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...

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Business Bio: The Laundry Spot

Aug 29, 2015

David and Paula Leighton The Laundry Spot Middletown, OhioBefore Getting into the Laundry Business…David was an insurance agent, and Paula was a teacher.Store OpeningAugust 26, 2006Business Hours7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., with last load at 10:00 p.m.Staff10 part-time...

Four Qualities to Look For When Selecting a Distributor

Aug 26, 2015

Your Business Partner Should Have an Excellent Reputation, Industry Knowledge, Loyalty and Comprehensive Support Starting and maintaining a successful laundry operation takes much more than simply finding a space and buying equipment – partnering with an experienced...

The Art of the Laundry Deal

Aug 26, 2015

Negotiating Strategies and Tactics for Your Next Laundromat Lease Since there have been self-service laundries, there have been landlords. And, since there have been landlords, there have been leases. Of course, in the beginning, these were simple one- or two-page...

Headlines

Profitable ‘By Design:’ Clean 2017 Opens with Packed Session on Store Design Trends and Strategies

Coin Laundry Association President and CEO Brian Wallace welcomed 425 attendees to the organization's first educational seminar of Clean 2017 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Dubbed "Great by Design: What Laundromats Can Learn from the Latest Retail Trends," this...

Advantage Equipment Relocates to Larger Facility

Advantage Equipment Inc., based in Akron, Ohio, recently moved into a new facility. The 13,000-square-foot building – located at 1056 Home Ave. in Akron – is three times larger than the company’s previous headquarters. “Advantage Equipment has experienced significant...

A New ‘Spin’ on a Familiar Brand

Tide Tests the Waters of Chicago’s Wash-Dry-Fold Market A few months ago, Proctor & Gamble decided to expand its Tide brand to include a retail, wash-dry-fold model. Using the successful Tide Dry Cleaners franchises as an example of what to expect from this new...

The Laundry Doctor at the PlanetLaundry Booth at Clean ‘17

Jeff Gardner, a.k.a. “The Laundry Doctor,” will be making an appearance at the PlanetLaundry booth (Booth #811) at The Clean Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday, June 7, 2017 from 1-3 p.m. Jeff will be available to answer any of your questions regarding ensuring laundry...

Clean 2017: Las Vegas (or Silicon Valley?)

"Let's go invent tomorrow instead of worrying about what happened yesterday." – Steve Jobs Of course, the industry's largest biennial gathering is coming to Las Vegas next month. But, you would be forgiven for mistaking the acres of new equipment, products and...

Wash with Wally: Cloth Napkins, Throw Rugs and More…

I have a commercial client who wants my store to take over the cloth napkin laundry service for his Italian restaurant. I’m not sure what is required to perform a quality service for this specific account. The napkins are red and often will have oil and other food...

‘One Laundry at a Time’

Decorated War Hero Reinvents Himself as a Successful Multi-Laundry Owner It takes more than one unscrupulous shopping mall owner to rattle Bill Pederson. With more than 100 combat missions flown as a U.S. Air Force flight medic, there’s not much that civilian life –...

Getting Down to Business

A Five-Phase Approach for Developing a Profitable Commercial Laundry Service As a vended laundry owner, you outlay a lot of money in store development, permitting, construction and equipment. So why not make that investment as fruitful as possible? Fully utilize idle...

It’s Show Time: A Preview of Clean 2017

The Laundry Industry’s Largest Trade Show and Convention to Celebrate Its 40th Anniversary in Las Vegas In 1977, six professional associations got together to host a collaborative convention and trade show for the textile care industries. This inaugural event, which...

Dryers: Stop, Look and Listen

Here Are Some Simple Maintenance Tips to Keep Your Tumblers Running Smoothly… and Profitably Lint. It barely has any weight to it. Who would have thought something so seemingly innocent could be so potentially destructive? However, if left unchecked, lint can cause a...

Maximizing Your Wash Dry Fold Labor

How to Build Key Efficiencies into Your Full-Service Laundry Business In last month’s column, I wrote about the keys to partnering with your local drycleaner, which will be one of the educational topics discussed at Clean 2017 in Las Vegas. This month, I’d like to...

Down to a Science

Five Research Findings That Can Jumpstart Your Marketing Strategy As small-business owners, you most likely write your own advertising. And, if you have no formal training or experience in copywriting, I'm willing to wager that you use what is referred to as a...

Scaling Wash & Fold Operations

Learn how to grow your wash & fold from an offering into a money-making operation.

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This Month's Issue

Connecting, Learning, Advocating: CLA Maximizes Impact at Clean Show 2025
Member Spotlight: Finding a Niche in the Laundromat Industry
PlanetLaundry Podcast: Turning Setbacks into Success: Saichelle McNeill’s Journey
A Laundromat With Heart: Inside Cherry Drive’s Customer-First Approach
And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

HappyNest Launches New Florida Location

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded its operations into Florida’s Palm Beach and northern Broward Counties. “LaundryMe! offers outstanding service at competitive prices, which complements our model perfectly,” explained HappyNest founder John...

Three Texas Distributors Join Forces

Three laundry distributors serving the north, central and south Texas markets recently combined their resources and expertise. AAdvantage Laundry Systems, Scott Equipment and Skyline Equipment have teamed up to better meet the needs of laundry owners and other...

HappyNest Expands into Two New Markets

Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has added a new partner in the Wilmington, Del., market. “We have been fortunate to partner with very strong laundry operators in the mid-Atlantic region, and Leo Shao will add to that list,” said HappyNest founder John...

Florida Distributor Sponsors Top Youth Soccer Team

Laundry Owners Warehouse, a distributor based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., recently sponsored Panthers FC, a local youth soccer team that finished in third place in the prestigious 3V3Live Soccer Tour’s South Florida Spookout Tournament. The event boasted more than 80...

New York Governor, National Grid Announce Lifting of Gas Service Moratorium

New York City laundromat operators and potential investors – as well as other small-business owners and area residents – have an extra reason to give thanks this holiday week. New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced an agreement with National Grid to...