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.
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...
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...
Headlines
Member Spotlight: Lab-Tested, Laundry-Approved
How Laundry Labs Plans to Change the Industry In today’s business world, efficiency and quality are paramount – and the commercial laundry industry is no exception. Recognizing the need for superior cleaning solutions specifically tailored to laundromat operators,...
Wash-Dry-Fold POS Launches New Feature
Wash-Dry-Fold POS® has announced its new Attendant Checklist Feature. According to Managing Partner Ian Gollahon, it is a simple but integrated tool that is so powerful, it’ll make you wonder how you ever ran your business without it. "You can monitor the checklist...
LaundroLab Celebrates National Laundry Day – April 15
LaundroLab to Offer Free Laundry, Resources Nationwide for National Laundry Day In celebration of National Laundry Day on April 15, 2025, LaundroLab—an innovative laundromat brand focused on reimagining the wash experience—is giving back to local communities by...
A Final Spin
Editor Bob Nieman Leaves CLA, PlanetLaundry Magazine After Two Decades After 23 years with CLA and PlanetLaundry magazine, I find myself facing a moment that always seemed so distant... saying goodbye. This industry has been more than just a career for me – it has...
I’d Like to Speak to the Manager
On the Front Lines with Some of the Laundry Industry’s Leading Store Managers In an industry once dominated by unattended, self-service operations, the role of store managers in laundromats has never been more critical. As laundries evolve into full-service businesses...
SDA Unveils New Logo After Decades of Tradition
After decades of representing the Southwest Drycleaners Association (SDA) with its iconic cowboy hat logo, the Board of Directors voted to adopt a new logo marking the beginning of a new era for the association. The logo redesign process began last fall with an open...
Designing for Success
Winning Ideas for Your Next Laundromat Design, Layout, or Remodeling Project Designing or remodeling a laundromat requires careful planning and strategic decision-making to create a space that is both functional and inviting. A well-designed laundromat not only...
Tide Laundromat Expands Footprint in Chicago
Tide Services, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, is expanding its Tide Laundromat footprint in Chicago with a new location in the city’s Lakeview neighborhood. The fourth Tide Laundromat in Chicago, this location is part of an expansion led by U.S. Laundry LLC,...
Whirlpool Among ‘Most Admired’ Companies
For the 15th year in a row, Whirlpool Corp. has been named one of the “World’s Most Admired Companies” by Fortune. Whirlpool was once again selected for this honor due to the company’s performance, management, products, and commitment to the communities around the...
Eastern Funding Announces Texas Workshops
Eastern Funding will host the next two events in its Laundry Business Workshop series on April 9 and 10 in Houston and Dallas, respectively. The workshops are open to existing laundromat owners, new investors, and other industry participants, including equipment...
CleanCloud Unveils New Automated Marketing Tool for Laundry Owners
Laundromat point-of-sale system provider CleanCloud has introduced Automated Flows – a built-in marketing tool to help laundromat owners run targeted, multi-step campaigns without additional software costs. With Automated Flows, store owners can set up multi-step drip...
EVI Industries to Acquire Girbau North America
Girbau North America, a provider of commercial and industrial laundry solutions, has announced that it is being acquired by EVI Industries Inc., a publicly traded company dedicated to the commercial laundry industry across North America. GNA, formerly a subsidiary of...
SPONSORED CONTENT
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
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...
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,...
ImonexFlex Coin Acceptors Unveiled for Electrolux, Wascomat
Imonex has introduced its ImonexFlex line of coin drops for Electrolux and Wascomat vended equipment. The mechanisms feature a built-in high value coin option allowing laundry owners to keep quarter-only pay and activate dollar coinage acceptance whenever they desire....
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Spend Your Marketing Dollars Wisely
What Are You Getting in Return for Your Wash-Dry-Fold Promotional Budget? Business owners love to discuss and ruminate on what it costs to acquire a new customer. In the drycleaning world, the generally accepted figure is approximately $50 per customer. In the laundry...
The Business Mind
Persistence Pays Off
When Owning a Laundromat, the Secret to Success is a Constancy of Purpose Famed American writer and lecturer Dale Carnegie firmly believed that “flaming enthusiasm, backed by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.” And I...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Drying Capacity, Business Hours, and More…
I’m short on drying capacity at my store. During the weekends, I have customers waiting for the dryers. Should I add more 30-pound stack dryers, which are what I currently have? Or should I replace at least some of the 30-pounders with larger-capacity stack dryers? If...
Viewpoint
Anticipating the Renewal of Clean 2022
“The waiting is the hardest part.” – Tom Petty, from “The Waiting” Although many of us initially assumed this classic rock staple from Tom Petty was yet another song about pining for the return to that special someone, Petty himself actually described it as an...
Digital Marketing
Rethink Laundry Marketing
Six Creative Strategies to Help Boost Your Business Without Breaking the Bank I love it when the brands I regularly interact with surprise me with deals on products from other businesses. It’s like a hidden treasure chest of options I never thought I’d explore. Just...
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.
