Feb. 2, 2007 - Just so you Know....

Iowa students get laundry e-mail alerts

Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Ding! Time to throw your drawers in the dryer. That's the message University of Iowa students can now receive by e-mail. Thanks to software installed along with new high-efficiency washers last fall, the school's dormitory residents can receive e-mail alerts when their laundry cycles have finished.

The school also has a new Web-based service, called LaundryView, that lets residents look online for open washers and dryers.

"We're hoping with the notification that your clothes are done, people will get down there and remove their clothes more quickly," said Kate Fitzgerald, the assistant director for Iowa's residence life.

The school paid for the $13,000 annual software fee in part by raising the cost of a load of laundry by about 50 cents, according to Fitzgerald. The company, LaundryView Monitoring Service, has been providing the software to colleges and universities since 2004.