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.
From the Washroom to the Boardroom: Supporting Women’s Growth in the Laundry Business
By Aubrey Pollesch The laundry industry is evolving, and so is the face of its leadership. At LaundryLux, we’re proud to be part of a growing movement to elevate women at every level of the business, from internal leadership roles to laundromat ownership and...
Good Marketing Feels Like a Warm Welcome
If you want customers to keep coming back – whether they’re folding socks, dropping off towels or scheduling delivery – you need more than ads. You need to make them feel like they belong. I love throwing dinner parties. Not the stuffy kind with assigned seating and...
How Vended Laundries Might Solicit Commercial Laundry Services
Many vended laundries successfully offer commercial laundry pickup and delivery service to a variety of businesses — from small hotels to medical clinics and dry cleaners — for big gains in store revenue and profit. Moving into this sector makes good sense because it...
Headlines
Pushing Through
How Laundromat Owners Can Overcome the Uncontrollable and Still Thrive By Dennis Diaz A few months ago, I read a story that hit me hard - in the best way. It was about my high school football team. I didn’t play football, but as an alum, I felt a swell of pride...
Empowering Women in the Laundry Industry
The CLA Women's Laundry Network (WLN) recently hosted a highly successful virtual panel discussion that brought together an inspiring group of women from various sectors of the laundry industry. The event provided a platform for these women to share their stories,...
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...
Wash-Dry-Fold POS® Adds New Tech Support Specialist, Junior Developer
Wash-Dry-Fold POS®, a laundromat management software and point-of-sale solution for laundromat owners, announced the hiring of Cole Norton as its new Tech Support Specialist and Junior Software Developer. Cole brings a strong background in both tech support and...
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...
Robotic Arms Designed for Laundromat Industry
Robotics has long been the stuff of science fiction, but increasingly the technology is being leveraged in various manufacturing capacities. Now, it’s being leveraged in the laundromat industry thanks to the work of the team behind Dyna Robotics. Founded in the fall...
PODAB Celebrates 80 years with Brand Refresh, Product Updates
PODAB proudly celebrates 80 years as specialists in professional laundry equipment. To mark this milestone, the company is introducing a refreshed brand identity and an updated product design. With a modern and customer-centric visual profile, PODAB looks to...
Alliance Laundry Systems Announces Plan to Correct Tumble Dryer Issue
Alliance Laundry Systems, a global leader in commercial laundry equipment, announces it has deployed significant resources to correct an issue regarding its Series 6 tumble dryers. The company’s dedicated service and support team recently identified that many of the...
Metrics That Matter
Profit, Performance, and Planning in Vended Laundry The laundromat business is like most businesses in that you need to do a lot of things right to be successful. But how do you know if it’s working? According to successful owners, you just need to look at the...
It’s Gotta be the Shoes … Right?
Spike Lee’s famous Nike ads with Michael Jordan were always talking about shoes as if the shoes made the magic. But we know that the shoes are just part of the equation and the real magic comes from the person wearing them. Bob Nieman spent more than two decades...
DL Expo West Set for March 2026
The Southwest Drycleaners Association (SDA) and the California Cleaners Association (CCA) are excited to announce the return of the Drycleaning & Laundry Expo West (DL Expo West), scheduled for March 27–29, 2026, at the Irving Convention Center in Irving, Texas....
CLA to Survey Laundry Owners
Each year, CLA and its flagship magazine, PlanetLaundry, publish an industry survey of laundromat owners nationwide. The purpose of the survey is to compose a profile of today's self-service laundries in the United States, and includes key data on net profits,...
SPONSORED CONTENT
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Scaling Wash & Fold Operations
Learn how to grow your wash & fold from an offering into a money-making operation.
This Month's Issue
- Tech on the Rise: How Operators Are Using Innovation to Run Smarter, Faster Laundromats: From AI phone systems to real-time data tracking, operators and suppliers share how technology is reshaping the modern laundry business and what’s coming next.
- Business Profile: Delivering a Superior
Laundry Experience - Member Spotlight: Rick Rome –
Innovating Laundry, One Customer at a Time - Guest Column: How AI Changed Google Reviews (What Laundromat Owners Need to Know)
- And More…
THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS
Industry News
CleanCloud Partners with Laundry Lockers by Highmark to Offer Flexible Locker Solutions
CleanCloud has partnered with Laundry Lockers by Highmark Manufacturing to offer secure, flexible locker solutions to laundry and dry cleaning businesses. This non-integrated partnership enables operators to manage locker orders through the CleanCloud...
Girbau North America changes name to Continental Laundry Solutions
Girbau North America (GNA) officially changed its name to Continental Laundry Solutions (Continental). The name change reflects both a return to the company’s original identity and a renewed focus on strategic growth, partnership and support across North America’s...
Laundry Owners Warehouse Donates New Washing Machine to Support Kids in Need Through In Jacob’s Shoes
Laundry Owners Warehouse, known as People You Trust for commercial laundry equipment, parts, and service, has donated a brand-new washing machine to In Jacob’s Shoes, a South Florida nonprofit dedicated to providing shoes, socks, backpacks, and school supplies to...
Alliance Laundry Systems Acquires Metropolitan Laundry Machinery Sales
Alliance Laundry Systems, a global leader in commercial laundry equipment, has acquired the distribution assets of Metropolitan Laundry Machinery Sales, based in South Richmond Hill, New York. Metropolitan has served as a key player in the Northeast market for more...
Girbau Global Laundry Solutions Names Enric Saavedra International Key Account Director
Enric Saavedra was recently named Girbau Global Laundry Solutions’ (Girbau) international key account director – making him the main point of contact between Girbau and Girbau North America (GNA). Acting as a liaison, Saavedra facilitates communication and...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Locked and Loaded
Are Lockers the Answer to Building a Profitable, Round-the-Clock WDF Operation? I’ve recently had a number of store owners approach me about the use of lockers for their laundry operations. At The Laundry Doctor, we’ve been utilizing lockers to help facilitate the...
The Business Mind
Uncovering the Root of Organizational Decline by Jumping into the Trenches
By Ashlee Hofberger It can happen to any organization: a lag in performance, slowing of cash flow, and negative reviews. While nothing specific about your product or service appears to be the issue, you can sense something is off, and it’s enough to hurt business. One...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Cross-Training Your Laundry Attendants
I recently hired a new attendant and have discovered that he possesses great mechanical skills. So, I was thinking of cross-training him to handle some of the more simple equipment issues that arise at my store, in addition of course to his attendant duties. Is there...
Viewpoint
Our Industry is Alive, Well… And Thriving
Having now had the opportunity to fully digest my time at last month’s Clean Show in Atlanta, I’m happy to report that the self-service laundry industry – as well as the residential wash-dry-fold and pickup-and-delivery segments of the business – are alive and well....
Digital Marketing
Marketing Through Design
How a Well-Planned Laundromat Boosts Customer Engagement and Loyalty I have the exciting opportunity to sit on the board of a concert venue, and we spend a lot of time talking about the overall experience for attendees and the artists. Every detail matters – where the...
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.
