Have you ever wondered why most New York City apartments do not have a washing machine?

Space is an obvious reason given the high demand within the city, but lesser known reasons include the taxes, permits, and building codes required by New York City’s Department of Buildings. Installation fees for a washer and dryer in New York City can cost up to $5,000 and the pipes attached to the machine need to be maintained regularly in order to avoid flooding and damage to other floors in the case of a laundry mishap. Dryers also need significant ventilation to reduce the risk of fires.

It’s no wonder then that we see so many New Yorkers carrying bags of dirty laundry down the stairs of their apartment buildings to their shared laundry room or to the nearby dry cleaner or laundry service.

This can be a daunting and time-consuming experience -- on average, people spend 3+ hours per week on laundry and dry cleaning. That’s a lot of time spent on dry cleaning and laundry that could be used doing other things -- especially for those living the demanding and fast-paced lifestyle of New York City.

In recent years, services like Rinse, which offer more efficient and sustainable ways for getting your laundry and dry cleaning done, including door-to-door pickup and delivery service, have become more readily available, providing a very welcome reprieve for busy New Yorkers.