Washed and folded
Wash and fold in Albany, CA
A new service at Royal Cleaners: bring in the weekly load, pay $2 per pound, and pick it up washed and folded.
Chapter 01
For the weekly load you never get to
Everyone has a pile that keeps growing: the shirts, socks, towels and jeans that are not dry cleaning and not special, just time. Wash and fold is for that pile. You hand it over at the counter at 814 San Pablo Avenue in Albany and it comes back clean and folded, so the hours you would have spent at a machine go somewhere else.
Royal Cleaners is a family run shop that has served the Bay Area for over 60 years and is now in its third generation. Wash and fold is the newest thing on the list, added next to the dry cleaning and alterations people already know the shop for. It suits a working week in Albany or Berkeley, where the drop-off can happen on the walk to the office.
Folded linen panels and white sheets stacked on a counter beside a rolled wool rug
Two dollars a pound, and what that covers
Wash and fold is priced at $2 per pound. The price is by weight, so a small bag of everyday clothes costs little and a big one costs what it weighs, with no per-piece counting at the counter.
The service covers clothing and some household items. It is not the place for everything: drapes, area rugs and heavy bedding are handled as their own jobs, and anything delicate or formal is better on a dry cleaning ticket. If you are unsure whether something qualifies as one of the household items, ask when you drop it off or call (510) 323-4167 first, and the counter will tell you straight.
Because the service is new, the details are simple on purpose: a price per pound, a bag, a pickup. If you have a question about how a particular fabric will be treated, ask before you leave the load.
Chapter 03
Dropping it off at the counter
Bring the load in a bag during opening hours: Monday to Friday 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and Saturday 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM. The shop is closed Sunday. Street parking is nearby, which makes a quick drop-off easy on San Pablo.
If you are bringing dry cleaning on the same trip, say so. Those items go on a separate ticket, because dry cleaning is priced and turned around differently, typically 2 to 3 business days, and the wash and fold load is billed by the pound.
There is no pick-up and delivery, so the trip is yours, but it is one stop. The same counter takes wash and fold, dry cleaning, alterations and uniforms, so a single visit can clear the laundry, the suit for Friday and the pair of pants that need a hem.
Ask about a pickup date when you hand the bag over, and keep the number handy: (510) 323-4167. A short call before you come in saves a wasted trip if you are unsure what the load can include.
“This has become my local dry cleaner since moving to Albany.” Nathan Subramanian, Google review.