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<\/a><\/p>\nWhy laundry in a walk-up is harder than it looks<\/h2>\n
Older multifamily houses were not designed around washers. Where there are machines, they are usually in the basement, reached by a steep back stairway, often with low ceilings and a single bulb. Hookups inside units are rare in many triple-deckers, and where tenants have squeezed in a stackable unit, it tends to be small. Plenty of buildings have no laundry at all, which sends residents down the stairs and out to the nearest laundromat.<\/p>\n
The stairs multiply every other part of the job. A load that would take one trip to a hallway machine in a newer building takes several in a walk-up: down to start the wash, back up, down to move it to the dryer, back up, down to collect it, and up again with a full basket. Each trip is only a few minutes, but together they add up to a laundry day you cannot leave the house during.<\/p>\n
The stairs themselves are often the trickiest part of the house: narrow treads, tight turns at the landing, back porches that ice over in winter, and a railing on only one side.<\/p>\n
Shared basement machines and their hidden costs<\/h2>\n
If your building has a shared washer and dryer, you are also sharing a schedule. Three or six units competing for one pair of machines means waiting for someone else’s load, finding wet clothes left in the drum, or walking down three flights to discover the machine is taken. Machines in small buildings can also sit out of service for days before anyone arranges a repair.<\/p>\n
There is a real comparison to make between a building laundry room and a pickup service, and it is not only about price per load. We break it down in building laundry room vs. resident pickup service<\/a>.<\/p>\n Small buildings also tend to have small machines. A household with kids, or roommates sharing one washer, can need two or three cycles to get through a week, each with its own round of stair trips. That is often the point where people start looking for another way.<\/p>\n If you are doing your own laundry in a walk-up, a few habits make the stairs easier. None of this replaces common sense, and if you have a condition that affects your balance or lifting, follow the advice of your own doctor.<\/p>\n Pickup and delivery takes the stairs off your plate. With Neptune, you schedule a day and time online in about a minute, or through the app on the App Store or Google Play. On that day, you leave your laundry at the door in any bag: a duffel, a trash bag, an old pillowcase. No sorting, no counting, no labels. The team sorts, washes, dries and folds everything, and it comes back professionally folded, usually within 24 to 48 hours.<\/p>\n The service runs from the 489 Saratoga Street store<\/a> in East Boston and covers East Boston, Charlestown, the North End, Beacon Hill, the West End, downtown, the Seaport, Back Bay, Fenway and South Boston, along with Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Lynn, Lynnfield, Revere, Saugus, Stoneham, Wakefield and Winthrop. Scheduled pickups have no delivery fee, and there is no forced subscription.<\/p>\n For renters, the appeal is that it does not depend on the building. You do not need a landlord to fix a machine or a neighbor to move their load. If you rent in East Boston, we cover that angle in more depth in laundry pickup for renters in East Boston<\/a>. You can see all the details on the pickup and delivery page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pickup is priced by weight: $2.00 per pound for a one-time order, or $1.85 per pound if you order twice a month. Each order has a 19 lb minimum, which is $38. In practice, a 20 lb bag is $40, a 25 lb bag is $50, and a 30 lb bag is $60 one-time or $55.50 at the recurring rate. Comforters and other bulky items are charged per item in addition to the weight. New customers can use code FIRST20 for $20 off the first order.<\/p>\n Because of the minimum, pickup works best when you let laundry build up to a full bag rather than sending a few shirts. Our laundry weight chart<\/a> helps you estimate when you have reached 19 pounds. For many walk-up households that means a pickup every week or every other week, which also lines up with the recurring rate.<\/p>\n If you still prefer to wash it yourself sometimes, the stores have 90 lb and 130 lb washers that clear a big pile in one cycle, and dryers are always free. Counter drop-off is $1.50 per pound with no minimum at the counter, though you still carry the bag in and out.<\/p>\n Pricing Notice: Rates and prices mentioned in this article are for informational purposes and are subject to change.<\/em><\/p>\nHow to carry laundry on stairs more safely<\/h2>\n
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How laundry pickup works for walk-up residents<\/h2>\n
What pickup costs compared with the stairs<\/h2>\n