The greatest luxury in our lives right now, one that quickly became a necessity when we added a baby to our household but not a washer-dryer, was a laundry pickup and delivery service.
The one we use, Alabaster Cleaners, has an online order form that's super convenient. They will pick up and deliver in one day provided you give them 4 hours' notice. They are pleasant, reliable, and follow our instructions to a T. Cost is $1/lb, with a 15 lb minimum.
We recently read about Blue Water Laundry in Daily Candy. We live outside their bailiwick (the financial district, Marina, Cow Hollow, Union Street, Upper and Lower Pacific Heights, Nob Hill, and the Presidio), but we like that they use environmentally-friendly cleaning products and practices. At about $26 - $31 per bag, they may be a smidge more expensive. (It's hard to compare without seeing how much fits in a bag).
As far as we know, there's only one other service like this in SF, Laundry Locker, and they require the cooperation of your landlord because they install a pickup and delivery locker in your building. And they also limit their pickups to certain neighborhoods.
Does anyone else have direct experience with Alabaster Cleaners, Blue Water Laundry or Laundry Locker?
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I am a regular Laundry Locker customer and these guys are awesome. There are no lockers in my building so I use their home delivery service. I gave them a key to my building and I place my laundry outside the door. I place my order online and can specify everything, even what water temperature I want my whites washed in. Their wash & fold is simply terrific and their dry cleaning is great too. They even offer eco-friendly soaps and according to thier website, they run high-efficiency machines. I've tried a bunch of other cleaners in the city and these guys are the best I've found. It's worth giving them access to your building so you can use their service.
Allison