PlanetLaundry Podcast
America’s #1 Resource for Vended Laundry News & Info
PlanetLaundry is the official publication of the Coin Laundry Association and is trusted by thousands to deliver the latest news and industry-specific topics for laundry owners and professionals.
PUD: Your Game Plan for Success
Building and Promoting Your Laundromat’s Pickup-and-Delivery Business Waleed Cope believes that we’ve only just scratched the surface of what residential laundry pickup and delivery can be. “As more and more people incorporate more service-based businesses into their...
Knowing When the Price is Right
Laundromat Owners Share the Pricing Philosophies They Utilize to Keep Their Self-Service Customers Happy – And Their Bottom Lines Healthy [This is the second of a two-part series on vend price strategies for today’s self-service laundry businesses. Read Part 1 here.]...
Building the Basics
Growing Your Self-Service Laundry Business in a Full-Service World These days, running the self-service portion of your laundromat business can feel a bit like swimming upstream – with the traditional laundromat model at times appearing, at best, quaint and perhaps...
Headlines
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Unlock a New Level of Efficiency for Your Laundry Business with ChatGPT I recently was speaking with a seasoned laundromat operator who had reached a point in her business where she was having difficulty finding qualified applicants to offer wash-dry-fold services....
New Distributor Partners with B&C, Announces Open House
Prairie Commercial Laundry Services, based in Chicago, has announced that it has teamed up with B&C Technologies of Panama City Beach, Fla., to introduce B&C’s new line of commercial vended washers and dryers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan....
HappyNest Adds Laundromat Partner in Virginia
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded its offerings to residents and businesses in and around the Richmond, Va., area through the company’s new partner, Neighborhood Laundromat. The 3,600-square-foot vended laundry provides HappyNest services to...
Speed Queen Spring Show Slated for June 1
Alliance Laundry Systems Distribution – South Region will host its Spring Show on June 1. The event, to be held from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., will be held at Victoria Palms RV Resort in Donna, Texas. The show is geared toward current and prospective laundromat owners...
Lucy Doll Retires from Mountain Electronics
After 13 years with Mountain Electronics, Customer Service Representative Lucy Doll has announced her retirement. Mountain CEO Whitney Brasington remembers hiring Doll: “The clinic she was working for was getting ready to close, so she ran a classified ad in the local...
Lavanett Named GNA’s Top Canadian Distributor for 2022
Girbau North America recently recognized Lavanett, headquartered in St. Laurent, Quebec, with its third consecutive Canadian Distributor of the Year Award for exemplary performance in the vended and on-premises laundry markets. Owned by Earl Eichen, Lavanett employs...
ACI Unveils Redesigned Website Promoting Cold-Water Washing
The American Cleaning Institute has launched a redesigned website for its Cold Water Saves initiative, which is a joint effort of ACI and The Sustainability Consortium to promote the power of cold-water washing. Originally launched in 2016, Cold Water Saves aims to...
The Unattended Laundromat
Successful Multi-Store Operators Explain How They Make This Business Model Work for Them For many laundromat owners, building a quality, reliable, and affordable staff has always been the most difficult piece to completing the small-business puzzle. And with lingering...
Wash with Wally: How to Starch Tuxedo Shirts
I’ve recently been offered a tuxedo rental account, which would require me to wash and starch about 400 shirts each week. How do I starch these shirts in my washers? During which cycle would I need to insert the starch? To starch the shirts in your laundromat’s...
Invest in Your Operations
A Look at Chicago-Based Distributor Midwest Laundries From a young age, Jim Schultz was drawn to the idea of owning his own business. And, with a number of family members already involved with the laundry business, he quite naturally became very familiar with the...
Choose Your Words Carefully
Here’s What to Consider When Creating Your Laundromat’s Next Promotional Campaign One of the most tried-and-true adages in advertising is that what people hear is more important than what you actually say. After all, humans, by and large, are interpretive organisms....
EPA Maintains ‘Safer Choice’ Status of Chemistry Used in Detergent Packaging
The Environmental Protection Agency has rejected a petition requesting increased testing and a change to the safety status of key chemistry used to make concentrated detergent unit-dose packets and sheets from its Safer Choice program. At issue was a call from a...
SPONSORED CONTENT
SPONSORED CONTENT
Navigating Tax Season: Laundromat Owner’s Guide
This Month's Issue
- Beyond Our Borders: A Look at the International Laundromat Market
- Business Management: How a POS System Can Add Value for You and Your Customers
- Guest Feature: Embracing Technology – The Digital Evolution of the Laundromat Industry
- Women in Vended Laundry: An Interview with Lisa Mahan of Daniels Equipment Company
- And More…
THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS
Industry News
CG West to Host Customer Appreciation Days
Continental Girbau West will host a three-day customer appreciation event on September 12-14 at the company’s headquarters in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. This free event, which will run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day, is open to current and potential CG West...
Eastern Funding Bolsters Sales Team
Eastern Funding LLC – a financial lender to laundromats, industrial laundries, car washes, commercial vehicles, and other businesses – has announced that Raina Bass has joined the company as loan officer. Bass, who will focus on commercial laundry financing, joins...
Whirlpool Unveils New Technology Center
Whirlpool Corp. has unveiled a new, 153,000-square-foot technology center in St. Joseph, Mich. The more than $60 million project expands and replaces much of the current St. Joseph Technology Center – and represents the first of a three-phase plan to redesign an...
WashClub Expands DoorDash Partnership
WashClub, a New York-based on-demand laundry and drycleaning service, recently announced the expansion of its partnership with DoorDash to serve laundry customers in the Bronx. The laundry service first launched this offering to residents of Brooklyn and Queens in...
American Trade Magazines Names New Publisher
American Trade Magazines, LLC – the parent company of textile-care B2B publications American Coin-Op, American Drycleaner, and American Laundry News – has announced a change in leadership. Effective August 1, Associate Publisher and National Sales Director Donald...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Who’s Servicing Your Wash-Dry-Fold Customers?
A Look at the Pros and Cons of Utilizing Independent Contractors vs. Laundromat Employees With the outbreak of COVID-19, I’ve recently received quite a few questions from laundry owners about wash-dry-fold services. The wash-dry-fold business has not fallen off during...
The Business Mind
Anger Management
Seven Psychologically Sound Ways to Deal with Angry, Irate or Emotionally Difficult Customers Every laundromat owner is going to come face to face with angry, difficult or emotionally challenging customers from time to time. After all, you can’t please everyone....
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Safe Bleaching, Cleaning Lint Screens, More…
I offer a wash-dry-fold service at my laundromat, and I was wondering if there is any product we could use in place of chlorine bleach. The problem we occasionally run into is that my attendants will mistakenly use the chlorine bleach on colored garments, which will...
Viewpoint
Who’s Minding the Store?
Businesses all across the United States are desperate for workers these days. The numbers don’t lie. In late April, the Labor Department reported a record 9.3 million job openings. “The worker shortage is real – and it’s getting worse by the day,” commented Chamber of...
Digital Marketing
Online ‘Stain Removal’
How to Effectively Manage Your Business’ Digital Reputation When you Google your business, what do you see? I’d hope that you’d be viewing your brand at the top of the heap – complete with pages full of five-star reviews, links to helpful content and a sterling online...
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.
