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.
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...
Slashing Through the Red Tape, Part 1
Working with Local Government and Utilities to Get Your Laundromat Project Completed on Schedule and on Budget Russ Arbuckle has been involved in more than a few laundromat buildouts and retool projects through the years. And he has seen his share of horror stories...
Headlines
CleanCloud, DoorDash Partner for On-Demand Laundry Pickup and Delivery
Point-of-sale software provider CleanCloud and local commerce platform DoorDash have announced that CleanCloud now integrates directly with DoorDash Drive. This partnership enables laundromats and drycleaning businesses to launch or expand pickup-and-delivery services...
LIG Health and Wellness Roundup
The Coin Laundry Association works with LIG Solutions to provide CLA members with healthcare insurance, as well as prescription drug services. Below are some articles LIG has provided to help expand your health and wellness awareness: Health and Wellness: Fall 2022...
Laundromat Safety is No Accident, Part 1
Here’s How to Keep Your Employees and Customers Safe – And Your Business Compliant with Today’s OSHA Regulations [This is the first of a two-part feature on keeping your laundry business OSHA-compliant.] “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” – Benjamin...
Getting Paid, Part 1
Payment Options and Considerations for Today’s Laundromat Owners [This is the first of a two-part feature on payment acceptance options for laundromat owners.] As a laundromat owner in 2022, you need to give yourself as many opportunities to succeed in your business...
ZIPS Announces Two New Locations
ZIPS Cleaners has announced it will add two new locations in Washington, D.C., by the end of next year. KV Management, LLC, which currently operates two ZIPS locations in the District – as well as two in Fairfax, Va., and another in Sterling, Va. – has issued letters...
Wash with Wally: Safe Bleaching, Cleaning Lint Screens, More…
I offer a wash-dry-fold service at my laundromat, and I was wondering if there is any product we could use in place of chlorine bleach. The problem we occasionally run into is that my attendants will mistakenly use the chlorine bleach on colored garments, which will...
Disaster Relief in Florida
Tide’s Loads of Hope program and Matthew 25: Ministries have partnered to set up mobile laundry units for Florida residents impacted by Hurricane Ian. “Sometimes having a fresh T-shirt or a pair of pants or anything like that can really have a huge impact on people...
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...
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This Month's Issue
- Designing for Success: Winning Ideas for Your Next Laundromat Design, Layout, or Remodeling Project
- Guest Feature: Five Lessons I Learned from Selling My Laundry Business
- Digital Marketing: A Well-Planned Laundromat Can Boost Customer Engagement and Loyalty
- Business Profile: How Chicago’s Wash Smart Chain is Redefining the Laundry Experience
- And More…
THE LATEST ON LAUNDROMATS
Industry News
Lucy Doll Retires from Mountain Electronics
After 13 years with Mountain Electronics, Customer Service Representative Lucy Doll has announced her retirement. Mountain CEO Whitney Brasington remembers hiring Doll: “The clinic she was working for was getting ready to close, so she ran a classified ad in the local...
Lavanett Named GNA’s Top Canadian Distributor for 2022
Girbau North America recently recognized Lavanett, headquartered in St. Laurent, Quebec, with its third consecutive Canadian Distributor of the Year Award for exemplary performance in the vended and on-premises laundry markets. Owned by Earl Eichen, Lavanett employs...
ACI Unveils Redesigned Website Promoting Cold-Water Washing
The American Cleaning Institute has launched a redesigned website for its Cold Water Saves initiative, which is a joint effort of ACI and The Sustainability Consortium to promote the power of cold-water washing. Originally launched in 2016, Cold Water Saves aims to...
EPA Maintains ‘Safer Choice’ Status of Chemistry Used in Detergent Packaging
The Environmental Protection Agency has rejected a petition requesting increased testing and a change to the safety status of key chemistry used to make concentrated detergent unit-dose packets and sheets from its Safer Choice program. At issue was a call from a...
GNA Honors Fowler Laundry Solutions
Fowler Laundry Solutions, based in Union, N.J., has received its fifth consecutive Girbau North America Multi-Housing Distributor of the Year Award for outstanding service, sales, and support in the multi-housing laundry market. Led by Doug Fowler and founded in 1952,...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Maximizing Your Wash Dry Fold Labor
How to Build Key Efficiencies into Your Full-Service Laundry Business In last month’s column, I wrote about the keys to partnering with your local drycleaner, which will be one of the educational topics discussed at Clean 2017 in Las Vegas. This month, I’d like to...
The Business Mind
The Psychology of Risk
Mastering the Uncertainties of Laundromat Ownership “Ninety-five percent of thought, emotion and learning occur in the unconscious mind without our awareness.” – Dr. Gerald Zautman, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University It’s a well-accepted fact that all business...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Cleaning Yoga Blankets
I have been approached by a potential commercial client about cleaning yoga blankets. They are heavy wool blankets about the size of a twin bed sheet. This client doesn’t want to dryclean the blankets. What’s the best way to wash them? And how would I dry these items...
Viewpoint
Partners in Laundry
To say the least, business partnerships of any kind are always going to be challenging. In fact, the majority of partnerships I've ever seen have failed, rather than succeeded. What's the problem? I believe the issue is that a business partnership is much like a...
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.
