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.
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...
Pricing for Profit
Industry Experts Discuss Pricing Strategies for Self-Service Success [This is the first of a two-part series on vend price strategies for today’s self-service laundry operations.] It’s an art and a science. It requires an experimental attitude coupled with an...
Some Good News on the Energy Front?
CLA Energy Program Provider Shares an Update on the Natural Gas and Electricity Markets I’m excited about utility costs in 2023. OK, before you assume that I’ve lost my mind, let me reiterate that I’m truly feeling positive about this year for many reasons – not the...
Headlines
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...
GNA Honors Fowler Laundry Solutions
Fowler Laundry Solutions, based in Union, N.J., has received its fifth consecutive Girbau North America Multi-Housing Distributor of the Year Award for outstanding service, sales, and support in the multi-housing laundry market. Led by Doug Fowler and founded in 1952,...
Navigating Two Male-Dominated Industries
An Interview with Nancy Robles of Eastern Funding Nancy Robles is president and compliance officer of Eastern Funding LLC, a leading commercial lender to the laundry industry based in New York City. She is responsible for all of the finance company’s day-to-day...
‘I’m Pushing for Our Younger Generation’
Former Educator Brings Learning to the Laundromat Once a teacher, always a teacher. Laundromat owner Sheleah McPherson is a former educator who knows first-hand the importance of early literacy to a child’s future success. And now – as the operator of Leah’s...
GNA Adds to Headquarters Staff
Girbau North America recently welcomed Barb Kramer as national accounts coordinator and Paige Paulick as inside sales associate. Kramer handles multiple duties in support of national accounts sales and customer relations, including order processing, assisting...
Speed Queen Adds Third Franchise Location in Dallas Market
Speed Queen has continued to expand its laundromat franchise in Dallas. The newest Speed Queen Laundry – located at 2950 Walnut Hill Lane – is the third such store in the Dallas area. “We’re excited to add another great location to the Dallas market and give these...
Wash-Dry-Fold POS Expands to All 50 States
Software provider Wash-Dry-Fold POS recently announced that it has expanded its services to all 50 states in the U.S. Since its inception in February 2016, Wash-Dry-Fold POS has grown rapidly, selling 124 systems in the state of Florida alone. The company has even...
CLA Agrees to Share Compliance Information from NJDOL to Ensure Fair Treatment for Laundromat Employees
First announced in November 2022, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Wage and Hour Division recently completed a strategic enforcement initiative involving the laundromat industry, which included a comprehensive analysis of industry...
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
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...
HappyNest Hosts Annual Partner Conference
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest, headquartered in East Greenwich, R.I., hosted its 2nd annual Partner Conference on June 20-22 in Newport, R.I. – with more than 50 of the company’s laundromat partners from across the U.S. gathering for the event. The...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Planning for a New Normal
Key Considerations for Laundry Owners in the Post-COVID-19 World These days, I find myself spending a good chunk of my time thinking about my laundry business – not necessarily about what to do with my PPP stimulus money or how to run my operation in the middle of...
The Business Mind
Inflection Points: Preventive Maintenance for Your Laundromat
Quiet Reflection on the Future Path of Your Business May Be the Most Important Time You Spend All Week “Inflections points” are those moments in your life where events and decisions conspire to take you in a different direction, thus altering the course of at least...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Removing Wine Stains, Washing Silk Shirts, More…
My wash-dry-fold service recently has received a number of garments with wine stains. We’ve done a decent job of getting out most of the stains, but not all of them. Do you have any suggestions to help us tackle any wine stains we may encounter in the future? Wine is...
Viewpoint
Let’s Go to the Phones…
“Who you gonna call?” – Ray Parker, Jr. (Ghostbusters) The pandemic’s challenges have been well-documented within these pages. Given the Coin Laundry Association’s efforts to assure laundromats be deemed essential and open – along with your extraordinary work to...
Digital Marketing
Building Your Laundry’s Website: A New Perspective
Make Your Site Relevant to Everyone Involved – Employees and Customers Alike People create nearly 252,000 new websites every single day, and the internet is exploding with new content every minute. Although this may be exciting for consumers, it poses a unique...
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.
