When doing laundry is just too much work

A marketing photo for the laundry delivery service Washio.

Doing laundry can be such a drag. For those of us who are lucky enough to have a washer and dryer in our homes, it’s not that big of a deal.

But if you’re forced to go into that dark, creepy basement of your apartment buildings to use the coin-operated machines – or even worse, the fluorescent-lit neighborhood Laundromat – you’ve probably thought to yourself, “there’s got to be a better way!”

But we have to make time for clean clothes. Or just keep buying new clothes.

There’s a slew of new tech start-ups are hoping to upend the way we do laundry, just like how smartphones have changed how we watch TV or catch a taxi.

Jessica Pressler is a contributing editor with New York magazine and writes about the race to reinvent laundry in the current issue. She spoke to KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis.