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.

I Educated Mysel

Originally posted - May 24, 2013 When it comes to a new business venture, Danny Delmarco is a big believer in doing one's homework. So, when he and his business partner, Lloyd Webb, decided to open a self-service laundry - in a building co-owned by Webb and Delmarco's...

People Need to Do Laundry

Originally posted - Jun 14, 2013 Mischelle Romesberg is accustomed to taking matters into her own hands. As director of plant operations for the personal care branch of Energizer Holdings, she's responsible for making sure some of today's leading over-the-counter...

You Need to Get Your Hands Dirty

Originally posted - Feb 21, 2013 The first thing most people notice when walking into Pokomoke Laundry are the dryers - or, more specifically, the area around and above the dryers. Instead of the usual painted drywall littered with the typical laundromat signage, this...

Headlines

Gaining a Competitive Advantage

Originally posted - Jan 24, 2014 Dr. Chuck Bamford is the founder of Bamford Associates, LLC. He has worked with thousands of managers over the last 20 years in the development of implementable strategic plans and an entrepreneurial orientation to growth. He worked in...

Teamwork

Originally posted - Jun 25, 2014 [This is the first of a two-part series on ways to build a successful team of laundry attendants.] Perhaps it's easy for the uninitiated to underestimate the job that self-service laundry attendants perform. However, their duties...

Get in the Game

Originally posted - Aug 26, 2014 For many self-service laundry owners, the coin-operated amusement industry may be an untapped business opportunity. Games and other arcade-style machines offer outstanding profit potential for store operators who are willing to pursue...

2013: The Year in Review

Originally posted - Dec 09, 2013 In odd-numbered years, nothing that happens in the self-service laundry business can top the spectacle of The Clean Show. And 2013 – with the industry's trade show and convention in New Orleans – was no exception. "One of the major...

Turning Point

Originally posted - Jun 17, 2014 Erik Sparks has been a professional pilot for more than 20 years, having spent the last 18 of those years flying for a charter airline – Ryan International Airlines. Over the years, Sparks has flown a diverse list of operations. Those...

Upwardly Mobile

Originally posted - Oct 02, 2013 On average, adults spend more than two hours every day on their smartphones or using their tablets, according to research by Advertising Age. What's more, nine out of 10 mobile searches lead to an action, and more than 50 percent lead...

The X Factor

Originally posted - Dec 26, 2013 Detergent. Besides water, natural gas and electricity, it's perhaps the hottest commodity at your self-service laundry. Whether you sell it in your vending machine or over the counter, or simply prefer to let your customers bring in...

Less is More: The Greening of an Industry

Originally posted - Jun 26, 2014 Morgan Gary recently received an MBA in sustainable business. Not coincidentally, she also just opened her very own sustainable business – Spin Laundry Lounge, which is described as an eco-friendly laundromat within a "retro-mod" café...

Store Design: Built to Succeed

Originally posted - Jul 31, 2014 Other than location, the most crucial contributing factor to the ultimate success or failure of any self-service laundry is the layout and design of the store's interior. "When you spend time and attention on the layout and design of a...

The New Normal?

Originally - Sep 16, 2014 Technically, the Great Recession lasted from December 2007 to June 2009. That's what the economists and history books will tell you. However, some laundry professionals might have a slightly different timeline. It began with the bursting of...

Taking a New Route

Originally posted - May 28, 2014 Each year, billions of dollars go through apartment laundry rooms, which provide basically the same service your laundromat offers. And, although the target demographics for self-service laundries and apartment laundry rooms are...

Dude, That’s a Totally Gnarly Laundromat!

Originally posted - Oct 11, 2013 Jason Dodge – who owns Milwaukee Laundry & Tanning in Milwaukee, Wis. – has been in the self-service laundry business since 2007. And, until recently, his store has looked pretty much like every other laundromat in town. However,...

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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

LG Breaks Ground On Home Washer Plant in U.S.

LG Electronics recently took a ceremonial step closer to domestic manufacturing when dignitaries, including U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, joined management in breaking ground on the company's first U.S. appliance plant....

Western State Design to Host Training Seminars

Western State Design, headquartered in Hayward, Calif., will sponsor four free Dexter Laundry service training seminars this fall – one in Seattle and three in California. These events will provide vended laundry owners and operators an opportunity to learn "expert...

Overbuilding Slows Multi-Family Housing Market

Over the last year, the multi-family housing market has been lukewarm, to say the least. In fact, ITR Economics - which produces quarterly economic reports for Coin Laundry Association members - recently noted that the single-family market currently outnumbers the...

Florida Laundry Owner Donates Swimming Lessons to Local Youth

Florida multi-store owner Tom Rhodes has always given back to his community through a variety of programs, such as washing blankets for a local faith-based outreach center or donating a percentage of his laundries' profits to charitable organizations.However, Rhodes...

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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.