Currently, we are living in a world wherein people are shifting towards tech to improve their lives in all means. And, the laundry industry is no stranger as there are services that use technology to revolutionise this industry. One such startup is Oxwash, which uses technology to prevent viral transmission on textiles during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Now, Oxford-based Oxwash has secured €1.6 million investment.
The investment is from TrueSight Ventures, Paul Forster, the founder of Indeed.com, Biz Stone, the co-founder of Twitter, Founders Factory and other angel investors. Its founder Kyle was selected as Forbes Europe’s 30 under 30 recently.
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Intends to expand service
The eco-friendly laundry and dry-cleaning startup, which is part of the Founders Factory accelerator program, it uses medical-grade laundry tech used in a spaceship and hospital sterilisation will use the investment to expand its service across England and will scale up its team as well. Oxwash provides laundry services to the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine trial and GP surgeries and vulnerable community members including care homes.
Utilises ozone generation tech!
Founded in 2017 by former NASA Engineer Kyle Grant, Oxwash utilises ozone generation technology and delivery to hygienically clean laundry for both businesses such as Airbnbs, colleges, hotels, and offices, and individuals. On account of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Oxford-based startup has been providing COVID-19 disinfection for users. This is possible by combining both ozone disinfection and chemical and thermal processes to wash to pharmaceutical-grade and make sure bacteria, viral, and fungal agents in the laundry are completely eradicated. Moreover, there is a contactless pickup option for the safety of its customers.
Redefines laundry cleaning process
Oxwash offers sustainable and eco-friendly laundry solutions for consumers. It deploys electric cargo bikes with portable ozone generators that will sterilise items and dissolvable laundry bags to avoid the transmission of coronavirus via fabric and clothing. The startup refines the laundry cleaning process with the aim of clinically-clean textile with zero carbon emissions throughout the process. Oxwash aims to be the first truly hygienic and sustainable on-demand laundry company in the world.
Oxwash uses ozone for the disinfection and sanitisation of the washing. And, ozone used for the purpose is generated from electricity and oxygen from the air we breathe. Oxwash claims that the, ozone is a powerful and disinfecting substance that redefines the process.
How Oxwash achieves sustainability?
Oxwash uses water that is reclaimed from a previous wash cycle for the next cycle, thereby saving up to 60% of the water consumption in comparison to a typical commercial washing machine. Also, it the microfibre filtration of the reclaimed water captures more than 95% of all the fibres shed during washing, thereby preventing plastic pollution of the waterways and drinking water.
Regarding the funding round, Kyle Grant, CEO and co-founder said, “We’ve developed a service in the last 2 months that is available to provide coronavirus disinfection. Our original goal for the business remains to help the planet – originally focussing on the eco-friendly nature of our tech compared to traditional laundry options. However, in recent weeks it’s become apparent that our help is needed in keeping people safe. In light of the current coronavirus situation, we are working closely with NHS and vulnerable groups to provide support when needed as well as doubling down on our software development, including our app, and rolling out the service to London later this year while continuing to focus on our original locations – Oxford and Cambridge.”
Main image picture credits: Oxwash
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