United Laundré — Local services in New York

Let’s get real—some of these glowing 4.6-star reviews seem a little... optimistic (and paid for). United Laundry in Harlem does have a few things going for it: it’s bright, spacious, and equipped with shiny, new machines. But, unfortunately, that’s where the charm wears off.

First off, this place is not cheap. The pricing system is unnecessarily complicated. You’re forced to use cash to load a laundry card, but here’s the kicker—you’ll likely need to use their ATM, which charges a massive fee. Once you’ve jumped through those hoops, you can finally load the card with preselected amounts (that they dictate, of course). It’s a rinse-and-repeat cycle of nickel-and-diming their customers.

The staff? Let’s just say "friendly" isn’t their default setting. I’ve encountered dismissiveness and downright bad attitudes on multiple occasions. And good luck if you have an issue!

Speaking of issues, here’s my personal experience: I brought a problem to the owner’s attention about the disconnect between what they advertise and what they actually charge. To his credit, he offered a $30 refund... but only as a credit on my laundry card, not as cash. Fine. I accepted—but the credit never materialized. I followed up (complete with the original email trail), and they completely ghosted me. For a business I’ve spent hundreds of dollars with, you’d think $30 wouldn’t break the bank. Apparently, it does.

Bottom line: this place isn’t a total disaster, but it’s definitely not the laundry paradise these reviews make it out to be. If you’re okay with paying a premium for shiny machines and don’t mind sketchy customer service, this might work for you. As for me? I’m folding my time here and heading elsewhere.

BONUS: There is a great mom&pop dry cleaner just a block away on 124th and St. Nicholes Ave. Their drop-off service is cheaper than doing it...

Unfortunately did not have a good experience. First time using the laundromat, and the communication inquiring about their services went smoothly- felt pretty confident about dropping my stuff off! Was told 24 hour turn around, sometimes sooner. Fast forward, it’s been 2 days and finally picked up my stuff and the lady tells me someone took my clothes out the washer or dryer? So she believes there’s a mix up. Some of my black clothes might be missing???

Now I have to go through 2 other peoples laundry orders one by one with her and pick out what was mine/what isn’t. Ridiculous. First time here, $55 dollars later (by the way I asked for delivery when I called at 2pm to check the status and she said they were too busy so I’ll just have to come pick up) & thank god I did!

Now I’m on my FaceTime with my boyfriend going through clothing items in other peoples bag trying to figure out what’s not ours/what is.. and repackaging. Found some of my stuff tho! Thankfully.

Mistakes happen, but something about going through multiple laundry bags and handpicking what was mine, what wasn’t, seemed a little ridiculous. No accommodation was made for their error + would’ve loved to hear about the mix up when I called for an update & was declined delivery.. (at that point was told clothes was just being waiting to be folded) hence, mix up had already happened.

I’ll just do my own laundry next time. Not a pleasant first experience, and feel bad for myself and the other people whose clothing items...

2/6/24 Decided to give this place one more try after the first time using wash and fold services. First off, issues continue with them using door dash both on pickup AND delivery. They seriously need to find a different better service company to use that has fewer issues. Spoke to the owners when they contacted me to discuss the issues after order being picked up, yet again experienced the exact same issues for delivery. I will say they offered me a discount on the order to offset the initial issues. Also similar issue to first time including specific request to fold underwear (also noted using the folding requests) and none of it was folded.

After continued issues with this place, I'll take my business elsewhere that has more reasonable prices and fewer problems.

Wash and Fold: offer pickup service but their notifications are REALLY REALLY off and not accurate. You’ll get a notice they are on their way with an ETA. Ten min after that ETA, it’ll update to 30-45 later. Laundry came back clean with quick turn around at no extra charge, but for what they charge ($1.95/lb) for the wash and fold service I would expect them to fold everything. To get stuff back that isn’t folded (underwear) that you then have to fold to put away, defeats the purpose. There’s other places charging less...