hello@freshlyfolded.com Mail to Us
Mon-Fri: 7AM-5PM, Sat: 8AM-12PM Availability
(619) 586-5755 Call
(619) 389-3206 Text
There is a moment early in the morning at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, before the gates open, when the overnight safari tents are being turned over for the next group of guests. Beds get stripped. Towels get collected. Linens from the hospitality areas get bundled. San Diego Zoo Safari Park laundry is not a small operation — all of it needs to be washed, sanitized, and returned before the next round of visitors arrives.
That is where we come in.
Freshly Folded is the commercial linen service San Diego businesses depend on, and we are the zoo laundry service partner for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. It is one of the partnerships we are most proud of — a family-owned San Diego laundry company handling linens for one of the most visited wildlife destinations on the planet. Here is the story of how this commercial laundry partnership happened and what the work actually looks like.
We did not get this account by being the biggest laundry company in San Diego. We got it by being reliable and local.
Steve, who owns Freshly Folded with his wife, built the business on residential wash-and-fold service. Families across San Diego trusted us with their everyday laundry — and then some of those families happened to work at the Safari Park. Word of mouth is a real thing in this city.
When the park was evaluating linen service providers, they were looking for a few specific things:
We started with a trial run. It went well. That trial became a regular account, and the regular account has been running steadily since.
The Safari Park is not a hotel, but it has hotel-level linen needs. Zoo linen cleaning at this scale means a steady stream of textiles cycles through our facility:
The Roar & Snore and other overnight safari programs house guests in tent cabins with real beds. Each tent gets:
After each group, every piece of linen gets pulled and replaced. Nothing carries over between guests.
The park hosts private events, corporate functions, and seasonal celebrations throughout the year. These generate:
Kitchen towels, server aprons, and other food-service textiles need frequent washing to meet health code standards. These items accumulate dirt, grease, and food residue quickly — the kind of bulk linen washing San Diego food operations generate adds up fast.
What does commercial linen service include for large facilities? A commercial linen service for a facility like the San Diego Zoo Safari Park includes scheduled pickup of soiled linens, commercial washing with ozone sanitization, professional folding and packaging, and scheduled delivery of clean linens — all on a weekly or custom cycle tailored to the facility’s operational calendar.
Here is what a typical week looks like for the Safari Park account:
Pickup day: We arrive at the park’s designated linen staging area and collect everything that has been used since the last pickup. Linens are sorted by type and bagged on-site.
Processing: Back at our facility, each category gets washed separately. Sheets and pillowcases run on different cycles than towels. Kitchen textiles get their own treatment. Every load goes through our ArtiClean ozone system — no exceptions.
Our Maytag and Speed Queen commercial machines handle the volume without issue. These machines are built for the large-scale linen cleaning San Diego operations demand, and the ozone infusion system works with them to sanitize at lower temperatures than traditional hot-water commercial washing.
Quality check: After washing and drying, every item is inspected during folding. Stained items get re-treated and re-washed. Damaged items (torn seams, frayed edges, worn-out elastic) get flagged and reported so the park can rotate them out of service.
Delivery: Clean linens are returned to the park, organized by type, ready to be distributed to tents, hospitality areas, and food service operations.
The cycle repeats weekly, with volume adjustments based on the park’s event calendar and overnight booking numbers.
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is a conservation organization at its core. Everything they do connects back to wildlife preservation and environmental responsibility. That includes their vendor choices.
Why does the San Diego Zoo Safari Park use ozone-sanitized laundry? Ozone (O3) laundry sanitization aligns with the park’s environmental mission because it uses less water, requires lower wash temperatures, reduces chemical detergent volume by up to 50%, and leaves zero chemical residue. Ozone reverts to regular oxygen (O2) after sanitizing, making it one of the most environmentally responsible commercial laundry methods available.
For a facility surrounded by wildlife habitats, minimizing chemical runoff matters. Traditional commercial laundry generates wastewater loaded with detergent, bleach, and softener chemicals. Ozone-based washing dramatically reduces that chemical load.
It also produces better results. Ozone destroys bacteria, mold, and odor compounds more effectively than detergent alone. For linens used in outdoor tent cabins — where humidity, dust, and outdoor exposure are constant — this level of sanitization makes a real difference.
Managing the San Diego Zoo Safari Park laundry week after week sharpened our commercial operations in ways that benefit every client we serve. Here are a few things we learned:
Residential laundry is fairly predictable — families generate roughly the same amount each week. Commercial accounts fluctuate. The Safari Park might send us 30% more volume during the summer peak season than in January. We built our scheduling and capacity to handle those swings without dropping quality or turnaround time.
A missed delivery at a residential home means inconvenience. A missed delivery at a commercial operation means guests without towels, events without tablecloths, or kitchens without clean service textiles. We built a direct communication line with the park’s operations team so scheduling changes, special requests, and volume spikes are handled proactively, not reactively.
When you are serving a world-class facility, “good enough” is not a standard. Every item that goes back needs to meet the same quality bar every single week. That discipline carries over to every load we process — commercial or residential.
The Safari Park is our most recognizable commercial client, but the same service model works for businesses of all sizes across San Diego:
Every commercial account gets the same treatment: scheduled pickup and delivery, ozone sanitization on every load, quality inspection during folding, and volume flexibility as your needs change.
There is no minimum contract length. We earn your business every week by showing up on time with clean linens. If that sounds like a good fit for your operation, get a free quote, and we will put together a plan that matches your volume and schedule.
We could have written this article as a marketing pitch. Instead, we wanted to tell the real story. A family-owned laundry company in San Diego got the opportunity to serve one of the city’s most important institutions, and we take that responsibility seriously every week.
The Safari Park does extraordinary work in wildlife conservation and education. We are honored to play a small supporting role by making sure their guests sleep on clean sheets and dry off with fresh towels. It is not glamorous work, but it matters.
If your business needs a commercial linen partner that shows up consistently, sanitizes properly, and treats your account like it matters — because it does — reach out for a free quote. We would be glad to talk about what we can do for you.
Does Freshly Folded do laundry for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park?
Yes. Freshly Folded is the commercial linen service provider for the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. We handle weekly pickup, washing, ozone sanitization, and return of linens used across the park’s guest-facing operations, including overnight safari experiences and hospitality areas.
What kind of commercial laundry does Freshly Folded handle?
Freshly Folded handles commercial laundry for hospitality, tourism, vacation rentals, restaurants, spas, and other businesses in San Diego. Services include bulk linen washing, ozone sanitization, folding, and scheduled pickup and delivery on a weekly or custom schedule.
How does commercial laundry service pricing work?
Commercial laundry pricing from Freshly Folded is based on volume, frequency, and specific service needs. Businesses with regular weekly volume receive custom rates. Contact Freshly Folded for a free quote tailored to your operation’s linen volume and turnaround requirements.
Why does the Safari Park use ozone-sanitized laundry?
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park prioritizes hygiene and environmental responsibility. Ozone sanitization kills 99.9% of bacteria without heavy chemical use, requires less water and lower temperatures than traditional washing, and leaves no chemical residue on linens — aligning with the park’s conservation values.
Can small businesses use Freshly Folded for commercial laundry?
Yes. Freshly Folded serves businesses of all sizes, from single-location restaurants and yoga studios to multi-property vacation rental hosts and large tourism operations. There is no minimum contract length for commercial accounts. Get a free quote to see how commercial linen service can work for your business.
