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.

On the Money

On the Money

An Overview of the SBA’s 504 Loan Program The Small Business Administration’s 504 Loan program is a powerful economic development program that offers small businesses, such as laundromats, another avenue for business financing, while promoting business growth and job...

The New Investors

The New Investors

As Interest in the Laundromat Industry Grows, Who’s Getting into the Business… and Why? Melody Fanto has never been afraid of hard work. She has been a registered dental hygienist in Long Island, N.Y., for 30 years. In addition, she previously owned an auto repair...

Coming Clean

Coming Clean

Laundromat Owners Are in the ‘Business of Clean’ – Now More Than Ever, Your Facilities Must Truly Reflect This Mindset A recent survey conducted on behalf of the American Cleaning Institute showed a 14 percent decline in handwashing practices for the first time since...

Headlines

LIG Health and Wellness Roundup: Winter 2022 Edition

The Coin Laundry Association, in collaboration with LIG Solutions, offers various health insurance programs, including a new prescription drug benefit, for CLA members, as well as their families and employees. LIG wants you and your family to stay healthy this winter,...

Automatic Laundry Names Chief Operating Officer

Automatic Laundry, headquartered in Newton, Mass., has promoted Scott Scarpato Jr. to the position of chief operating officer. For the last six years, Scarpato Jr. has worked in numerous roles within the company, including field service, logistics and finance. Since...

CSC ServiceWorks Announces Technology Acquisitions

CSC ServiceWorks Inc. – which delivers technology-enabled laundry services within the multifamily and academic housing markets – recently announced the closing of its acquisition of Happily Inc. (dba One Tap Away), as well as the principal assets of The Laundry Chute,...

Cents Partners with Atmosphere TV

Cents has announced an exclusive partnership with Atmosphere TV, which will provide laundromat owners with the ability to offer television entertainment to their customers, as well as to run their own marketing promotions. Cents, a business management and in-store...

Build Your Network (Part 1)

Don’t Neglect This Key Investment in the Future of Your Business I recently attended the Coin Laundry Association’s ELEVATE conference in southern California. And, on the way back from that event, I began reflecting on the value and impact such events have had on my...

North Carolina Library Launches Laundromat-Based Literacy Program

The Wilkes County Public Library has announced a new literacy project called “Wash and Learn,” which will be based at the Wilkes Laundromat in North Wilkesboro, N.C. The library received a $3,500 Library Science and Technology Act grant to provide an early literacy...

Update on Government Relief Programs

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program expired on December 31, 2021, and is no longer accepting new loan applications or advances. However, the SBA will continue to accept and review appeal requests for loan applications...

Report: The Five Most Tax-Volatile States

Government relations firm MultiState Associates recently published its tax revenue volatility report, taking a wider view of tax policy by looking at state revenue volatility – measured by total revenue cuts and increases as a result of policy choices – from 2011 to...

LaundryCares Honors Vend-Rite’s Hansen

The LaundryCares Foundation recently honored Vince Hansen of Vend-Rite Manufacturing Company, headquartered in Cicero, Ill., with signature sponsorship recognition for his continued support of the foundation and its mission. LaundryCares Executive Vice President Dan...

Industry Mourns Dick Lutts

Laundry industry pioneer Dick Lutts recently passed away at the age of 98. Lutts, a former vice president of Salem Laundry Company in Salem, Mass., is widely credited with moving the company away from a strictly laundry delivery business model to one that also...

The Skills to Pay the Bills

Master These Six Essential Skills to Take Your Laundry Business to the Next Level I’ve always been a collector of the best words and most valid phrases to describe or define a successful small-business owner – and, more specifically, a highly successful laundromat...

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Scaling Wash & Fold Operations

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September Magazine Issue

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

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...

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...

Coin-O-Matic to Host Free Event for Laundromat Owners, Investors

Coin-O-Matic will host a free educational and networking event for laundromat owners and investors on October 18 at the company’s headquarters in Alsip, Ill. Throughout the daylong event, attendees will be able to watch live product demonstrations of Maytag laundry...

CLA Launches Initiative for Women in the Vended Laundry Industry

In 2019, the Coin Laundry Association held its first luncheon for women in vended laundry during the Clean Show in New Orleans. Nearly 80 people attended and the feedback was positive. Due to the pandemic, the next event to focus on women in the laundromat industry...

FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS

Columns

The Laundry Doctor

Don’t Do This!

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...

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The Business Mind

True Enough!

Seven Business (and Non-Business) Truisms That Can Be Applied Directly to Your Laundry Operation Virtually everyone you run into knows something you don’t. Think about that for a moment. With more than 300 million people in the United States, there are literally...

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Wash With Wally

Wash With Wally: Keeping Your Drain Line Clear

Wash With Wally: Keeping Your Drain Line Clear

Is there a chemical and/or preventive maintenance procedure that will keep our main drain line clean? Occasionally, we experience a backup of water, which seems to be due to a buildup of a black greasy residue within the line. Would you recommend a periodic flush of...

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Viewpoint

Excellence in Laundry: Silent Auction

The 2016 Excellence in Laundry Conference, to be held at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa in southern California, will feature a silent auction from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on May 18. This auction will serve to benefit the Coin Laundry Association's LaundryCares...

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Digital Marketing

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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.