laundry in florence

Good idea. More expensive but saves time and time is money. Ask your hotel for the closest "Lavanderia".

Your hotel may provide this service - put your stuff in a bag, give it to the front desk, they'll take care of it. Make sure they know when you need it back (usually a 1-day turnaround). If they don't, they can direct you to the nearest lavanderia. If you have something to be dry-cleaned, the phrase is "lava secca".

I was just in Florence and did all of my laundry at once in a coin-op laundry. It looks like it is a chain of coin-ops. It was on Via dei Servi between Accademia and Duomo. There were ad cards in the lobby of my hotel. (Hotel California) Very convenient to do it all at once in a single load. (on cold of course) It was 8 euros to wash and dry and took about 1 hour.
It was right across the street from a caffe/Gelati shop with free WI-FI. I would recommend it.

We used a coin-op launderia on Via Guelfa near our hotel. It from the hotel to the launderia and back to the hotel took 2hrs in the evening. Of course, we did not leave the launderia while the clothes were washing and drying. Works very well if you want to pack light.

Coin-op laundry is the way to go. Take the laundry in your wheelie suitcase. Pack a cup of powdered detergent and a couple of dryer sheets from home. I once had to buy a whole box of detergent for one load. Use the time to rest your feet and catch up on your travel diary - or postcards to friends.

There are many lavanderias and laundromats in Florence. If you want to have your laundry washed for you then you want a lavaderia. I would suggest asking your hotel for the closest place - it will likely be much cheaper than having the hotel do it. The lavanderias are independents and are tucked away everywhere. I wouldn't trust clothes that might need some special handling with them unless your Italian is good so you can explain what you want. The laundromat chain people are referring to is likely "wash e dry". The two cloest locations to your hotel are the one mentioned above on Via dei Servi 105R
or on Via Ghibellina 143R - both about about 1/2 a mile from your hotel. The last time I used one, you had to put the money in the centrally located cash machine and the number of the machine you were using. There are instructions posted in English. It would be useful to have enough change or 5 euro notes - larger notes aren't accepted unless you are buying a rechargeable card. There are other laundromats around town as well so you might find one closer to your hotel. Some aren't as well kept as the 'wash e dry' chain. I second the recommendation to bring your own detergent - just double bag in a zip lock bag. But there are also laundromats where the soap is centrally dispensed and you have to use their soap which is included in the price. (I guess people were putting too much detergent in) I like doing my own laundry. I've met some interesting people that way and had a chance for a low key chat, often with local people or with other tourists but id you don't have much time, definitely take the lavanderia route.