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.

Going Full Tilt

Going Full Tilt

Tips for Maxing Out Full-Service Laundry Work and Boosting Revenue If your laundromat does a good job of processing drop-off laundry, perhaps it’s time to expand your reach and go after anything full-service. By this, I mean pursuing both area residents and commercial...

Rising from the Wreckage

Rising from the Wreckage

Florida Couple Builds Thriving Laundry Business in the Aftermath of Hurricane Michael In October 2018, Hurricane Michael unleashed its wrath upon Panama City, Fla. – making landfall near Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base. The Category 5 storm produced...

Providing Value, Creating Loyalty… Building Business

Providing Value, Creating Loyalty… Building Business

Laundromat Owners Discuss the Art of Crafting Creative Customer Promotions Customer promotions can play a crucial role in running a successful laundry business. Done correctly, they not only attract new customers, but also help to retain existing ones. In this...

Headlines

Speed Queen Laundry Opens in Louisiana

Speed Queen has continued the expansion of its laundromat franchise with the opening of a new location in Baton Rouge, La. The new 3,829-square-foot Speed Queen Laundry held its grand opening event on December 13, with the store’s first 100 customers receiving free...

Setomatic Names New President

Setomatic Systems Inc.-SpyderWash has promoted Gregg Schantz to president. Gregg, who is the third generation to enter the family business, has been with the company for more than a decade. During his tenure, he has worked in all aspects of the business and was vital...

ACI Unveils Spanish Language Version of ‘Packets Up!’ Website

The American Cleaning Institute has launched a Spanish version of its Packets Up! webpage. The Packets Up! initiative was developed to help reduce the number of unintended exposures to liquid laundry packets among children. The new webpage features a whiteboard video,...

Laundromax Opens First Texas Location

Laundry Capital – a Rego Park, N.Y., company consisting of the Laundromax and Clean Rite laundromat brands – has announced the grand opening of its first Laundromax location in Texas. With more than 80 laundromats in the United States, the newest Laundromax, located...

Vive La Différence

How to Use Diversity Marketing to Boost Sales and Grow Your Laundry Business For a long time, marketing efforts for companies big and small had one major common denominator. Essentially, they all targeted an older, white audience. Years ago, this strategy may have...

An Active ‘Retirement’

Michigan Store Owner Thrives During ‘Second Act’ Laundromat Career Jim Legato has never been one to let grass grow under his feet. Following a 30-year career with the Michigan Bell telephone company, Legato’s initial entrance into the laundromat industry might appear...

The Many Faces of Modern Laundromats

Today’s Technology is Paving the Way for a Variety of Laundry Business Models In an industry as established as ours, it’s tempting to think there’s a sole blueprint for success. Yet, as we delve deeper, we discover a vibrant patchwork of innovation and individuality....

‘The Taj Mahal of Laundromats’

Venerable Drycleaning Business Evolves with the Launch of Modern, State-of-the-Art Laundromats Jeff Engle likes to use analogies. And the general manager for Sheldon Cleaners in Grand Rapids, Mich., has a great one for the two vended laundry operations his company...

EVI Reports Record First Quarter Results

EVI Industries Inc. recently announced its results for the first quarter of its fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, including record revenue and gross profit. Since 2016, EVI has completed 25 acquisitions, expanded into new geographies, retained and invested in...

PayRange Adds PayPal, Venmo to Digital Funding Options

Mobile payment provider PayRange Inc. has announced the integration of PayPal and Venmo (United States only) as funding sources within the PayRange wallet. PayRange’s growing user base of more than 7 million can now use these popular digital funding sources for...

SPONSORED CONTENT

Business Solutions

Laundromat Marketing

CleanCloud talks to industry experts about the tactics they use to attract new customers and encourage repeat business in our latest webinar

Watch Webinar

June 2025 Cover of PlanetLaundry Magazine

This Month's Issue

 

  • The Business of Laundry: Models That Work
  • PlanetLaundry Podcast: AI as a Business Partner – Changing the Game for Laundromat Owners
  • Member Spotlight: Redefining Utility Access for the Modern Laundromat
  • CLEAN SHOW 2025: Schedule of CLA Events
  • And More…

THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS

Industry News

Setomatic-SpyderWash Names Regional Sales Manager

Setomatic Systems-SpyderWash has appointed Sam Husain its new regional sales manager for the Southeast and Midwest markets. Husain, who is based in Dallas, entered the commercial laundry industry in 2018 as a sales representative for Commercial Equipment Company. From...

EVI Industries to Acquire Laundry Pro of Florida

EVI Industries Inc. recently announced that it has executed a definitive agreement to acquire Laundry Pro of Florida Inc., a laundry distributorship headquartered in Lakeland, Fla. The addition of Laundry Pro increases EVI’s market share in the state of Florida and...

Alliance Celebrates Manufacturing Milestone in Thailand

Alliance Laundry Systems recently celebrated a significant milestone, marking the five-year anniversary of its manufacturing plant in Thailand. The event featured the company’s top executives – including CEO Michael Schoeb, COO International Jan Vleugels, and Managing...

EVI Industries Acquires Ed Brown Distributors

EVI Industries, Inc. recently completed the acquisition of Ed Brown Distributors, headquartered in Dallas. “With the acquisition of Ed Brown, we add a team of experienced sales and service personnel and new product representations that combined are important to...

Industry Mourns Avner Wolanow

Industry pioneer and visionary Avner Wolanow – the founder of Dallas-based Atlas International Laundry – has passed away. A trailblazer in the laundry industry, Mr. Wolanow was renowned for his extensive knowledge and infectious personality. His journey began when he...

FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS

Columns

The Laundry Doctor

W-D-F 2.0

W-D-F 2.0

What Does the Future Hold for the Wash-Dry-Fold Business? As I’ve been saying in this column for several years, the wash-dry-fold business continues to grow, morph and evolve into something new seemingly each time we look in a different direction. The future of...

read more

The Business Mind

Entrepreneurship is Risky Business

Entrepreneurship is Risky Business

Here’s a Look at What Makes Certain People Willing to Take the Plunge into a Life of Business Ownership Starting or buying a company is not for the faint of heart. The statistics tell us that roughly one-third of all small businesses fail within the first two years....

read more

Wash With Wally

Wash with Wally: Sign of the Times

Wash with Wally: Sign of the Times

My business partner and I are building a 4,500-square-foot laundromat in Arizona. We are just about finished, and one of the last tasks we’re left with is deciding what to do about the outdoor sign on the corner of the lot. We are considering a standard, double-faced...

read more

Viewpoint

Giving Thanks for 2020

Giving Thanks for 2020

“…enjoy every sandwich.” – Warren Zevon, songwriter/musician When Zevon uttered these quirky words of gratitude, it wasn’t in a clever lyric from one of his dozens of great songs. Rather, it came in response to a question posed by his friend David Letterman during...

read more

Digital Marketing

Online ‘Stain Removal’

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...

read more

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.