You are not going to be the one doing his shirts anymore, and that is probably the first thing you noticed when the basket started filling. Before anyone hands a bag to a laundry service, it helps to know exactly what you are buying, because a company that says it does laundry may mean very different things by that.
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Decide what comes back
Ask each service to name the exact work in writing: wash only, wash and dry, wash, dry and fold, or pressing and hanging for shirts. Some fold everything and hang dress shirts, some return everything in one bag with no sorting, and some leave delicates or anything needing special care for you to handle. Look at what your father actually wears most. If he wears work shirts that need hanging, a service that only folds will not solve the problem.
Ask how they separate loads. Do they sort whites from colors? Do they wash by owner if more than one person's clothes go in the same order? Do they read care labels, or does everything go through the same cycle?
Check the billing and the ticket
Ask how they charge: by weight, by piece, or by bag. Then ask them to walk you through a sample order using a real week of his laundry. Weigh or count it yourself first so you can compare what they quote with what the ticket says. Do not let the final total be the only number you compare.
Ask what the return ticket lists. A good ticket names each item, or at least each category with a count. A ticket that says one bag, or a single line with no count, is much harder to check later if something goes missing.
Ask about damage and loss before the first bag
Every laundry service has a policy for lost or damaged clothing. Read it before you sign anything. Ask how long you have to report a problem, whether you need to bring the item back or send a photo, what they cover, and whether they replace the item, pay for it, or decline. Get those answers in writing or in the terms you were sent. Ask whether anything is excluded, such as items without labels, older garments, or pieces with buttons or trim that can be damaged in a machine.
Ask what happens to pockets. Ask whether they check and empty pockets before anything goes in the machine, and who does it. Tissues, receipts, and small objects left in pockets are often the reason clothes come back stained or torn, so a service that checks pockets is one you can trust more.
Set up the handoff
Decide who will be home for pickup and return, and what happens if no one is. Ask about the pickup window, whether they will leave a bag at the door, and whether they need a key or a lockbox. Be clear about who is allowed to hand over the bag. For the return, ask whether someone must be home to receive it and what they do if no one answers the door.
Ask about pausing the service. He may want a week off, or you may be traveling, and you want a pause that does not depend on a phone call from a man who would rather not make one. Ask whether a pause can be set by text, online, or through you.
What to do tonight
Gather the last two weeks of his laundry in one place and count it. Write down the three items he cares about most and check that each service handles them the way he likes. Make a short list of questions and call two services with the same list. Compare their answers, not their advertising.
When to ask the doctor
If his clothes have been worn for many days in a row, or the laundry has piled up in a way it never has before, mention it at his next visit along with anything else you have noticed. A laundry service takes care of a chore, but the change in the chore is something his doctor should hear about.
Good-week card: The clean shirts are back on their hangers, and he noticed the one you did not have to ask him about.