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.

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Headlines

After Disaster Strikes

Originally posted - Oct 05, 2012 Previously, we looked at how fire and water garment restoration can be a profitable niche for some coin laundry owners – as well as how to potentially land this type of work. Now, let's assume that the restoration business has started...

Stain Removal: Back to Basics

Originally posted - Aug 27, 2014 I get calls from laundry owners every week, asking a number of questions about different ways to enhance their drop-off laundry businesses. However, the most common queries I receive revolve around stain removal. So, let's go back to...

Stains Are Not Created Equal

Originally posted - Apr 04, 2014 When it comes to drop-off laundry, there are different levels of wash-dry-fold service. And it's up to each individual owner to define what that level of service should be for his or her particular store. For instance, I recently spoke...

Uniformity

Originally posted - Oct 06, 2014 Many laundry owners looking to add commercial work to their service menu often fail to consider a fairly simple and yet quite lucrative type of account – company uniforms. Yes, it's true that the large commercial cleaners have been...

Avoid Customer Complaints… Before They Ever Occur

Originally posted - Apr 22, 2014 Professional drycleaners have a number of releases they have their customers fill out, because of all the delicate and specialty items they handle – such as silk, leather and so on. In essence, these drycleaners are telling their...

Negotiating a Reasonable Rent

I'm trying to buy a laundry that's located in a shopping center, and I would like to know what is considered a reasonable rent per square foot. I don't want to get stuck with a lot of escalator clauses. Of course, a "reasonable rent"is relative to the volume and...

Better Commercial Laundering Through Chemistry

Originally posted - Jan 11, 2012 You've finally decided to diversify your laundry business and take on some commercial accounts. Great! But you must understand that there are some big differences between the residential wash-dry-fold laundry you may already be doing...

Profitable Pricing

Originally posted - Feb 08, 2012 I get frequent calls from laundry owners asking me how to accurately price their commercial accounts. And the first thing I point out to them is that commercial laundry is a slightly different animal than residential wash-dry-fold...

The 4 Most Common (and Costly) Mistakes Laundromat Newbies Make

"Some of us learn from other people's mistakes; the rest of us have to be the other people." – Zig Ziglar Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or someone looking to be their own boss for the very first time, the self-service laundry business has many fundamental...

Your Store

Avoiding ‘Dogs with Fleas' Take Advantage of Key Data in the CLA's New Quarterly Reports to Better Run Your Laundry Business By Tom Rhodes In May 2008, I purchased a rundown laundromat for $25,000 from a part-time operator who wasn't reinvesting in the store. The plan...

Owner’s Manual

Maintaining Your Wireless Network If You Haven't Revisited Your Network Since It Was Set Up, Now Is the Time If you're a laundry owner like me, you're accustomed to routine equipment maintenance, such as removing lint from the fronts of dryers or cleaning HVAC...

Dealing with Change (No Matter What Life Throws at You)

Change is Omnipresent, and It's Not Going Away – Embrace It! "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." – Dr. Viktor Frankl, noted Austrian psychiatrist Did you know that the word "change" is one of the most commonly...

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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

Kozlik Joins Standard Change-Makers’ Sales Team

Standard Change-Makers Inc. has named Tom Kozlik its new regional sales representative for the western United States. Kozlik’s responsibilities will include working with distributors in all of the industries the company serves – including laundry, car wash, vending...

Commercial Equipment Company to Host 50th Anniversary Open House

As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Commercial Equipment Company is inviting laundry owners and potential investors to its annual Open House, Service School and Equipment Showcase. This event will be held on May 20 at the company’s new 30,000-square-foot...

Speed Queen Announces Art Contest Winner

Speed Queen has named multi-store owners Bob and Donna Wallner the winners of its Art of the Journey contest. Representatives from the commercial laundry manufacturer and the Wallners’ equipment distributor, Statewide Laundry Equipment, surprised the...

Advantage Equipment Strengthens Sales Staff

Advantage Equipment Inc., based in Akron, Ohio, recently welcomed two new team members – Sales Representative Don Jackovic and Laundry Chemical Sales Representative Dillon Buffington. Jackovic – who has 35 years of experience in retail food and processor equipment...

Eastern Funding Marks Major Milestones

In 1997, Michael Fanger and Brian Grell launched Eastern Funding with a focus on the commercial laundry industry in the Northeast. Since then, the company, which has surpassed $2 billion in funded projects, has built upon its strong foundations – branching out...

FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS

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The Laundry Doctor

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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.