Uber-for-Laundry Is Dead; Long Live Uber-for-Laundry

A few weeks ago I mentioned that one of the leaders of the California secession movement was a fairly successful VC who had some middle-round Airbnb and Uber on the books but unfortunately his Uber-for-Laundry deal, Washio, had folded.

And I thought we were done with the laundry
(forgetting about eDaixi for some reason) 

Now we read at the Financial Times: 

Electrolux gives ‘Uber for laundry’ idea a spin
Swedish appliance maker tests concept of sharing washing machines

Electrolux, the Swedish appliance maker, is exploring starting an “Uber for laundry” in which consumers would use their own washing machines to wash other people’s clothes.

Jonas Samuelson, the new chief executive of the world’s second-biggest white goods manufacturer, told the Financial Times that Electrolux was trying to overcome big hurdles to make the project work.

“We have a few fun ideas we are testing, like: how about a laundry Uber, where people share their unused laundry time? But there are enormous complexities such as what happens if the clothes come out and are ruined?” Mr Samuelson added.....MORE

Well yeah, there is that.

And as for the FT, at least I felt a twinge when I used the "folded" line in the original intro and tried to deflect with a self-deprecating "see what I did there?"

I detect no such shame/remorse/whatev from the pink'un for giving the "‘Uber for laundry’ idea a spin".

As for eDaixi, despite having done a Baidu/Tencent-led $100 mil. B round when we last visited in 2015, for some reason they raised $14 million last week.
But at least they're still alive.

And in case Electrolux has forgotten, the "Uber for ____" formulation is so two years ago:

Written by Jason O. Gilbert

December 12, 2014

There’s Uber for planes,
And Uber for jets,
An Uber for pills
And Uber for pets.

There’s Uber for dogs,
And Uber for cats.
Need a hot stone massage?
There’s an Uber for that.

An Uber for nails,
And an Uber for news.
And while your nails dry,
There’s an uber for booze.

There’s an Uber for kids,
And an Uber for maids,
There’s an Uber for hair
So you can Uber your braids.

There’s Uber for bikes,
And an Uber for gifting,
There’s an Uber for beauty,
If your face needs a lifting.

There’s Uber for house painting,
And Uber for car towing,
There’s Uber for clothes washing,
And Uber for lawn mowing.

...MORE (Quartz)