and fabric softener that is used," he said, though he added that it's good to have an alternative to the sometimes-malfunctioning campus washing and drying machines.
"I hate how the laundry never works," Clark said.
Other students agreed that the service might be helpful, but that they don't mind doing their own laundry.
"It is quite useful, but in my opinion, I think that it costs a little too much," said Ayodele Dele-Giwa, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. "I'm perfectly fine with picking up my laundry on the same floor."
Soapy Joe's opened last year at George Washington University, where it has more than 300 customers and allows students to use their GWorld card (GW's equivalent to EagleBuck$).
Geronemus partnered with Spencer Lewin, the founder and owner of Soapy Joe's who recently graduated from GW, to launch the service at AU.
Lewin said the idea for the business came from the fact that "we were tired of doing our own laundry and there was no one to call to pick up our laundry and get it done, so we wanted to offer this for students."
The business also services the Charles E. Smith apartments, home to some members of the FBI and White House staff. Soapy Joe's has done 6,000 pounds of laundry for a security company in Fairfax that guards federal buildings. It simultaneously spread its service to AU and Georgetown University at the start of the spring semester.
Soapy Joe's serves more than 2,000 customers in D.C. and has processed more than 60,000 loads of laundry since it opened, according to its owners.
To help its service catch on, Soapy Joe's offers discounts to university clubs and sports teams. It also donates laundry packages for charity events and silent auctions at GW.
"We really want to make it as easy for the students to use as possible," Lewin said.
Soapy Joe's' Web site said the service can accommodate delicates and many special care requests, and will separate lights, darks and whites before washing.
