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.
Powering Your Laundromat
A Look at What’s Ahead for Natural Gas and Electricity Prices It’s no secret that electricity and natural gas prices are rising across the board – and have been for a while. Electricity prices began rising shortly after winter storms in February 2021 and have been...
15 Steps to a Smooth Laundry Project
1. Make sure your site is zoned for a laundromat before you buy or start the project. Also, make sure of what size signage you can install and where you can put it. 2. Oversize your utilities – 400-amp, three-phase service. Know whether you will need a transformer on...
Slashing Through the Red Tape, Part 2
Working with Local Government and Utilities to Get Your Laundromat Project Completed on Schedule and on Budget [This is the second of a two-part feature. You can read Part 1 here.] In Part 2 of PlanetLaundry's May cover story, laundromat owners shared their thoughts...
Headlines
Laundry Tech Platform Raises $7M in Seed Funding
Tumble Smart Laundry, a smart laundry technology platform based in San Francisco, recently raised $7 million in seed funding. Founded in 2019, the company intends to use the funds to scale its proprietary software platform – powering an all-digital experience from...
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...
RJ Kool Acquires BDS Laundry
RJ Kool – a commercial laundry distributor with headquarters in Kansas City, Mo. – recently purchased BDS Laundry, a distributorship based in St. Paul, Minn. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The sale of BDS includes its vended and on-premises laundry...
Curbside Laundries Opens New Office, Adds Key Hires
Curbside Laundries – a full-service SAAS company for laundromats specializing in wash-dry-fold and pickup and delivery – has opened a new facility in Los Alamitos, Calif. The move was required to meet the company’s business demands, as well as to help facilitate the...
Doing ‘Good’ Close to Home
Laundry Capital’s Commitment to Bettering the Communities It Serves It takes more than money and desire to better a community. Just ask Alex Weiss. He should know. Weiss is the owner of Laundry Capital Co. LLC – whose affiliated network of stores owns 80 Clean Rite...
Small-Business Tax Incentives, Grants and More…
Laundromat owners can find themselves in a dilemma – they want to grow their businesses to meet demand, but tight financial circumstances can make it difficult to expand. Fortunately, there are a number of tax credits, grants and incentives that can encourage...
HappyNest Adds New Jersey Laundromat Partner
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded its availability to Middlesex County, New Jersey, through the company’s new partner, Sudz N Dripz Laundromat. Based in North Brunswick, the facility now provides HappyNest services to residents and businesses...
States Seeking Inflation Relief
Inflation has become an increasingly prevalent issue for state legislators in recent months. In August, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which targets energy and prescription drug costs in hopes of having a positive impact on runaway costs. However,...
SBA Announces Grants for Micro-Entrepreneurs
The Small Business Administration has announced a $7.2 million grant award to 38 organizations under the Program for Investment in Micro-Entrepreneurs (PRIME) – a $1.7 million increase, up 30 percent from last year’s allocated $5,500,000 in funding. The PRIME award...
The Power of a Pro Forma
Don’t Neglect One of Your Laundry Business’ Most Important Planning Tools Whether you’re purchasing and renovating an existing laundromat or starting one from scratch, a pro forma income statement is one of an investor’s most important tools in not only attaining...
A Long Laundry Heritage
Arizona Commercial Laundry Leans Heavily on Its Industry Knowledge and First-Class Customer Service Arizona Commercial Laundry – a full-service laundry distributor headquartered in Phoenix – can trace its commercial laundry industry roots back more than 60 years… and...
HappyNest Expands Reach in Texas
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded its availability to Georgetown, Texas, through the company’s new partner, U Wash M Laundromat. Based in Georgetown, the laundry facility is now providing HappyNest’s services to residents and businesses in the...
SPONSORED CONTENT
This Month's Issue
- Fast Forward: Industry Insiders Review the Past Year – And Unveil the Key Factors That Likely Will Shape the Laundromat Business in 2025
- Business Profile: The Community-Driven Mission Behind Wash Bar Laundromats
- Company Close-Up: Southeastern Laundry Equipment Sales Sets the Standard for Industry Excellence and Innovation
- Women in Vended Laundry: An Interview with Samantha Peters of Advanced Laundry Systems
- And More…
THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS
Industry News
Lawmakers Look to Ban Natural Gas in Commercial Buildings
In January, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission created a flurry of controversy over a rumored proposal to restrict the use of gas-powered stoves in homes. Although fears over that federal proposal were exaggerated, state and local lawmakers have been active...
Service Taxes: An Update on State Sales Tax Expansion
State legislators continue to express ongoing interest in expanding the sales tax to new services, according to MultiState Associates, a government relations firm headquartered in Alexandria, Va. Here’s a look at where those efforts stand: Income tax...
Wash Day Offering WDF Services at Walmart Locations in Delaware
Wash-dry-fold and drycleaning services are now available at three Walmart Supercenters in Delaware. Through a new company called Wash Day, customers can drop off their laundry at the local Walmart and receive a text message when the clothes are ready to be picked up....
Alliance Laundry Systems Distribution Expands West
Alliance Laundry Systems has acquired the distribution assets of Taylor Houseman, based in Pittsburg, Calif. Taylor Houseman boasts more than two decades of experience providing commercial laundry solutions throughout northern California. “This acquisition further...
Cents Unveils New Marketing Tool for Laundry Owners
Laundromat technology provider Cents has launched an integrated marketing suite called Cents Accelerate – which provides the company’s customers with a website, email, and SMS marketing tools developed exclusively for laundry business owners. Created to enable laundry...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Clean 2017 Targets Full-Service Laundry Model
Laundry Apps and Organizational Tools for Processed Wash-Dry-Fold Orders on Display in Las VegasThis year's Clean Show was a huge hit on so many different levels – not the least of which being the new products and technologies now available to the wash-dry-fold...
The Business Mind
Coming to Their Senses
Leverage the Five Senses to Impact Consumer Behavior As members of the human race, we all experience the world largely through our senses. And, by the way, so does the animal kingdom. However, unlike animals, we also boast well-developed intellectual skills that can...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Battling Bleach Stains
A few of my drop-off laundry customers have complained about small bleach spots on their clothes. However, we don’t use bleach on their clothes, nor do we place the garments where bleach could be splashed on them. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the bleach...
Viewpoint
Open for Business
For the grand opening of its Canadian flagship location, Lululemon – the popular yoga-inspired athletic apparel company – offered free merchandise to the first 30 people to run naked through its new retail outlet. As you can imagine, the media was all over this...
Digital Marketing
Traditional vs. Digital
What Marketing Methods are Right for Your Laundromat in 2020 and Beyond? Digital marketing is the future, right? As someone on the frontlines of digital marketing for the laundry industry, I certainly believe that to be true – but that doesn’t mean you should change...
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.
