Michigan State University is entering a new chapter in residence hall services, selecting Caldwell & Gregory as its new official laundry vendor. A nationwide laundry services provider based in Virginia with a significant presence in the Big 10, Caldwell & Gregory promises to bring newer technology and a more streamlined maintenance experience to MSU’s laundry facilities.
Campus wide, students will notice new and improved laundry rooms as the fall 2025 semester kicks off.
“The look should be similar, something that students are used to,” Charles Stephens, Associate Director of Residence Hall Services for Residence Education and Housing Services (REHS), said. “They provide newer machines, great service, and then some technological pieces down the road that I think our students will really appreciate.”
For the 2025-26 academic year, laundry services will remain complimentary to students, being included in their housing and food expenses.
By summer 2026, students can expect to see Bluetooth nodes in laundry rooms, which will give them the ability to access laundry machine controls and information on their phones from afar. For example, students will be able to check equipment availability, see minutes remaining on cycle times, and set cycle timers to receive alerts for their loads.
REHS is working towards a sustainable laundry swiping program in tandem with the new technology rollout. This new system would give students a set amount of laundry swipes every month. This “Govern Laundry Program” will help support sustainable practices and ensure that only current residents can use the facilities.
“They also will help us with making sure that we’re being green and efficient with our laundry services,” Stephens said. “So right now, there’s no way to track machine usage, but once the new system comes in, we’ll be able to monitor overall usage and adjust programming needs based on the data we receive.”
The new machines are already more environmentally friendly! The dryers have an average dry time of 45 minutes— 10 minutes faster than the previous machines. All machines are Energy Star certified. Additionally, the ability to track energy usage will allow MSU to support environmental sustainability goals previously set in place.
Another big draw to Caldwell & Gregory was their preventative maintenance plan.
“They have techs that will visit campus every day to check everything, and then every off-period— so during the summer and winter breaks, they will be doing full on inspections on all the machines, making sure they are functioning properly,” Stephens said.
As students run into maintenance issues, they can submit a service request directly to Caldwell & Gregory to get them resolved. This differs from the previous system of submitting maintenance requests through MSU, hopefully resulting in faster resolutions.
The process of switching laundry vendors began in fall 2024 and continued into the spring of 2025, when MSU invited four potential suppliers to campus to present their service models. Representatives from REHS, Residential and Hospitality Services, Infrastructure Planning and Facilities, and RHA reviewed each option to determine the best fit for campus needs and received their final supplier approval in mid-June.
“We’re really excited about the opportunity that we have with Caldwell & Gregory to provide the best laundry services for our students. The future looks bright,” Stephens said. “We’re stepping into 2025 and beyond using technology to make sure that our students get the most out of their laundry experience. We understand that student success doesn’t happen without the basic needs being met, and so we feel like getting top notch laundry services is really going to help with improving student experience overall.”
Ready to use the laundry machines this fall? Read our laundry tips!
