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.

CLA Member of the Year
An Interview with Multi-Store Owner Michael Finkelstein Michael Finkelstein began his professional career as a broker manager for Georgia Pacific, where he worked with supermarkets in the Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia territories. In 1983,...

Maintaining the Ideal: The Keys to Optimum Dryer Care
An Interview with Whirlpool Customer Relations Manager Joe Carrita Joe Carrita has spent more than 23 years in the commercial laundry industry, with a special focus on the on-premises laundry market and customer service. He recently discussed the latest in dryer care...

2019: The Year in Review
Laundromat Industry Experts Review the Past 12 Months – And Share Thoughts on What May Lie Ahead It’s impossible to recap the past year in the laundromat business without acknowledging the clear-cut success of the Clean Show, which attracted more than 11,000 attendees...
Headlines
The Psychology of Loyalty
How to Develop an Impactful Customer Loyalty Program for Your Laundry Business Consumer loyalty is mighty fickle these days. In fact, it’s been estimated that 77 percent of current brands could simply disappear and no one would really care. This likely applies to...
Go Big!
Large-Capacity Washers Can Be One of Your Laundromat’s Most Important Features From an equipment standpoint, large-capacity washers are the most important element in any vended laundry today – and every store owner should have at least two of each unique capacity....
HappyNest Expands Reach in Ohio
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest is now available in the Ohio cities of Kent and Akron, through its new laundromat partner, Laundry 101. In addition, Laundry 101 is providing HappyNest next-day pickup-and-delivery services to surrounding towns in Portage...
KioSoft Mobile App Tops Two Million Users
KioSoft recently announced that its mobile app for laundry payments – CleanPay Mobile – has surpassed two million users worldwide. According to KioSoft, the app is a prime example of the growing popularity of contactless alternatives in the market, as indicated by...
Alliance Laundry Systems to Acquire Gulf States Laundry Machinery
Alliance Laundry Systems has announced it is acquiring the laundry division assets of Gulf States Laundry Machinery Co. Alliance expects to close on this purchase in the third quarter of this year, marking the manufacturer’s fourth distributor asset acquisition in...
Who’s Minding the Store?
Businesses all across the United States are desperate for workers these days. The numbers don’t lie. In late April, the Labor Department reported a record 9.3 million job openings. “The worker shortage is real – and it’s getting worse by the day,” commented Chamber of...
Wash with Wally: Cleaning in Cold Water
I’m considering switching to a cold-water detergent for my wash-dry-fold business in order to save some money on my natural gas bill. Does this make sense? I don’t want to sacrifice the quality of the wash I offer my full-service customers. No, that does not make...
Be Better Tomorrow Than You Were Yesterday
Are You Running a Finite Laundromat Business or an Infinite One? Let me start with a very simple question: did you “win” at business last year? Huh? I’m serious. I’m talking about the battle with your competitors. Did you win it last year? If your answer is yes, my...
Magic in a Box
How LaundryCares Family Read, Play and Learn Centers Are Impacting Communities and Changing Lives Before jumping into the “what” and the nuts-and-bolts of the LaundryCares Family Read, Play and Learn Centers, we need to take a step back and examine the “why.” How did...
SpyderWash, Wash-Dry-Fold POS Announce Cross-Platform Integration
Laundry payment system provider SpyderWash, a Setomatic Systems company, and Wash-Dry-Fold POS, a point-of-sale system developed for laundromats, recently announced they have teamed up on a cross-platform project. SpyderWash enables laundromat customers and employees...
New Benefits Added to CLA Health Insurance Program
The Coin Laundry Association – which is working with LIG Solutions to offer comprehensive, affordable health coverage designed for laundromat owners, as well as their families and employees – has announced a newly added element to this health insurance program. The...
HappyNest Expands Further into Long Island
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has expanded further into central Long Island, N.Y., through its partnership with The Laundry Closet. HappyNest now serves the east end of Suffolk County – from Bay Shore to Sayville to East Setauket. “We decided to...
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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
Tennessee Laundromat, Local Cafe Team Up for Food Drive
Cycle Laundromat in Clarksville, Tenn., will team up with Manna Cafe to host a food drive on August 9-11. The Cycle Laundromat team will host the food drive to give back to the community they serve. Those interested in participating can bring in at least four cans of...
HappyNest Adds Second Partner in Charlotte Market
Laundry pickup-and-delivery service HappyNest has added Sunshine Laundromat as its second laundromat partner in Charlotte, N.C. As a result, HappyNest’s services are now available to residents and businesses in Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville, as well as...
ACI Names Senior Manager of Public Health
The American Cleaning Institute, the trade association for the cleaning products supply chain, has appointed Audrey McCalley as senior manager, public health. “Audrey joins ACI with a background in public health, clinical research, policy and sustainability,” said Dr....
A Surprise Trend: ‘Inflation Relief’ Tax Policy
Rising inflation levels have hit consumers hard, and state lawmakers have spent time trying to provide relief, including indexing income tax brackets, issuing taxpayer rebates, and adopting new sales tax exemptions. Georgia, Idaho, Indiana (with an expansion of a...
COVID Relief Bill Introduced
Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Ben Cardin recently introduced legislation to create what’s being called the Hard-Hit Small Business Relief Fund (S.4471). For small businesses demonstrating substantial losses in 2020 and 2021 due...
FROM YOUR FAVORITE INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Columns
The Laundry Doctor
Stains Are Not Created Equal
Originally posted - Apr 04, 2014 When it comes to drop-off laundry, there are different levels of wash-dry-fold service. And it's up to each individual owner to define what that level of service should be for his or her particular store. For instance, I recently spoke...
The Business Mind
Once Upon a Laundry
Here's a Look at a Day in the Life of a Laundry Owner - And at All of the Many Business and Life Lessons It Can Teach Us There are so many different opportunities to learn. One method is to enroll in formal classes at a school or university. Another way is to attend a...
Wash With Wally
Wash with Wally: Bleach Spots, Motor Oil Stains…
A few of my drop-off customers are complaining about small bleach spots on their clothes. However, we don't even 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 is...
Viewpoint
Lease Negotiation: Mistakes to Avoid
When putting together your self-service laundry business, the lease is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. Here are some of the most common – and dangerous – pitfalls to avoid when hammering out your next laundry lease: • Failure to secure exculpation of...
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.