Mukilteo Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

Laundry day! A weekly ritual anticipated enthusiastically – by no one, ever.

It's just one of those household chores that needs to be done. Clothes get dirty. They must be washed.

The chore is particularly challenging in larger households – multiple loads that have to be washed, dried, folded and put away. It can take all day.

But what if you had several washers and dryers at your disposal, allowing you to tackle that chore in an hour or so, and freeing up the rest of your day?

Better yet, what if you could simply drop off those clothes and have someone else do your laundry for you?

And even better, what if someone came to your home, picked up your laundry, later returning it washed, dried, folded, done!

Those are among your options at Laundry Genius, an aptly named state-of-the-art laundromat recently opened in south Everett.

No, this isn't your parents' laundromat of yesteryear, when customers had to scrounge for quarters, machines were often out of order, shady characters sometimes loitered about, and the whole experience was tolerated with dread.

Laundry Genius was conceived, designed and built with today's busy household in mind. For starters, there are plentiful washers and dryers, so that even during busy periods customers won't have to wait. The high-tech machines wash and dry efficiently, and are eco-friendly.

The washers spin so fast they practically dry the clothes, meaning fewer minutes in the dryer, resulting in longer life for your clothes. Some washers are large enough to handle those king-sized bedspreads you've tried unsuccessfully to cram into your own washing machine.

You won't have to bring along a sock full of change here. Instead, a computerized system produces and uploads your own personal Laundry Genius card; you can use either cash or a credit card to add credit to your laundry card as needed.

Finally, Laundry Genius is staffed full time to provide assistance when you need it, keep the facility clean, and ensure you will be comfortable and safe. Clean bathrooms are accessible only to those who have a laundry card.

Brightly lit with a half dozen flat screen monitors to keep you entertained inside, as well as ample parking outside, Laundry Genius has brought the future of laundry care to today.

Laundry Genius is the brainchild of Brian Riseland, a 25-year Microsoft veteran who decided he was ready for a new challenge.

"It was time for a shift in my life," Riseland said. "I wanted to be more in control, and that led me down the entrepreneur path."

The idea of building a new kind of laundromat was planted while listening to a podcast, he said. As one might expect from a former Microsoft employee, Riseland did his due diligence, studying laundromats around the country, the latest technology in washers and dryers, optimal locations and more. "It looked like it penciled out," he said.

Searching locations north of Seattle, Riseland found an empty storefront at 7807 Evergreen Way, Everett, that met all his criteria: on a major thoroughfare with easy access, plentiful parking, just off SR526 and I-5, so it's minutes away from Mukilteo, Mill Creek, Lynnwood and other nearby neighborhoods.

It was an immediate success. Because Laundry Genius has someone on site, staffers and regulars are getting to know each other, like neighbors.

"I love the customers," Riseland said. "You know them by name. You become a part of their lives."

But plenty of occasional customers visit as well, he said.

"You see patterns emerge. At least once a week someone with a broken washer or dryer comes in. One fellow had a brand new washer and dryer that needed parts that he couldn't get for weeks."

People from all walks of life are customers – families, millennials, retirees, caregivers.

Many appreciate the service, preferring to simply drop off and pick up their laundry. Home pickup and delivery is a growing part of Laundry Genius's services, too, with on-demand service with Doordash.

Scheduled service for Mukilteo will be offered in the New Year. They pick up every Tuesday, for example, and return on Wednesday.

Riseland isn't surprised that laundry service is taking off. "People are outsourcing so much of their life now. This is the next step. The bottom line is, people make choices."

This one is easy. Laundry Genius provides excellent customer service, in a clean and safe facility. The weekly ritual of laundry day suddenly seems pretty attractive after all.

To learn more, call 425-375-7000 or visit Laundry Genius. Located at 7807 Evergreen Way, Everett, it is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekends.