Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

How Universities Are Doing Laundry for Students With Coronavirus

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 01/14/21

The tactile experience of students doing laundry has had to change in response to the pandemic. A company that provides "contactless" on-demand laundry and dry-cleaning services has announced a surge of business from colleges and universities, to address the needs of students who are in quarantine or isolation while living on campus.

Tide Cleaners, a franchise operation that provides a "quarantine wash-and-fold" business, said it has gained pickup from Drexel University and Oxford College at Emory University, among others.

According to the company, each student in isolation receives a laundry bag provided by Tide Cleaners, which is labeled with his or her name and location. The bags are stored outside of the student's room for a full day before pickup to reduce risk of transmission. Then they're washed by machine in cold water, dried on medium heat and folded "retail-style." The clothes are returned to the residence halls for delivery to students, based on a schedule set by the university. Colleges cover the cost.

"For our campus, this program has been absolutely worth it," said Melissa DePretto, senior executive director for student life at Drexel, in a press release. "Knowing that a student who's sick and not feeling well can put their laundry outside their door and take advantage of this service is so helpful. For students and staff who may be more susceptible to the coronavirus, they're also appreciative that the program is another step we're taking to limit the spread of the virus on campus."

Brittany McDermott, coordinator of student support and a health educator at Oxford College, added that "dealing with student laundry that may spread the virus is not something we have to worry about because the Tide team is taking care of everything for us."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Texas A&M Opens First Building at Fort Worth Campus, Breaks Ground on Research Facility

    The Texas A&M University System marked a major milestone in the development of its Fort Worth campus by opening its first completed academic building and breaking ground on a second facility designed to expand research and industry collaboration.

  • Photo courtesy of Kraus-Anderson

    Concordia College Completes Memorial Auditorium Renovations

    Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., recently completed a $2.5-million renovation project to Memorial Auditorium, a news release reports. The college partnered with Kraus-Anderson for the project’s construction and ICON Architectural Group for its design.

  • New Jersey Day School Opens New Science & Entrepreneurship Building

    Saddle River Day School (SRDS) in Saddle River, N.J., recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Dr. Kristen Walsh Hall of Science & Entrepreneurship, according to a news release. The school partnered with DIG Architecture on the 32,000 square foot facility, completed on a 17-month construction timeline in time for the beginning of the new school year.