Longtime Laundromat Owner on 23 Years of Service, Challenges, Community Impact

For more than two decades, Lee Ann Geurts has been a steady force in her Brooklyn Park community in Minnesota, running three laundromats that have become known not just for clean clothes, but for connection, comfort, and care. What began as a business venture for her...

Green is Good Business 

Green Operations Increasingly Important to Feed Consumer Demand  When Green Laundry Lounge co-owners Pulin and Krishna Dasai got into the vended laundry industry, they wanted to change a narrative: laundromats are water and energy-intensive businesses.   “The...

Leveling the Playing Field

John Um wanted to make sure small business owners could get fair pricing and access to reliable suppliers without needing to have significant buying power. As a leader whose career spanned several major retail and e-commerce companies, he had seen firsthand how hard...

Staying Fierce: Haley Gould Finds Perfect Fit in Vended Laundry

Haley Gould is the Director of Partner Success for HappyNest. She manages an internal team while leading more than 100 partners across the United States building a successful pickup and delivery operation in addition to running their laundromat business. A consummate...

PlanetLaundry Podcast

America’s #1 Resource for Vended Laundry News & Info

PlanetLaundry is the official publication of CLA and is trusted by thousands of laundry professionals to deliver the latest news and industry-specific topics.

Filling a Common Need

When His Family’s Laundry Chain Needed a POS System for Its Drop-Off Business, Brian Henderson Created One – Now He’s Built a Company Around That Solution It is a common scenario: an entrepreneurial individual solves a desperate need for his or her...

A Sunny Forecast

Quarterly Economic Report Indicates an Accelerated Growth Phase for the Self-Service Laundry Industry Florida multi-store owner Tom Rhodes doesn’t mind talking about the time he purchased a rundown laundromat for $25,000, with thoughts of rehabbing the business....

On the Bright Side

The Keys to Efficient and Impactful Laundry LightingIn the most recent Coin Laundry Association survey on laundromat customer behavior, two of the top three answers respondents gave as reasons why they would choose one self-service laundry over another are...

Headlines

Here’s to Your Health

Tips and Tactics to Help Keep Your Wash-Dry-Fold Employees Fit, Pain-Free and ProductiveYour employees are the lifeblood of your wash-dry-fold service. And, as that operation grows, you'll likely be thinking more and more about where to find the next great laundry...

All in the Family

The Psychodynamics of the Family-Owned Laundry Business – And How to Keep Yours Running Smoothly and EfficientlyMy guess is that early on nearly all small businesses were family-run businesses, especially in smaller towns. Since then, we've evolved from there to...

Taking the Scientific Approach

How to Leverage Today's Neuroscience Research When Running Your Laundry Business The world of science is ablaze - hotter than ever before in recorded history. Modern-day research is uncovering useful and practical information at supersonic speed in so many areas. For...

The Dreaded Refund

And Why It's Really Not All That Terrible – If Handled CorrectlyI have some terrible news for you. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but I find myself compelled to let you know…Someone on your team is going to make a mistake. Or an accident will happen. Or a...

Working Together

Is a Business Partnership Right for You?Atypical. Nontraditional. A little weird.Lisa and Daryl Johnson will agree that their business partnership – and subsequent laundry industry success – is probably all of those and more.It began as a fairly normal husband/wife...

Marketing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money

Here Are Five Common Miscues to Avoid When Promoting Your Vended Laundry BusinessNo one likes to admit that they could be making some major marketing mistakes. But, the truth of the matter is that you probably are.Hey… no one's perfect, right?I've been taking a long,...

Business Publication Honors R&B Wire Products

The Orange County Business Journal recently presented R&B Wire Products with the publication's Family-Owned Business Award for companies with 31 to 100 employees. "It's a huge honor to be receiving this award on behalf of my family - specifically my father, Rick,...

Exhibit Sales, Housing Now Open for Clean ’19

Exhibit sales are now open to all companies for Clean 2019, the textile care industry's premier trade show, which will be held June 20-23, 2019, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Hotel reservations for the show also are open through Connections...

Washlava Launches Cashless Laundromat in New York City

Washlava, a mobile technology startup that enables laundry customers to reserve and pay for machines from their smartphones, has opened its second cashless, exclusively app-enabled laundromat - this time in New York's Astoria neighborhood. "We have seen truly...

Laundry One to Open Branch Office in Indianapolis

Laundry One – a commercial laundry distributor based just outside of Columbus, Ohio – has announced that it will open a branch office in Indianapolis next month. The company is an authorized Dexter Laundry dealer, serving the vended, on-premises and multi-housing...

CLA Names New Director of Membership, Section Relations

WashClub – an app-based, on-demand laundry and drycleaning service – recently opened its newest branch in Akron, Ohio. This new WashClub branch is owned and operated by lifetime Akron resident Brenda Schwarz. The company said it chose Akron for its latest market...

TLC Names New Vice President

TLC Tri-State Laundry Companies, Inc. has named Keith Quarles its new vice president of sales. Quarles will oversee TLC's team of sales professionals, which covers the Eastern Seaboard from southern Virginia to northern Florida.Quarles boasts 25 years of commercial...

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September Magazine Issue

This Month's Issue

 

  • House of Laundromats: Real Estate Trends and What to Watch
  • Member Spotlight: Bringing a Century of Expertise to the Evolving Laundromat Industry
  • PlanetLaundry Podcast: Reimagining Community: How the Hub Laundromat Cafe is a Change Catalyst in Detroit
  • Women In Vended Laundry: How Adrienne Hurrington Keeps the Wheels Turning as SAMCO
  • And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

CLA Advocates Vaccine Priority for Laundromat Staff

With the first COVID-19 vaccines now getting to frontline healthcare workers and those living and working in nursing home facilities, the further prioritization of essential workers for vaccination has become the next hurdle. The Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory...

HappyNest Launches New Houston Location

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest recently announced its further expansion into the Houston market. “We already have a terrific partner in Glenn Catlin serving the Houston metro area, so to have Stephanie Arnett join us to serve the inner loop community is...

PWS to Develop Five New Laundromats in California

PWS Inc. has announced that it will develop five new vended laundry locations across California, with another two locations in final lease negotiations. The new stores will serve customers in Angels Camp, Citrus Heights, Modesto, Orange and Salinas. Most of them will...

Speed Queen Adds Long’s Laundry Equipment to Distributor Network

Speed Queen recently added Long’s Laundry Equipment, based in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to its commercial distribution network. “I’m exceptionally confident that owner Eric Long and his staff will deliver great service to Speed Queen vended laundry customers,” said Kathryn...

HappyNest Launches New Location in Omaha

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded its reach into Omaha, Neb. “We have several laundry owners who have been using our Springboard platform to manage their local pickup-and-delivery service and who have been very successful growing this piece of...

FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS

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The Laundry Doctor

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The Business Mind

Have a Good One!

Originally posted - Oct 30, 2013 "The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it." Henry David Thoreau American Author, Poet and Philosopher I would estimate that there are - give or take - about 35,000 self-service laundries within the United States....

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Wash With Wally

Wash with Wally: Fire-Damaged Dryers

Originally posted - Sep 16, 2013 I have a huge problem with my insurance company. I had a dryer fire, in which half of my dryers were totally destroyed. The other half had minor heat damage, but a lot of smoke and stain damage. The problem I'm having is that the...

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Viewpoint

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Digital Marketing

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Strategic Corporate Allies Program

Our Strategic Corporate Allies support CLA’s mission through advocacy, education, and innovation to strengthen the industry, advance our members’ businesses, and prepare the next generation of laundry professionals for the future.

Interested in becoming a Strategic Corporate Ally of CLA? Contact President & CEO, Brian Wallace via email at [email protected] or call (630) 491-0499.